As the Garden Grows

What's blooming today?


One hundred plus blooms on Iceberg

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Wordless Wednesday

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Of all of my many roses (60+ varieties) my Iceberg rose at the front of my house currently has the most blooms.

Most of the other roses are either taking a break or only putting out a bloom here and there since it’s so hot these days.

The first couple of years that I grew Iceberg I didn’t notice much scent from the blooms, however over the last couple of years the blooms seem to have more scent. In fact, right now since this rose is practically bursting with blooms anyone walking up to the front steps of my house can smell their delicate light scent.






Daylilies are making a splash in the garden

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Now that we’re in the height of summer many of my roses have taken a break from blooming but my garden is still full of flowers.

The hostas are flowering and so are most of the daylilies, black eyed susans, sunflowers, balloon flowers, petunias, impatiens and many others.

Today I thought I’d show you a few of my beautiful daylilies.

I think this one is called Candy Stripe or something to that effect. If definitely has the word Candy in it’s name.

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I grow this daylily in my planted front boulevard because it blooms several times each season.

The next daylily is Sammy Russel and I think it’s beautiful. I love it’s vibrant color!

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Another colorful daylily that grows in my backyard is Bonanza. I love it’s bright yellow color.

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Last, but not least, is Cream Drop. I grow this daylily at the end of my driveway in front of my Valencia and Breath of Life roses. It’s soft yellow color goes well with their peachy orange.

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I know that many of our Green Thumb Sunday participants grow daylilies. What’s your favorite one?

Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information. GTS participants remember to check in at As the Garden Grows each week so that we’ll know you made a new post!

Did you know the Sago Palm is toxic to pets?

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676138.jpg I just received a new edition of my ASPCA newsletter and one article in particular caught my eye. It was about the increased incidence of pets being poisoned by the Sago Palm. This plant can also be quite toxic to young children.

The Sago Palm is common in warm climates, but it’s become more popular in Northern homes as a houseplant. The plant is native to Southern Japan. It’s an attractive plant with dark green leaves and a hairy trunk.

Since 2003, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center has seen an increase in cases of Sago palm and Cycad poisonings by more than 200 percent. APCC data also reveals that 50 percent to 75 percent of those cases resulted in fatalities.

sago-palm.jpg A chemical in the plant called cycasin is toxic and often causes permanent liver damage as well as neurological damage if enough of the poison is absorbed by the body. The seeds are the most poisonous part of the plant, although all parts of this plant are toxic, and the effects on humans are seizures, coma and death. Of course the seeds are an attractive reddish color so children and possible curious pets might be drawn to the plant.

Clinical signs of toxic poisoning are vomiting, melena (blood in stool), Jaundice, increased thirst, hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, bruising and later liver damage, liver failure and death.

If you have young children or pets in your home and you’d like to check to see if your house or garden plants are toxic you can take a look at this list of Toxic Plants. There’s also a list of non-toxic plants that you might also want to look at if you are planning on adding more plants to your collection.

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