The Great Outdoors – Midsummer Blooms

~ If you took seasonal outdoor photos that you love this week, join in and post a link in the comments!  I'm replacing {this moment} with The Great Outdoors while the weather is warm and we’re spending so much time outside. ~

I love cutting flowers and bringing them inside, so I take care to grow flowers and shrubs that make for nice cut flowers.  But what about the blooms I can’t bring inside, the amazing plants I couldn’t say no to at the nursery?  I thought I’d celebrate them today, as they’re truly some of my favorites.

My Limelight Hydrangea reminds me of my wedding bouquet, which I still have hanging from the rafter that divides my kitchen and family room.  Our wedding colors were pale green and pink, and the following spring I planted this woody hydrangea that puts out beautiful limegreen blooms that fade to white.  They can be cut and brought inside (unlike my first paragraph suggests!), but I've been waiting so long for the blooms to get here that I thought they qualified.  : )  It turns out that you have to wait for the bloom to fully open before cutting, or else they fade fast in a vase.  It's a long wait! 



Calibrachoa



Hibiscus

Heavenly Blue Morning Glories, my favorite variety

In the past I've found that Black-eyed Susans don't hold up well as a cut flower, but I found out earlier this week that if you cut stem short so you only get one flower per stem, they seem to do better.

And look who I caught when I was out taking photos of the garden!  This female ruby-throated hummingbird is drinking from my tangerine sage.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

** Oh, and DON’T FORGET TO ENTER MY SUMMER GIVEAWAY for a set of delightful, customizable handmade note cards, made by me of course!  Learn more and enter the giveaway. **