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First off thanks much to the Jaunty Quill ladies for inviting me to join their group. I’ve been a fan of the blog since it began. 
My first blog is going to be short and sweet.
I love flowers and always try to plant some to enjoy during the summer, but I had such a crazy schedule this year with writing deadlines and a day job that I just settled for throwing a few packets of seeds in planters.
It was my worst effort yet to liven up my patio garden and I didn’t expect much reward for the little effort I put into it. But the garden flourished. (I actually took pictures to add to the blog but the system won’t let me. 
)
So visualize pots of baby zinnias, marigolds a good four feet high, a garden arch thick with purple morning glories, and a nine cent packet of cucumber seeds that have covered a fence, tangled with a rose bush, and are trying to reach the roof. I kid you not it is wild.
What about you? What’s your favorite summer flower? Do you garden a little, a lot, or not at all?
Filed in: Jaunty Post
Aug 31st
2009
6:06 am
kristan higgins Said:
Welcome to the JQs, Janette! We’re glad to have you!
I’m a big gardener, though the weeds always succeed in crushing me. Most of my flowers are annuals, but this year I’m in love with zinnias, which bloom right through October and come in so many colors.
Would love to see those rogue cucumbers! Will you be putting up some pickles?
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Aug 31st
2009
6:14 am
Janette Kenny Said:
I’m really tempted to, Kristin. I’ve canned 5 pints of jalepeno peppers and I intend to do more with the next harvest. Adding a few jars of pickles wouldn’t be a chore.
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Aug 31st
2009
8:01 am
Kathryn Said:
I have a good sized flower garden… unfortunately over the past few years it’s been harder and harder for me to keep the weeds at bay… two of my daughters are competitive equestrians and their competition season is Wed-Sun 10 weeks of the summer. I hate seeing my garden struggle!
That being said, I love day lilies… ALL kinds from the basic, generic orange ones you seen in banks along the road or against a fence to the exotic dark red, pink, yellow and white ones grown by lily enthusiasts. I think they symbolize summer to me and I have about 7 varieties in my garden, orange, yellow, purple, salmon and red.
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Aug 31st
2009
8:47 am
Rainy Said:
I love them all, I can’t chose (maybe special affinity to the early Lily of the Valley that is so small but so powerfully fragrant)
From towering Sunflowers always reaching upwards (but looking so sadly disillusioned in the fall) to the tiny pansys, doing their very best to hold their own.
I love the wild Queen Anne’s Lace and the purple flock that abound my Vermont countryside.
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Aug 31st
2009
9:20 am
Emily McKay Said:
It’s been so dry here, very little is blooming. This here we haven’t even had a vegetable garden, let alone a flower garden. However, our plumeria (in pots) are still blooming, and I always love those.
We did get one heavy shower last week (the first in months and months), and so Rain Lilies are popping up all over our yard. In a way, not having more flowers has made me appreciate the few we have. The girl and I must have spent thirty minutes yesterday studying that one Rain Lily and then scouring the yard for more sprouting up.
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Aug 31st
2009
9:43 am
Shana Said:
This summer has been horrible for flowers in Houston. It’s so hot and there’s no rain! Normally in the Spring I have gorgeous lillies and then I have Gerber daisies and begonias all summer. This year they are barely making it. Poor flowers!
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Aug 31st
2009
12:29 pm
Nancy Robards Thompson Said:
Welcome, Janette! I’m so glad you’ve joined us.
Congratulations on your great garden!I love, love, love flowers! Because I love them so much, I’ve decided the kindest thing I can do is admire them from a safe distance. My husband is the gardener in our house and what I lack in the green thumb department, he makes up for tenfold. The guy can grow anything. We live in Florida where the climate is not very forgiving. Even so, this summer when I was on vacation up north, I bought a packet of French Lavender seeds. My husband is going to attempt to grow it in a pot for me. I have visions of the entire house scented with lavender. We’ll see…
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Aug 31st
2009
12:45 pm
Janette Kenny Said:
Kathryn, I have two varietes of surprise lilies. I’ve grown the day lillies before but they don’t last. The deer eat them!
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Aug 31st
2009
12:52 pm
Janette Kenny Said:
Rainy, I love lily of the valley! Mine have multiplied now and are very fragrant. I also have a goos stand of violas that come back every year-mini wild pansies.
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Aug 31st
2009
1:38 pm
catslady Said:
I always have good intentions but it gets away from me usually. I have a huge hillside and this year I caught a terrible case of poison ivy -from my forehead all the way down to my chest – ugh. So I let it go totally wild. The wildlife loves it and so do I – not so much my neighbors roflmao.
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Aug 31st
2009
3:46 pm
Margo Maguire Said:
We’ve got a number of very nice flower beds that bloom all through the summer. But my favorites are the spring flowers. I love the daffs and tulips, the peonies and lilacs. We’ve got about 7 mature lilac bushes, all over 8 feet tall. Pretty good for Michigan, I’d say!
Oh, and welcome, Jan!
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Aug 31st
2009
3:56 pm
Jane Said:
Welcome Janette,
I’m not much of gardener, but I’ve loved tulips ever since I visited the Netherlands when I was kid.
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Aug 31st
2009
8:01 pm
Janette Kenny Said:
Emily, we’ve had way too much rain this year in the Midwest. My allergies have given me fits, though I have enjoyed the lush greenery for a change.
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Aug 31st
2009
8:03 pm
Janette Kenny Said:
My aunt in Houston has complained of the hot dry summer as well, Shana. I love Gerber daisies but have never been able to grow them!
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Aug 31st
2009
8:04 pm
Janette Kenny Said:
Oh, too, funny about your ungreen thumb, Nancy! Good luck (to your dh) with the lavender. I’ve heard it dries real well and is a plus in indoor arrangement. Let us know.
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Aug 31st
2009
8:07 pm
Janette Kenny Said:
Wow, catslady. So sorry to hear you ended up with a nasty poison ivy rash. I’ve had one very mild case and count myself lucky because it was really really lush this year. And I have a large area on my place that is totally wild. I love watching the deer, fox, coyate and various other critters.
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Aug 31st
2009
8:09 pm
Janette Kenny Said:
Thanks for the welcome, Margo. I have several huge lilacs as well. Always love it when they are in bloom. I have a lot of daffodils too. Used to have tulips, but the increase in the deer population decreased my bulbs!
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Aug 31st
2009
8:10 pm
Janette Kenny Said:
Jane, I’ve heard that the tulip fields in the Netherlands is a sight to behold.
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Sep 1st
2009
12:36 am
Quilt Lady Said:
I love about all flowers and can’t say I have a favorite. I love the lilacs, daffodils, and tulips in the spring. I have tried to put tulips out several times here and I think the moles get them. I have a butterfly bush in the front yard that blooms all summer and I just planted a crape myrtle I hope it makes it. We have had so much rain this year nothing has done well. My tomatoe plants have already died, everyone had problems this year. Tomatoes don’t like a lot of water I guess. Things have dried out the past couple of weeks, but it has been a wet year for us. My yard has been swamp land.
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