Coneflower Time!
I like having a garden that has something blooming all the time...these coneflowers sprung up in this bed a few years ago...I just left them and they seemed to take over...I don't mind since the seed heads provide food for the little birds in the dead of winter...and this little guy bloomed on my hill...guess a squirrel relocated it for me...ha ha
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Echinacea's are not only attractive but are useful for ones health. [draxe.com] They grow well in my area and a lot of people really appreciate these wonderful flowers.
JackPedigo
Level 9
July 3, 2019
2
The Brown eyed Susans are very close to their bloom time now....
Lavergne
Level 8
July 3, 2019
1
Yes, I had a large stand of those but it seems that coneflowers and manarda (bee balm) won out!
@thinktwice I love all of them....this year the bee balm really did well and was sooooo showy. 
Great pics! You give me hope for mine. I just planted purple coneflower seeds this spring, and they are still little plants. I won't even see blooms til next summer, I think.
MikeInBatonRouge
Level 8
July 3, 2019
2
It usually takes one to two years for many perennials to be at their best...and then, you have to thin them out to keep them going...good luck...it will be worth it!
@thinktwice a My whole garden is just one year old. I bought my house in May of 2018. I brought over 3 dozen potted roses, but everything else is new, which includes hydrangeas, milkweed, lantana, dahlias, a row of boxwoods, a citrus tree, a couple clematis vines, a coral honeysuckle, two raised veggie patches, and for fun I scattered some mixed annual and perennial wildflower seeds. A whole mess of them grew from that. I have to pare back the wildflowers next season, as they are crowding the roses. I have boysenberry vines arriving this fall and am working on bunches of hellebore seedlings to plant in shade for some winter flowers. I wish I could retire to garden full time! 
Not an option for another 15 years, unfortunately.
@MikeInBatonRouge Sounds like you have a passion for gardening....that is a lifelong hobby that you will always learn and get enjoyment from!!! I have blueberry bushes and mulberry trees...you might want to try rhubarb...mixed with strawberries, it makes the best pies and jams and it is so easy to grow...
@thinktwice I have been considering blueberries, some rabbiteye strains suited for the South, but reading up on them, I wonder how critical soil pH is. I know they want acidic soil. Mine is fairly alkaline. My hydrangeas are PINK. Some of what I read makes it sound like the blueberries would never be good if I can't dramatically change that soil pH. So I don't know. But I planted that citrus tree and am adding citrus fertilizer periodically. I hope that is enough.
@MikeInBatonRouge Yes...my hydrangeas are deep blue...but you can easily control the acidity by using soil additives...or grow them in large pots...the little bush ones produce a lot of berries!
LOVE the coneflowers, what a wonderful gift! I also had a bank of those yellow lilies spring up, with a beautiful scent, yes?
tinkercreek
Level 8
July 3, 2019
3
Lovely stand of coneflowers. Mine don't procreate very effectively, several year of blooms and seeding but this is the first year I have had new plants appear. Is the other a daylily? Good eating you know. 
DotLewis
Level 7
July 3, 2019
2
Coneflowers spread very slowly in most states. Mine did.
I always left dead flowers standing to feed birds too. Lots of people cut them back because they think they look shabby dead 
Have you tried sunflowers for birdseed?
freeofgod
Level 8
July 3, 2019
3
I have...I used to grow mammoth sunflowers because the kids liked them...but the squirrels managed to eat them more than the birds...I will see if I have some pics of the giant sunflowers.
@thinktwice I love the Lemon Queens. The heads are smaller so they don't break as easily. During the summer you can watch gold finches feed on them under perfect cover. The flowers will move but you have to look very hard to see where the birds are.
@freeofgod Thanks...I have lots of goldfinches....
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