Summer flowers

Centaurea, Amythyst in snow is an absolute cracker, not seen that one before.
Poor Moley, but no more earth piles in your lawn.

True. I thought she had cleared them all off a couple of years ago. Poor little chap, its not his fault.
Agree re the Centaurea - love at first sight! It was nearly dead when I rescued it.

Agree with Siris your Centaurea is a cracker love your pond and water lily s and that beautiful Antirrhinum.

Very nice Stera, your fuschias are flowering well, mine were very slow to get going this year but doing well now, that Antirrhinum is a really pretty one as is the Centaura, wondering if the Penstemon is possibly Garnet or Maurice Gibb, I had those in my garden and the name rings a bell but sadly neither has returned for me this year, its strange how some just don't last, I have a huge clump of very pretty pink/white ones, name won't come to mind at present but that has been here for years now, try as I might I cannot keep any of the other colours more than a couple of years, your pond with the lilies is looking good...

Lovey photos, especially the pond :)
The one you need reminding of could be Brodiaea ...

Lovely flowers. I love the crocosmia, they are stunning in that light. I have bought some, but then heard they can be invasive so haven't planted any yet.

I agree your Centaurea is lovely. I am a bit wary of these as both my Sister and I have the common blue, which is a lovely colour granted. We both think we ought to have it as our Mother always grew it, but isn't it a pest? It spreads, seeds and flops, so in desperation I am slowly eliminating most of it. Liking the plant itself, I bought what was supposed to be a purple one, but of course when it came out it was blue! Really annoyed as I am throwing those away by the bucketful and then paid for one! I think the white and purples are not so invasive.
Your Monkey Musk looks good there, just where it wants to be, damp and wild. Ours seeds into the gravel path - not good. Anyone remember when Monkey Musk had a scent?
Your Sweet William is lovely, a flower that seems to have gone out of fashion, can't think why.
Sad for the little mole, they are so adorable - in the right place of course!

Lovely Photos.

Thank you Siris, 3d and Callie!

Hywel thank you - Brodeia it is! I've found that out several times and forgotten it again...

Honeysuckle, yes I'm just hoping that the Amethyst in Snow doesn't straggle as badly as the blue one. If it does I'll have to move it but its worth try. I haven't heard Mimulus called Monkey Musk - what a pretty name! I didn't know it was supposed to be scented - I'll be down on my knees by the pond tomorrow!
The Sweet William is the last of some I grew from seed about four years ago.

Lisam the Crocosmia Lucifer hasn't been invasive and I've had it for years. The clump gets wider but an annual heaving out controls it. It hasn't seeded around like the montbretia does. Shame you bought some, I could have sent you lots when it dies down.

Lincs, thank you! My Penstemons have all survived for several years so far, except a plain blue one that disappeared after the first season. It seems that some plants just don't like some gardens doesn't it? That name doesn't ring a bell sadly.

Siris, I haven't seen any molehills for several years, since the cat caught the last lot so I don't know where this poor little chap came from.

What a lovely selection of pretty plants you have,Stera.I also know your Mimulus as monkey musk too..such good little plants in the right area,and I don't remember them being scented either..maybe that is the reason we knew them as Musk ,for the scent? Agree about Crocosmias..I just pull them up,when they get too wide,but I wouldn't be without them for vivid colour and height...thanks for sharing with us..:o)

Thank you Bloomer! I couldn't check for scent today after all as its too wet to go over the grass. But I can take everyone's word for it that they aren't scented - what a pity.

Really lovely collection of flower photos. I think the one of your pond looks especially nice, such a peaceful spot.

I wonder if your Penstemon could be one of the Pensham series, 'Amelia Jane' ? It's a pretty one ...

Thanks Steragram. maybe it was montbretia I was thinking of.

You have some really lovely flowers Sue. Poor mole. I know we would rather not have them in our garden but they are cute. As a child, our house in England was right next to a field, I can still see my father sitting in the garden very quietly with his shotgun across his lap waiting for the moles to start moving, then bang! He would shot into the ground, hoping I think that the shock waves would either kill them or scare them off and so save his veg. What the neighbours thought I will never know. Just looked in a plant catalogue and there is a Penstemon very similar to yours called -King George, does that ring a bell?

Stera, I have a Penstemon just like your cerise one, it's called Amelia Jayne. My labels go walk-a-bout too so I keep a spread sheet with plant details & location for my records.
Ooo, I like that Centaurea, it's very striking.
Poor mole, they are cute though, aren't they, especially when in someone elses garden.

Love that fuchsia `Paula Jane` especially that its a hardy one. Just showed my son Lee the mole picture asked me to make a copy for him to post as a warning in his garden ... his lawn is ruined, its covered in mole hills. Shame really as he has only taken an interest in gardening this last couple of years and I`m hoping it doesn`t put him off.

Thanks again everyone.
Well you've all been very kind with your Penstemon suggestions but sadly none of them sounds familiar. I always mean to keep records and labels but somehow, you know how it is....However its still beautiful without a name.
Stroller sorry to hear about your son's lawn. I did buy some of those stakes you drive into the ground and they are supposed to vibrate or something which is said to deter the moles. But our ground is pretty hard and I reckoned getting them in position would be worse than the molehill damage... I can send them to you if you like! Or Perhaps he would like to borrow our cat, lol??? I've watched her staring intently at a molehill and then suddenly pouncing very hard. (She didn't catch anything) But in the past she has brought three dead ones into the dining room and that was the end of the molehills (for now!).

Or failing that you could take a leaf out of Jen's father's book...

My ex did a ''Jen's fathers method'' of mole elimination too. He used his shotgun to blast when the soil moved, then he'd dig the mole out which would be stunned. He got quite a few that way but the lawn was a right mess. Few months later they were back again, this time we called the mole catcher in.

Lol, we didn't have much lawn left as every year my father dug up more and more of the lawn to plant more veg. I alway thought a mole catcher was a better idea.

Probably is Jen! One you don't have to pay if he doesn't catch them!

There is definitely an art to it, we'd already tried setting traps following very specific instructions but to no avail. The man that came looked very much like a mole himself & he caught them all.

Hello Steragram.
In the seventh picture down, the one with the Sweet William, what is the name of the blue flower, please? I have it in my garden, but don't know its name. Thank you!
Lovely pictures!

Ah, that's the one that Hywel named for me. Its a Brodiaea, or was...now we are supposed to remember its a Triteleia.(So Google says...) Awful how names keep changing. Its an interesting plant isn't it- well, bulb actually, because it flowers after the leaves have nearly disappeared.
The Centaurea some of you admired was rapidly eaten to the bare stems by slugs. Makes you spit doesn't it. Am just hoping it will recover at some point.