Woohoo! It's time for another Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, and this July edition is the one I've been waiting for all year. It's the height of the summer season, and my garden is obliging with a multitude of blooms right now. I'm always happy to show visitors around this time of year (as long as you don't notice the weeds), but I know you have lots of other places to visit, too, so I'll try to keep the narrative to a minimum and let the flowers speak for themselves.
I know I've been going on and on about purple coneflowers for the past few weeks, but I can't help myself. They are my favorite flower, and their pretty pink faces always make me smile. I have them everywhere here, including at the back of the butterfly garden along with fading monarda and a barely visible Joe Pye Weed that must be eight feet tall.
Next to coneflowers, my other love is daylilies. I seem to be drawn to peaches and corals, like this 'Prairie Sunrise,' a one-of-a-kind hybrid that I named myself.
Another one-of-kind is 'Dragonfly Corner,' a division kindly passed along to me by best friend Beckie.
'Tangerine Orange Ruffles' is really the color of orange sherbet.
Not all the daylilies here, though, are in the peach or yellow color spectrum. Passalongs from my aunt, 'Nettie's Ruby' is at the forefront of the lily bed. Obviously, I don't worry too much about color coordination when it comes to lilies.
Purple is represented, too, by 'Little Grapette,' a shorter cultivar that works well in front of its taller relatives.
While color and shape of bloom entice me to certain varieties, I'm also drawn in by the names of plants. 'Prairie Blue Eyes' was a natural to be added to my garden:)
As was 'Canterbury Tales.' I've shown this lily several times in the past few weeks, but I had to include it again because it just keeps putting out the blooms. Chaucer never got the chance to finish all his tales, but this daylily seems determined to add a new "tale" every day.
The yellow edged and throated lily on the right was chosen purely for its name--'Romeo Lies Bleeding'--whereas the delicate beauty on the left was chosen for her appearance and because she was another unnamed hybrid. My choice for a name? 'Juliet,' of course! I'm happy to say that these star-crossed lovers are happy and living peacefully in their first full year in my garden
Trying for more diversity, several new Oriental lilies were added to the garden this spring. This is the first of what I hope will be many blooms to come--'Stargazer.'
My garden isn't just about coneflowers and daylilies, however, although it may seem that way. An errant Rudbeckia, variety unknown, found its way into the lily bed. The yellow spider lily on the right still commands attention, but other daylilies behind are somewhat obscured--there's that need for crowd control again. The Rudbeckia will be allowed to stay . . . for now.
Drumstick alliums bob and sway in the front and center.
My first hybrid coneflower, Echinacea 'Big Sky Sundown,' was a gift last year from Tena, Lisa of Greenbow's sister. I'm happy to see it covered with blooms this year.
No need to adjust your monitor--this is a partial view of the lily bed through the growing switchgrass, Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah,' ready to take over center stage as the lilies fade.
Nearby, in Roco's garden the geranium 'Rozanne' nestles at the feet of super-performer Leucanthemum 'Becky.' This photo is for Sissy --our faithful companions are never forgotten.
The Knockout roses are starting to put out new blooms again in spite
of the recent onslaught of Japanese beetles.
The shade garden is primarily a sea of green at this time in the season, except for Hydrangea macrophylla 'Let's Dance in the Moonlight.' The 'Endless Summer' mopheads are looking healthy and full, but blooms are very few. They seem to be in a two-year cycle--one year lots of healthy foliage and the next more blooms.
Hosta blooms are also providing a contrast to all the green.
Other new blooms can be found in the arbor garden. I've been waiting until later to do a post on this new area because it's still so young, but we can take a peek at a few of the plants, all of which are first-timers here, including this 'David' phlox.
The last of the delphiniums 'Connecticut Yankee' is the tallest and strongest of the three I planted. No need to stake this one.
Sweetpeas, though, have outgrown their support.
Sorry about Sophie in the corner of the photo--she likes touring the garden, too:)
Liatris has been a resounding success.
All together they make a combination in one corner that I've been very happy with.
I've tried to resist the temptation to plant too close together in this area, satisfying my need for dense plantings by using annuals, especially in the front part of the garden. There is still room for Tarzan to perch comfortably behind the 'Victoria Blue' and 'White' Salvia and next to a dwarf butterfly bush, 'Lo and Behold Blue Chip.'
Thanks for stopping by today, and I do hope I haven't kept you too long. There are many more gardens on the tour today--just drop by our hostess Carol's for directions for your next stop and enjoy!
