What's in Bloom in Your July Yard?
Sunday July 20, 2008
I invite you to use the Comments section below to tell us what's in bloom in your July yard. But since I asked the question, I'll go first.
The following are some of the plants in bloom in my July yard:
- Beautyberry
- Garden phlox
- Balloon flower
- Butterfly bush
- Garden balsam
- Black hollyhock
- Perennial salvias
- 'Royal Candles' speedwell
Also, after being cut back earlier, my Kerria is re-blooming. I had also cut back my perennial salvias recently.
My favorite plants of this bunch may be my perennial salvias. They engulf quite a swath with their bluish-purple blooms. And I enjoy seeing the bees and butterflies frolicking all over this floral playground. But the black hollyhock is a striking plant, too.
Comments
Hi David,
I enjoy your blog very much and learn alot.
I too love to see the bee’s visit my garden and in all the years I have gardened(without having known what I was doing)I have never been stung. Not even when we have had to share the space. They alone make my gardening worthwhile. To know that my garden plays an important part in the scheme of nature is humbling.
In my garden this month I am enjoying my David Austin roses(first year-having some trouble with black spot), coreopsis, my petunia’s(in patriotic blue,white and red),salvia’s, geranium’s,cosmos,butterfly bush, speedwell, lavender,allysum,and the sweet touches of blue that lobelia provides. I am still waiting for my echinacea, black eyed susan’s and glads. My nastursiums are stubbornly refusing to cooperate, I don’t understand, as last year they were magnificent.
Alas, I have been plagued with an over abundance of earwigs this year and my hollyhocks have not had a chance. For the first time have seen the infamous Japanese Beetle in my garden(I think that last year I thought it was a ladybug.. But,nevertheless, I am very grateful overall.
It’s hard to pick just one favorite, but I will have to choose the geraniums. These bring back happy memories of my grandmother and I in her garden.
Once again, thank you for your blog and I hope I didn’t overstay my welcome.
Irene
Hi Irene,
No, you didn’t overstay your welcome at all. In fact, I’m grateful for such a thoughtful comment: one of the better comments I’ve received since About.com made the Comments feature available.
You also inspired me to mention a couple of additional plants that I, too, have in bloom now in my July yard: black-eyed susans and lavender.
The number one thing I have in my garden gets almost daily and verging on pathological care from me. It has an official name and a family nickname. It really is a a hydrangea plant but known as ‘The Bar Mitzvah Plant’. See, many years ago, my son had his Bar Mitzvah and the pulpit was decorated with two hydrangea plants. One went to my parent’s garden afterwards and I kept the other. It gets almost daily attention because it is extremely thirsty. Anyway, years went by and I dumped used coffee grounds on half the soil in early spring.This changed the ph level of the soil on half the plant so half has huge, pink blooms and half has gorgeous blue! I hope this isn’t too long…
Not too long at all, Cheryl — relating this kind of story is exactly what the Comments section is for. Thanks for sharing.
Hi David:
One of my favorites in full bloom right now is Princess Flower–I love its gorgeous purple flowers, even though they make a mess when they drop. Also: brugmansia, hibiscus, chartreuse sweet potato vine (which is almost invasive but beautiful), hydrangea, fuschia, etc. I also have cannas just popping up, which won’t bloom until Sept. Since I live in So. Calif. near the coast, I can’t start tomatoes until July because of mildew…our hottest months are Aug-early Oct. Also bought a double purple datura/brugmansia yesterday and am looking forward to seeing what happens with that…the blooms are supposed to be amazing. Anyway…that’s about it for now!
Thanks for posting, Lisa. I’m growing a brugmansia, too. In the past, I’ve sometimes had trouble getting brugmansia to bloom. But this year, instead of planting it in the ground, I’m growing my brugmansia in a tall raised bed, and the plant seems to like the extra room it has to sink its roots down into — it’s budding fast and furious!
I have a pink Rose of Sharon that I discovered when I was out picking wild blackberries at the edge of our property. I’m not sure how it’s even alive, it’s covered in vines and blackberries. I’m planning to cut everything back away from it once it cools down a bit and I’m going to try to take a cutting or two and plant them in better locations. I also have five different colors of butterfly bush and a variety of straggly flowers that came back from a butterfly/hummingbird seed mix that I planted last spring. My zucchini and yellow squash are blooming like crazy, but that might not be the kind of blooms you were asking about
Bobbi,
My rose of sharon is just starting to show color. It’s behind others in my neighborhood (which are in full bloom), probably because it’s planted in partial shade. Glad to hear about the zucchini and yellow squash, too — all flowers are fair game here (even on weeds, if that’s what folks wish to discuss!).
I am trying to find out the name of the tree blooming right now, July, in SE PA. It has pink feathery flowers and is kind of umbrella in shape.
I don’t know about “feathery,” but silk tree flowers are soft and pink.
One quick note; I think it would be interesting if people mentioned where they’re gardening, my garden is in south central Maine. The queens of my July garden,at least this year, are scarlet beebalm and purple coneflower the beebalm is guaranteed to attract hummingbirds. Keeping them company are 3 other colors of monarda, spikes of culvers root, pink obedient plant, heliopsis, foxglove, hydrangeas, as far as annuals go I went crazy for flowering tobacco this year. Also some pretty weeds that I keep an eye on are queen ann’s lace, milkweed and early canada goldenrod. I also have some ornamental grasses starting to bloom like northern sea oats and molinia ’skyracer’. Wow, talk about long winded but there’s nothing I like talking about more and in Maine we’ve got to enjoy it while we can. Happy gardening!
>”Wow, talk about long winded….”
Andrea, in this case (since, I, too, love discussions about people’s gardens), I say, “let it blow!” I’m also glad you took me up on the suggestion to discuss attractive blossoms on weeds. And to answer your question, I’m located in Western Mass. Thanks for sharing!
I live in E. Tenn. I have tons of things blooming in this crazy heat. Cone flowers, black-eyed susan’s, lavender, 4 o’clock’s, tomatoes, mexican petunia’s, spearmint and cat mint, butterfly weed. It is my first year with hyssop and it is doing really well. The bees love it. My Joe Pye Weed is just about to bloom. The ground cover, rose carpet indigo is blooming and growing like crazy, not to mention the black and blue salvia. And the St John’s wort just finished blooming. I love all the things blooming and the bees hovering constantly.
Let’s hear it for Joe Pye weed!
Hi David, We lived near the coast of NC and we had in our yard some beautiful crape myrtle trees that had enormous blooms. We were told they were double blooms. Are you familiar with this variety? We moved about 100 miles further west of the coast to a new home and we miss the lovely tree and we cant seem to find that variety. We would really appreciate any help you can give us. Thanks.
Hi Linda,
Sorry, not familiar with any particular types of crape myrtle trees known especially for having double blooms.