Monday, July 16, 2012

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day for July


One of my fave daylilies (unknown cultivar but I call it Orange Julius)
Last weekend I was going to do a post about the plants that were managing to bloom in my garden despite the drought. But then almost all last week we had rain - about 4 inches worth! It was a wonderful respite. And since I never got around to that post, I'll do one for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, hosted every 15th of the month by Carol at May Dreams Gardens (shh, I'm late!).

A nice, tall no-name daylily
This year the daylilies bloomed very early for me. I was kind of sad about that but I've been surprised by how many of them put on a second show. Usually they're too pooped and it's too much in the heart of summer for them to put forth much. Guess they had enough time to get revitalized before August. Or maybe I actually remembered to fertilize them. :-)

Red Cascade miniature climbing rose
Nothing stops my 'Red Cascade' mini climber from blooming and growing. You don't know how many times I've had to cut this back just because it's gotten too big.

Little Women rose
Little Women, a Storybook rose, is also quite hardy. It's petite but has never shown a sign of disease. It blooms in spurts for me but very often.

'Firecracker' cuphea
I plunked a few of these cupheas in my raised bed when I couldn't find anything else to put in there (I've been redoing this one particular bed over and over!). I'm glad I did because the hummers love these.

'Goldsturm' rudbeckia (black-eyed Susan)
The black-eyed Susans are starting to flower. This is the quintessential July bloomer for me.

'Robert Poore' phlox (Phlox paniculata)
Last year I grew phlox for the first time and I'm very happy I did. This 'Robert Poore' phlox is a particularly good one. It blooms non-stop and is very attractive to critters. Now that I have a new pergola and deck near this plant, I've had the pleasure of watching hummingbirds at work there. (Oh, I haven't shown you my new hangout yet! I will soon.)

'Black Beauty' lily
A few of you know I've been fretting over my new lilies - 'Black Beauty'. But I've been told it takes a few years for lilies to take hold. This is an older variety that I hope hangs around for me.

Figs!
Okay, this may not look like a bloom but the blooms are inside the green skin. I'm trying to espalier a fig tree, and this year I've even gotten a few off the tree (although the birds seem to be beating me to them).

Other plants blooming this month include roses, nicotiana, 'Coral Nymph' salvia, 'Black and Blue' salvia, coreopsis, petunias, waterlilies, Verbena bonariensis (always!), wild arugula (again, always!), and hummingbird plant (aka flame acanthus). Be sure to visit May Dreams Gardens to see what folks from around the world have blooming this month!

This post was written by Jean McWeeney for my blog Dig, Grow, Compost, Blog. Copyright 2012. Please contact me for permission to copy, reproduce, scrape, etc.

9 comments:

  1. Jean, Yippee for that rain~So glad for you! We got the same rain system and it was a relief to not drag hoses around the garden every morning. You reminded me I need to move 'Red Cascade' where it will be happier and I can see the blooms! Can't wait to see your new shelter (add Robert Poore to list of phlox, etc. must get) and please show the espalier process....I want to learn! gail

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  2. Yay for your rain!!! I have 'Black Beauty' as well...and they definitely get better with age...and they are pretty tough :-)

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  3. Jean, I'm so glad you got rain too! I wonder if 'Black Beauty' would grow for me. I'd love to have more lilies!

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  4. 'Red Cascade' is such a beautiful rose! Anything that has to be cut back is a winner in my book. If I grew roses, I'd love to have a 'Little Women'--my favorite book when I was growing up.

    So glad for your rain. We got almost 2 inches on Saturday and a little more yesterday. It certainly has been nice not to have to drag the hoses around to water. I just hope it's not too little too late for the farmers around here; the crops are looking pretty pitiful.

    I do want to see your pergola!

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  5. I really love those lovely blooms! very inspiring. thank you so much for sharing this.

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  6. I count figs as better than blooms. You can eat them soon. Good to hear rain arrived. Enjoy the summer from your cool, air conditioned rooms.

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  7. Glad to see you have been getting rain as well. 3 days worth here on and off.....

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  8. Such beautiful flowers. I like the lilies and roses. The figs look just like mine did earlier this year. Hard part is they all ripen within a couple weeks of each other and I have more figs than I know what to do with. Look forward to following you!

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  9. Your garden is so beautiful - at every season. I am hoping for rain tonight. We are not without bloom, but the garden would be so much happier with a couple of inches of gentle rain.

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