Tags
bee balm, July flowers in Zone 5b, July garden bloggers' bloom day, monarda, Vinca 'Cora Strawberry', Vinca 'Pacifica Cherry Red', Zinnia 'Zahara Fire'
There are always so many flowers to show on summer Bloom Days! I took nearly 150 pictures in my gardens yesterday, and spent this morning culling the collection to a manageable size.
My containers of Vinca are all lined up on the benches on our back deck while my husband works on painting the railings: It’s been a good year for Vinca ‘Pacifica Cherry Halo’ and ‘Cora Strawberry.’ We’ve had rain, but not too much, and the weather between the rainstorms has been sunny and hot, so the soil has had a chance to dry. Vinca are relatively care-free, preferring dry conditions and self-shedding their spent flowers. They are available in white, as well as several shades of pink, red, violet, and purple. I love their glossy leaves.
Here is my Monarda (Bee Balm, Oswego Tea), against the back of the house, just under the kitchen window, where it receives hot afternoon sun. This Bee Balm has survived at least four moves from one garden to another in the past eight years, and it always pops right back and spreads like wildfire!
Frankly, I’m not overly fond of this Monarda. Red is not my favorite color, and it grows too tall for my taste, but the hummingbirds LOVE it, and I love to see them visit while I’m doing the dishes, so it gets to stay. Additionally, no “critter” has ever bothered it, not the deer, nor the woodchucks, nor insects. I like it in this space better than any other I’ve tried, so this may well be its permanent home. The summer perennials in the rock garden are hitting their stride right now:Broadleaf Coreopsis (maybe ‘Sunfire’):Balloon Flower (Platycodon grandiflorus)–this is my shorter variety, averaging 18 inches:A threadleaf Coreopsis, possibly ‘Zagreb’, with an unknown pink cluster rose intermingled:Rosa ‘Alba Meidiland’:Coreopsis ‘Moonbeam’, mixed with the fading perennial Salvia (‘May Night’?) and Veronica spicata ‘Blue Bouquet’ , as well as a flower spike from the Hens and Chicks (Sempervivum) that live between the stone pavers:The Coreopsis provides a nice foil to disguise the awkward, thick spike supporting these lovely little flowers: The wild ox-eye daisies seemed less plentiful in my gardens this year, but here is a cheery bunch at the corner of our huge boulder:And here are more, keeping the tomatoes company in the vegetable garden! Here’s a small bunch of ‘Moonbeam’ Coreopsis gracing another rock wall:Up in the lasagna bed, the Jacob’s Ladder (Polemonium boreale ‘Heavenly Habit’) appears to be ending its bloom cycle . . .. . .while Astilbe chinensis ‘Vision in Red’ still stands bright and proud:Back down by the hill, here are some of the containers on my side porch, brimming with Calibrachoa, Marguerite Daisies, Petunias, Scaveola, Lantana, Heliotrope, and Portulaca. If you peek to the back, you can see some New Guinea Impatiens as well:Around to the front of the house, my Asiatic lilies are bedecked in yellow, peach, and pink: I’m very happy the deer seem to have decided to leave these alone–they’ve not been nibbled in the past four years now! (Fingers crossed, knock on wood, etc. . .)Ever since removing the over-sized Rose of Sharon from the front corner garden, I have searched for the “right” combination of flowers to fill this space. I may have found it this year, as it is filled with the colors of Astilbes, ‘Butterfly’ Marguerite Daisies, Ageratum, Wax Begonias, Dusty Miller, and Zinnia marylandica ‘Zahara Fire’: ‘Zahara Fire’ has consistently maintained a huge number of long-lasting, bright flowers. It is a well-branched plant, 18 inches tall and 15 inches wide. The Japanese beetles found it and left some holes in the leaves, so I dusted it with an insecticidal powder in hopes of preventing further damage. Aside from that, I am very pleased with Zinnia ‘Zahara Fire’, and will look for others from this series next summer.
Here is Dianthus chinensis ‘Diana Blueberry’, in her second year at the far corner of the front porch. She shares a bed with several ‘Palace Purple’ Heucheras, some Dusty Miller, and the unfortunate transplanted Rose of Sharon. This mound of Dianthus is 14″ x 8″.
Finally, here is the lower corner of my brand new terrace garden, the result of a retaining wall we had built late last fall:I decided to devote this corner to annuals, such as Cleome:There are many Marigolds here as well, such as French Marigold ‘Bonanza Orange’:Because of all the newly planted shrubbery and the small dogwood tree, I have been giving this garden A LOT of water. The Vincas I planted near the dogwood are unhappy about this:I can’t end this post with such a sad picture! Instead, here is a new rose I impulsively bought this spring, Floribunda Rosa ‘Chihuly’. Is it not an absolute beauty?As always, a big thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for giving us bloggers this forum to share our lovely gardens each month!
Charlie@Seattle Trekker said:
You must be pretty happy with your garden this year, it is just gorgeous. I to have come to appreciate the Monarda in my garden. The hummingbirds are pretty aggressive in expressing there expectations in the garden. They come to the back window and look in to let me know if something is out of place or the feeder is low.
Kimberley at Cosmos and Cleome said:
Charlie, I have cardinals that sit outside the window and chirp loudly at me then the bird feeder on my front porch is empty! Nice to hear from you!
Rose said:
I avoid planting roses–too much work usually–but I wouldn’t be able to resist your ‘Chihuly’ rose either. What a beauty and it certainly lives up to its name! So many colorful blooms–I love the combo of Astilble with the zinnias and other blooms. Your comment about the Japanese beetles reminds me that I haven’t seen any around here this year–I’d better knock on a whole bunch of wood fast:)
I’m not a big fan of red either, but I really like your red Monarda. You asked about mine, but I have no idea what variety it is. A friend shared some starts with me and said it was ‘Jacob Kline,’ which is definitely red, but it came up pink in my garden:)
Kimberley at Cosmos and Cleome said:
Yes, Rose, I think my Monarda is ‘Jacob Kline.’ If yours is pink, I suspect your friend misspoke! This stuff spreads like wildfire!
Chloris said:
I love your red Monarda. I think the colour is gorgeous for July though I wouldn’t t want it with early summer pastels. . And your lovely Vincas, I have never tried growing them what lovely colours. I love Cleome, wouldn’t it be lovely if it was a perennial and you wouldn’ t need to sow it every year. You have lots of gorgeous July blooms.
Kimberley at Cosmos and Cleome said:
Hello Chloris, and thanks for visiting. Cleome is not a perennial, but it is a vigorous re-seeder. I probably will not need to buy nursery stock for that spot next year. Cosmos also self-seed quite well.
Julie said:
Thanks for your comments on my blog! I appreciate the info! I LOVE Cleome ever since the day I saw a solid garden-full in the mainstreet garden at Magic Kingdom, Disney World many years ago. They were all solid white, and just looked like fireworks to me! It was awe inspiring! Love all your beautiful flowers here!
Pam's English Garden said:
Your July garden is very ‘vibrant’ in color and energy, Kimberley. I like your bee balm actually and wonder if it is prone to powdery mildew. We have had a lot of rain lately and powdery mildew is rampant here, mainly with the monarda and the phlox. Your ‘Chihuly’ is stunning! Happy GBBD! P. x
Kimberley at Cosmos and Cleome said:
Pam, I don’t generally have issues with powdery mildew in the Monarda, though I know it can be a problem with Monarda. A lot of the rain that our region has been getting seems to have skirted around our little town for some reason the past couple of weeks. I also believe this is Jacob Cline, which boasts a higher resistance to powdery mildew than other cultivars. Thanks for visiting!
Alana Mautone (@RamblinGarden) said:
I’m another person who has given up on roses (except my one wild rose). I loved so many of your photos that I pinned several, including the rose. I wish I could grow Jacob’s ladder. It’s never worked for me.
Kimberley at Cosmos and Cleome said:
Well, Alana, I can’t tell you whether I can actually grow Jacob’s Ladder or not, since this is its first year in my garden. We’ll see what happens next year! So glad you enjoy my pictures so much!