Blooms in July

Boy, that Garden Bloggers Bloom Day thing really sneaks up on you when you aren't looking. It's supposed to be on the 15th of every month and here it is the 16th and I'm a day late and a dollar short. No big surprise there.

I've got these blooming now:

Hybrid Gladiolus (Gladiolus x hortulanus 'Atom')

These are just gorgeous. They're a rich red and more dainty than the regular glads.


English Daisy (Bellis perennis 'Red Pomponette')
I grew these from seed this year. They are supposed to be a perennial, but when I bought some plants two summers ago, they didn't return after the following winter. I don't think I'll bother to plant more if these don't make it through this winter.

Hybrid Tea Rose (Rosa 'Kordes Perfecta')
I got this rose this spring at Walmart - the only time I've ever purchased a rose there. It's been slow to start growing, but seems to be doing fine now. This was introduced in 1957, the year I was born, and was the first of its kind in its color class.

Zinnia (Zinnia 'Peppermint Stick')

Nemesia
While I love the form and color of these annuals, I'll not buy them again, because they haven't done well in the container where I planted them, even though I've been faithful about watering. They have slowly declined, getting crispier by the day. I've had the same problem with my trailing verbena.


Shirley Poppy (Papaver rhoeas)
I'm so happy to be able to grow these! Poppies generally don't like me. But these are of the annual sort and I wintersowed them. They are all different shades, mostly reds, pinks and white. They're smaller than the oriental poppies, but have the characteristic crepe paper flower petals.

Blanket Flower (Gaillardia 'Tokajer')

The traditional blanket flower is blooming now, too, and will continue right into fall. It's a very tough plant that seems to survive whatever is thrown at it.


Parlor Maple (Abutilon)
This is one of three abutilons I have and all three will winter over in the house, as they're not hardy to our zone (5).


Bee Balm (Monarda 'Jacob Cline')

Orienpet Lily (Lilium 'Robert Swanson')
The fragrance emanating from this lily is wonderful and very strong. Orienpet lilies are a cross of an oriental lily with a trumpet lily. They generally bloom after the asiatic lilies and before the oriental lilies.


Scarlet Runner Bean (Phaseolus coccineus)
I grew these last year, too, but they didn't do as well as these are doing this year. I've got them in a different location than last year. And you can eat the beans that form on the vines, too! (But I haven't yet.)


Zinnia (Zinnia elegans 'Zowie! Yellow Flame')
It's a keeper!
This was introduced last year and I have yet to find the seeds in any nursery. It was a 2006 All-America Selections (AAS) Winner. Of the 15 seeds in the packet I got from Burpee, all fifteen germinated.


Yarrow (Achillea millefolia - 'Walter Funke' in the foreground)
This gets lovelier each year and looks best when planted en masse.

Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Last year, we had Monarch butterfly caterpillars on this. I bought a yellow cultivar ('Hello Yellow') about a month ago, but it hasn't bloomed yet.

Calendula
These were grown from seed saved from last year's calendula. If you've never seen calendula seeds, I think they look like little dried up worms.


Parlor Maple (Abutilon pictum 'Thompsonii')
This one has yellow and green variegated leaves.


Sunflower (Helianthus anuus 'Van Gogh Mix')


Gloriosa Daisies (Rudbeckia hirta 'Irish Eyes')
I'm not sure what kind the white daisies are, but they're very pretty when they're all in bloom at once. They're also somewhat invasive. 'Irish Eyes' is behaving so far, but it's so pretty, it could invade just a little bit and I wouldn't care.

Threadleaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis verticillata 'Moonbeam')
Mom gave me this a couple of years ago and just like last year, it has a couple of pink blooms in the middle of all the yellow ones.

Spotted Bee Balm (Monarda punctata 'Fantasy') Now this is really cool. It keeps right on blooming out the top. Right now, each flower has four sections (you can see the second section starting to form at the top of this one). I wonder how many it will stack up at one time!

Alpine Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis alpestris)


Dwarf Morning Glory (Convolvulus tricolor 'Ensign Blue')
This is what The Gold Bug loves so much, as evidenced by the holes in the leaves.


Larkspur (Delphinium)
I wintersowed this one. The plant itself looks pretty pathetic. It's very small, and the threadlike foliage is dry and crispy about halfway up the stem. I'm kind of amazed it has it in itself to bloom given its condition.


Trailing Verbena
This will probably be my last verbena. I had some last year that I planted in the ground and this purple one I have this year is in a hanging pot. They tend to dry up and not quite die for me, regardless of how much I water them.


Blazing Star or Gayfeather (Liatris spicata 'Kobold')
The hummingbird moth loves this one!


Miniature Hosta (Hosta 'Baby Bunting')
I have several miniatures and this one is a strong, healthy plant. I've had no problems with slugs eating this one.

Bellflower (Campanula)
This is a tiny one! The flowers measure half an inch across.


Heliotrope (Heliotropium arborescens 'Marine')
This overwintered last year under lights in my basement and did very well, although it didn't bloom. This summer, it has bloomed non-stop so far. It's got a mild fragrance - nothing exciting.

Pansy (Viola 'Park's Whopper')

These were both grown from seed.

Candytuft ( Iberis crenata)

This is the annual candytuft. I've also got the perennial one which is all white and it's been done blooming for a month.

Petunia (Petunia x hybrida 'Aladdin Nautical Mix')
I grew these from seed and this is the first and only bloom so far, which just opened late last week.


Calla Lily (Zantedeschia 'Galaxy')


Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus 'Aphrodite')
This is grown as a standard in my shade garden.


Dahlia 'Who Dun It'
Not quite the color that Dutch Gardens shows (and I'm not convinced that's what this really is), but it really is striking in the garden, and purely by chance, I've got it planted next to its colormate . . .

Clematis 'Avant-Garde™'
This clematis is very different from others I've got or have had in the past. It's got a small bloom (maybe 2" or so in diameter) and doesn't start blooming until mid-summer. It's supposed to bloom right through fall, but this is its first year in my garden, so we'll see.

WHEW! For all the whining I've been doing about having no rain, we've still got a lot going on in the garden, as you can see. And in addition to these, there are the daylilies, coneflowers, more roses and a few annuals. (Separate post on coneflowers coming soon!)