Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - July 2008

Can it really be the middle of July already? Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day is here again - actually it has come and gone - but I did tell you I was the Queen of Procrastination, didn't I? Every day when I go out to the gardens, there's something new flowering. That's the way we like it and is precisely the reason we garden. It's also the reason we can't resist stopping at every garden center we see. The more beautiful blooms, the better!

If you visited Our Little Acre today, this is some of what you would see:

Echinacea purpurea 'Ruby Giant' really does have giant blooms.

Echinacea 'Summer Sky' is one of my very favorites of the many varieties of coneflowers that we have. The gradations of color are gorgeous, and they seem to be more intense at dusk.

Each year I plant something a little different in two baskets that attach to an old fireplace chimney. This year it's Calibrachoa 'Callie Painted Coral' with a matching Gerbera daisy thrown in for good measure. The Callies are struggling a bit though.

I've grown Mexican Hat (Ratibida columnifera 'Red Midget') before, but last year it didn't return. I missed it so I bought more this spring from Bluestone Perennials. I think it must have been a fluke that it didn't return, because it's got a reputation for being a tough and reliable perennial here.

The Balloon Flowers (Platycodon gigantea) are popping. I've got a pale pink one, too.

These frilly Peruvian Daffodils (Hymenocallis festalis) bloom reliably every summer. I store the bulbs in the basement for the winter and pot them up in the spring.

Before this year, I'd never grown Sweet Peas (Lathyrus odoratus 'Cupani's Original'). I love this color and I think I'll grow them again next year. I'm growing Lathyrus sativus this year, too, and it's got very small blue blooms. They're underwhelming so I don't think I'll bother with those again, although the color is pretty.

Oriental Lily 'Stargazer' needs no explanation, does it?

This Passion Flower (Passiflora caerulea 'Clear Sky') is enjoying its fourth year here, after being purchased when I attended my very first flower show ever - The Cleveland Flower Show in May 2005. We have to bring it in for the winter, where it blooms sporadically, but right now it has several blooms in production. These will forever amaze me with their bizarre look.

This is the third flush of blooms for the Lewisia cotyledon.

Orienpet 'Robert Swanson' is the first Orienpet lily to bloom here. Probably because it's the only Orienpet I have! Must get more. Smells great.

The Blazing Star (Liatris spicata 'Kobold') is...well...blazing!

The variegated foliage on Heliopsis 'Loraine Sunshine' sometimes reverts to all green, but the yellow flowers remain their cheerful self. I winter sowed these two years ago and this is the first time they have ever bloomed.

Dianthus amurensis 'Siberian Blues' isn't blue, but a shade of deep, intense lavender. It's my favorite of the several Dianthus we have.

Echinacea 'Hope' was developed to benefit Breast Cancer Research. It has pale pink petals that are shorter than those of most other coneflowers.

Some gardeners don't like this Coneflower, known as 'Pink Double Delight', but I do.

The Gaura I grew last year didn't return for me, so I bought more this year.

I love hardy geraniums and this one - 'Ballerina' - is one of my very favorites. 'Samobor' is blooming as well, right along with 'Rozanne' and 'Striata'. I especially like the veining in this one.

Asiatic Lily 'Italia'
This is one of the last Asiatic lilies to bloom in the garden.

This is a very small annual called Bunny Tails (Laguras ovatus) that I grew from seed. It's a miracle any of them survived to bloom because the kitties kept eating the grass-like foliage.

Last year, I grew Annual Candytuft (Iberis crenata) from seed. I didn't plant any this year because I didn't have to. This is a prolific self-seeder. Good thing I like it.

Thread-leaf Coreopsis 'Sweet Dreams'

Another thread-leaf Coreopsis - 'Zagreb' - is a passalong plant from Mom. It's nearly identical to 'Moonbeam' which we also have, thanks again to Mom, except 'Zagreb' is a more intense shade of yellow. I prefer the pale yellow of 'Moonbeam' and it's blooming, too. All of our Coreopsis are blooming.

I wintered over this Alstroemeria 'Princess Zavina' in the basement greenhouse.

Asiatic Lily 'Corrida'

I grew these Tritonia bulbs last summer and only got foliage. This year - blooms! Very delicate, but moderately sized. They were labeled Tritonia, but I think they might be rain lilies (Zephyranthes grandiflora), although mine are not requiring a rain to bring on blooms. Hmmm...

This is the first bloom for Astilbe 'Sprite' that Mom bought me late last summer. It's her favorite Astilbe of all. I know, because she tells me that every time we see one.

This is a new Campanula for Our Little Acre. It's Campanula carpatica 'Pearl Light Blue', otherwise known as Carpathian Harebell. I love the clear blue color.

And with those, I'm going to have to stop, or else I'll never get this posted! There's much more, of course, because we're smack dab in the middle of the growing season. It's a happy, happy time in the garden. Except that the Japanese Beetles have arrived and the cabbage loopers are getting fatter by the minute.

If only the Japanese Beetles had a taste for cabbage loopers...