Our Little Acre Blooms in July

What with Buffa10 and OFA taking care of an entire week, Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day just sneaked up on me! I'm really late with posting my July blooms, but that doesn't make them any less lovely.

The garden is in full swing right now, but the heat and no rain is quickly taking its toll.  I'm trying to keep up with their thirst requirements, but I fear I'll lose some things that just aren't cut out for extended hot, dry weather. There are lessons to be learned from that, though, too.

For all the times I've said I really don't like pink flowers, you'd never guess that from seeing my gardens. It's really just a matter of which flower we're talking about and what I really mean is I don't like certain flowers in certain colors. They say actions speak louder than words, so I'm thinking I'd better stop saying I don't like pink flowers. I really don't like pink zinnias though.

In bloom now are:

The window boxes on the pool house (soon-to-be potting shed!), except that the verbena, which is a deep pink, is not in bloom at the moment.


The Salvia 'Black and Blue' seems to be screaming at someone! It actually reminds me of a snake with its fangs out.


Pentas that I'm trialing for Athens Select


The wonderfully scented oriental lilies I purchased at the Chicago Flower & Garden Show in March.


Echinacea 'Green Envy' before they've deepened to their true colors


Two kinds of daisies - 'Wirral Pride' on the left, and 'Aglaia' on the right


Coreopsis 'Golden Dream' that I'm trialing for Blooms of Bressingham


My best hybrid Echinacea - 'Coconut Lime'.  It blooms like crazy and each bloom lasts nearly two months!


Tiger Lily 'Black Beauty'


Hibiscus syriacus 'Aphrodite', grown as a standard


Achillea millefolium 'Pineapple Mango' - Trialing for Blooms of Bressingham


Verbena bonariensis, caught in a rare moment without a bee or a butterfly

One of my favorite daylilies, 'South Seas'





These Rain Lilies (Zephyranthes) aren't hardy here, so I save the bulbs every year.



Hemerocallis 'El Desperado' is a strong bloomer and fragrant, too!


Cupid's Dart (Catananche caerulea)



Hibiscus syriacus 'Blue Satin'



Passiflora 'Empress Eugenie'



Echinacea 'Hope'. A portion of the sales of this coneflower go to the Susan G. Komen Center for Breast Cancer Research.



Gentiana dahurica



Blackberry Lily (Belamcanda chinensis)



Double Balloon Flower (Platycodon grandiflorus)

Bronze Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare 'Purpurea')

We finally received some rain overnight and the plants look much happier.  Though we've been watering to try and keep things hydrated through these 90°+ days, there's nothing like rain from the sky to perk things up.