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| Phlox paniculata 'Goldmine' and Coreopsis 'Star Cluster' bloom with a crispy-brown lawn in the background. |
The drought has set the garden back to nearly the point where it should be. It's only slightly ahead of normal, which means coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea),
July also means daylilies,
July usually means lilies too, but most of the lilies have already passed.
This morning, I spied a hummingbird visiting the only Fuchsia that's blooming.
I don't know if the hummer has been visiting the honeysuckle (Lonicera 'Winchester').
The Pelargoniums have proved themselves through the heat and the drought.
What has really surprised me are the Clematis. 'Betty Corning', 'Evisix' (Petite Faucon™) and 'Madame Julia Correvon' have yet to stop blooming, and in spite of everything, 'Rhapsody' is beginning to rebloom.
Next to it, poor Hydrangea macrophylla 'Claudie' is reduced to only two bloom clusters because of the extreme warmth of March and then the freeze in April.
Just beyond the hydrangea, in the raised bed, the balloon flower (Platycodon grandiflorus) is in full bloom. I don't know what cultivar this is, with its occasional double and semi-double flowers.
Who knew they were drought tolerant?
So much of the Woodland Garden is struggling in the dry shade, but amazingly, the spikenard (Aralia racemosa) looks no worse for the wear.
At the front of the Woodland Garden, Lobelia 'Monet Moment' has just started its show.
I wish there was room for a picture of each plant that has persevered in the face of adverse conditions as they deserve the tribute, but I'm happy there are so many of them. I'll leave you with my favorite little charmer, Geranium 'Bob's Blunder'.
Also in bloom:
Angelonia angustifolia
Antirrhinum (a self-sown seedling)
Callibrachoa
Callirhoe involucrata
Calycanthus floridus 'Athens'
Campanula persicifolia 'Alba', 'Blue Eyed Blond', 'Telham Blue'
Campanula 'Samantha'
Ceratostigma plumbaginoides making an early appearance
Clematis 'Henryi'
Consolida ambigua (larkspur)
Crocosmia 'Lucifier'
Dianthus 'Cranberry Ice'
Eryngium 'Jade Frost'
Geranium 'Blogold' (Blue Sunrise™), 'Jolly Bee'
Geranium hybrid
Geranium nodosum 'Svelte Lilac'
Hemerocallis 'Evening Seas', 'Grape Velvet', 'Little Grapette', 'Pink Lavender Appeal', 'Super Purple, 'Woodside Amethyst'
Heuchera 'Citronelle', 'Frosted Violet'
Hibiscus syriacus 'Red Heart'
Hosta 'Cherry Berry', 'Gold Standard', 'June', 'Maui Buttercups', 'Rainforest Sunrise'
Hydrangea macrophylla 'Bailmer' (Endless Summer™), 'Penny Mac'
Hydrangea quercifolia ''Little Honey'
Knautia macedonia and K. 'Thunder and Lightning'
Lavandula 'Hidcote'
Lobularia maritima (sweet alyssum)
Malva sylvestris 'Zebrina'
Oxalis regnellii 'Triangularis'
Pansy (I know, weird!)
Phlox maculata
Phlox paniculata 'Blue Paradise', 'David', 'Grenadine Dream', 'Nicky', 'Red Riding Hood', 'Super Red'
Rosa Carefree Beauty (not worth showing because of the Japanese beetles)
Ruellia humilis
Talinum paniculatum 'Limon'
17 comments:
Love photos and gorgeous flowers! Sorry to hear you have such problems with the drought, here in London where I live we have the opposite problem - rain almost every day for the last 3 months! Most of my lilies are still in bud, so are my fuchsias - in July! We are counting the days till the Olympics is starting, and hope for a change in the weather :-)
Hi, Helene - The last two years here were rainy like your current summer, but remembering earlier droughts I tried very hard not to complain about it. I have to grow my Fuchsias in containers here, but in your climate they have the luxury of being able to grow into the shrubs they're meant to be.
It is the time for abundant blooms and you have not been left out. Lovely photos as always. I can almost smell the lilies and the honeysuckle.
Soldering on, yes, MMD. It is amazing how certain plants can grow and even bloom under such stressful conditions. Your photos, as always, are superb.
I love that despite the conditions you have so much to see in the garden. Your plants are real troopers!
Your garden might not be as lush as it usually is but it sure has a lot to offer. Happy GBBD.
Your photos are exquisite Barb. Simply lovely. I grow most of those plants too, but mine don't look as happy as yours. I'm afraid the drought and super-charged heat are beginning to take a toll. Still, I'm finding beauty where I can. Happy Bloom Day!~~Dee
Hi Barb, Your garden is looking great despite the drought. It does make maintenance more challenging though (and looks like you are up to the task). We are hot and dry too (Iowa). When I water, the thirsty ground soaks it up and the ground is soon hard as a rock again. Despite that, most of my garden looks good. Suspect there'll be a few casualties though.
xo Beth
Your garden looks great and your photos are lovely...I know that it's not what it can be, I'm experiencing the results of rain too late to save the summer blooms in my own garden. I wish my clemmies were as happy as yours. gail
All very pretty!
I especially like the Lilies!
Have a wonderful day!
Lea
Lea's Menagerie
Wow, that Clematis is swoon-inducing! Glad you have so many beautiful blooms despite the heat and drought. It's amazing what plants can tolerate!
I can't believe your phlox is doing so well without watering. Mine is drooping and we haven't had as much heat as you have.
You sure have a lot of beauties there, despite the drought! Your garden is looking much better than mine. I'm hoping the trees around town will recover, but many are starting fade. :(
You have so much blooming, MMD--I'm amazed at your clematis especially! This summer has certainly been a challenging one for the garden; I'm just trying to keep things alive. I can see that you didn't get the rain the city has gotten in the past few weeks; we've have the same variables here. While we received nearly 2 inches last Saturday, if my rain gauge is correct, friends just a few miles west only got .2" I'm hoping the "isolated showers" in the forecast for this week find my garden again.
I agree all these tough survivors deserve a tribute this year!
I LOVE your defiant blooms. :-) Somehow, I feel like they're even more beautiful than normal, given the obstacles they have overcome!
Your plants look beautiful. It's hard to realize that they suffer from drought, you can't see it from the photos. In Finland we have too much rain and our plants suffer from that.
Your blooms still look fabulous, in spite of the weather. Love 'Black Beauty', mine are a week or so away from blooming...and they are one of the highlights of my gardening year :-)
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