Bright Eyes Phlox with a Black Swallowtail butterfly. Despite being attacked by a groundhog it grew to about 5 feet and bloomed beautifully.
We planted a few Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) this spring and they have done very well. I didn't get a good picture of the purple variety but will keep an eye out for another bloom. Next year we will have several white calla lily planted behind it.
Peppermint Schnapps Hibiscus showing off in the summer heat. This is a very vigorous and prolific plant. I highly recommend it (at least for zone 7 gardens).
Good ol' Cleome. So easy to grow and they bloom all summer. They reseed profusely so we never worry about not having them.
I love classic Stargazers. The group this year is rather weak and the flowers very small. It's time to dig them up and rework this bed. It's just not as showy as I'd like.
The Salmon Stargazers are in the same predicament. Maybe the early heatwave zapped them. The Nippon Lily in the back has deformed and burnt blooms. Even though these images look nice the flowers are much smaller than years past.
Cleome growing in the mulch pile.
Hibiscus Peppermint Schnapps was a great buy. This is a two year old plant, about 6 feet tall with 20 or so buds ready to bloom. Japanese beetles love hibiscus so I was happy get this shot before they found it.
I'm sorry to announce the death of my amazing Monkshood (Aconitum napellus) bed. They took three years to mature into a perfect grouping. No sagging, no yellowing, strong stems. I was thrilled because I knew the fall blooms would be stellar. Well... our dog chased a groundhog into the bed and destroyed everything. It was devastating.
This is what they destroyed.
And this ...
The Cityline Hydrangea series (Hydrangea macrophylla Paris Rapa) is a nice dwarf variety. The color of Paris is so rich. Don't let them get dry. They need to be watered even in the shade.
Another shot of the giant Bright Eyes Phlox (Phlox paniculata). This phlox also has a couple of red Crocosmia in the mix. They make a good pairing.
White Chiffon Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) is a showy bloomer. The downside? Japanese beetles find them irresistible. This is one of the few that wasn't blemished with holes or beetle poop.
The Salmon Stargazer Lilies are starting to pop. They are very fragrant and mature to a nice orange accent. The heat wave hurt them this season.
This is the first year we planted Orange Tiger Lilies. Not bad for a 1st try. They grew to about 4 feet and produced a few nice blooms.
The Castor Bean is a curios plant. The oil is known to everyone but did you know they make Ricin poison gas from this plant? The leaves are large and striking and the seed pods can be quite large and colorful. This is a small early bloomer. In a month or so I'll post images of bight red pods at least a foot tall. Squirrels bury the seeds and they now sprout all over every spring. You would think the winter would kill them but they survive.
An early Cleome. The heat has forced them to bloom earlier than normal. They are also not as tall this season.
