June in the garden. It has been a while since the last post so this is a big one.

Purple and blue Delphiniums in peak bloom. This is a new cluster we planted this season. If they do well this year we'll plant a second row behind them.

An unknown rose that really took off this season. It burst into flower and has a rich orange tone.

A colony of Gooseneck Loosestrife (Lysimachia clethroides) is always a nice sight. These do well in morning to noon sun but afternoon sun is too much. It does spread but I wouldn't call it invasive.

Japanese Fleece Flower or Fallopia japonica “Variegata’ or Polygonatum cuspidatum ‘Variegata’... whatever you want to call it is a striking plant due to its painted foliage and symmetrical stems. Oh, and the the flowers are nice in the fall.  Its a source of resveratrol, emodin, and methanol. Its considered and invasive species in some areas so please look it up if you plan to add this plant to your garden.

Large, fragrant and showy Golden Stargazer Lilies are one of our favorites. We plant them in 100% compost for the most amazing show. They grow to 7 feet and have at least 10 blooms per plant.

Fragrant Asiatic Double just starting to come into bloom.

We finally had decent blooms on our Lysimachia Punctata this season. We trimmed back the Peach tree and butterfly bush to give them more sun. It paid off.

White Gladiola survived the recent monsoons. I was afraid they might break off in the downpour.

Classic Cleome is always a favorite. They reseed so heavily the'll even sprout in the grass. We have so many we just mow them over. Nothing seems to eat this plant and we haven't has any disease attack it either.

A large and happy stand of Jacob Cline Bee Balm (Monarda).

A close up of the odd Bee Balm bloom. Pollinators love this flower. I can't remember what variety this is but it's not the Jacob Cline variety above.

Petite Delight Bee Balm in the border of a new bed we created this season. It was an old mulch pile and we deiced to convert it to a new flower bed.

Black Eyed Susan, a staple of the summer garden, has been difficult to keep due to critter taste buds. Like Phlox, this rings the dinner bell for groundhogs. We took a chance and planted them together away from the forest hoping they don't sniff it out.

Phlox that was planted with the Black Eye Susan's above. Let's hope they survive the summer.

As I was walking around the garden and I saw this tiny Calla Lily bloom and thought the angle with the spotted leaves was very interesting. I took the photo and cropped it into a rectangle. Artistic license I guess.

One of the more interesting plants in our garden is the Smoke Tree. This image is the Grace variety (the White version). There are Golden and Red available as well. In the spring, the leaves are copper and mature to light green. The flowers emerge brownish-red and then turn fluffy white in the summer. In the fall the plant is covered in "smoke" and looks like a big cloud.