A mild summer keeps the garden in bloom

This summer has been unbelievably mild. Many mornings have been in the 60s and humidity has been low. Highs stay in the 80s to low 90s. The plants haven't taken a beating from the heat and it shows.

True to form, our pink Peppermint Schnapps Hibiscus is amazing this season.

A solo Pretoria Canna Lily bloom. The foliage is just as nice as the flower. That's a white Little Lamb hydrangea behind it.

Another angle of the Peppermint Schnapps Hibiscus with a few Cleome.

A rare pure white wild Cleome. Our Cleome are the native, non-hybridized variety. They are usually a combination of white, purple, and pink. We will be harvesting the seeds from this one.

A nice stand of Yellow Helenium with petunias. This was our first try with this plant and it worked out well.

This is red Helenium in the afternoon sun.

A closeup of Yellow Helenium.

A mature red Lobelia or Cardinal Flower. Rivaling Red Emperor tulips, this is one of the most vivid reds in the garden.

A Mardi Gras rose with an Assassin Beetle looking for lunch.

A nice, lightly fragrant Purple Phlox.

A stroll through the summer garden

This season we decided to mix and match perennial and annuals to fill gaps in bloom cycles. It worked out well. Next season we will refine the selection and intensify the color palette and bloom density. Not bad for the first season though.

A very tall pink Phlox with backdrop of White Moth hydrangea.

This bed of bubble gum Petunias were eaten by a ground hog but recovered nicely. The Peppermint Schnapps hibiscus is starting bloom heavily.

This is the first year for Sparkle White Gaura and it did quite well. It prefers more sun that it receives here but I'm happy with the display this season. Pollinators seem to love it. There is a large Hyssop with purple spikes just behind it.

This was a surprise Glamini Charlotte Gladiolus bloom. I moved a big chunk of soil and the bulb came with it. I thought they died after last winter's record cold but it made it. Its surrounded by fern, Goldmound Spirea and the ever present Cleome in the back.

A nice mix of hardy hibiscus. We moved Kopper King (on left), Luna White and Peppermint Schnapps (you can't see from this angle) to this bed in March and they have done well. Next season should be quite showy.

Luna White Hibiscus with a pink petunia at its foot.

A huge Black Eyed Susan Marmalade (Rudbeckia hirta) bloom. The pink plant on the left is Pink Hypoestes phyllostachya.

This is a large bed of Oriental Lilium Josephine in the morning light. They have great color and fragrance. The orange hue you see it actually pollen stains from the rain.

This is a large Bright Eyes Phlox with a Mardi Gras Rose (lower left) looking on. This Phlox produces enormous bloom heads that are so heavy it must be staked. It was attacked by a ground hog just after this picture was taken.

The vivid color of Grenandine Phlox really stands out againt the green fern. There are also a few Spinner Phlox blooms in the background. I don't know how to photograph this plant without it glowing like this.

A freshly opened stalk of highly fragrant 'Conca d' Or' Orienpet Hybrid Lily.

One of my favorite flowers is the fluffy bloom of Filipendula rubra. It has been a very touchy plant but this year it performed beautifully. Its in front of an Annabelle hydrangea. 

There seems to be some confusion about this plant. We bought it as Cimicifuga. It appears to have several names: Bugbane, Snakeroot, Actaea rubifolia, Cimicifuga cordifolia, Cimicifuga racemosa var. cordifolia and Cimicifuga rubifolia. What ever it is, its flowers are interesting.

A perfect yellow Calla Lilly.

A sculptural white Calla Lilly with spotted leaves.

This is a odd flower cluster from an Asclepias tuberosa or Butterfly weed.

Richly colored purple Hosta flower spikes against leaves of Solomon's Seal (left) and Acanthus (right).

The colorful leaves of Coleus Kong Salmon Pink (who comes up with these names?) are better than the nondescript flowers. Very bold. Um, ignore those weeds in the background.

Russian Sage flowers with Phlox in the background.

A giant Cleome bloom with Canna Pretoria leaves behind it.

Purple Phlox blowing in the wind (a little blurry).

This is a hummingbird moth sipping nectar from a Jacob Cline Bee Balm.

Nature's fireworks on the 4th of July

This bed has Cleome, Bee Balm, Phlox, Russian Sage, Hyssop, Argyranthemum, and Salvia in bloom. Also in the image but not in bloom are Weigela, Iris, Calla Lily, Bleeding Hearts, Wisteria, Clematis, Tamarix, Creeping Phlox and Lilac. I guess we stuffed this bed. 

A glowing image of Spinner Phlox, Grenadine Phlox, Pink Petunia, Cleome and Jacob Cline Bee Balm. Not in bloom on the left is a large Peppermint Schnapps Hybiscus and on the right yellow Helenium.

Our gold pots are filled with Calendula, Geranium, Dichondra Silver Falls, pink Hypoestes, and white Alyssum.

A side view of this bed shows variation in leaf color, texture and plant height. You see Little Lamb Hydrangea, Sweet Tea, Purple Passion and Creme Brulee Heuchera, Sum and Substance Hosta, Water and Bearded Iris, Polygonatum, Acanthus Spinosa and Mollis, Hydrangea Hortensia, Libelle, Varigata, Lady In Red and Little Lime, Anemone, Crepe Mytle, Snowball Viburnum, Lenten Rose, Fern, Goose Necks, Sedum Sarmentosum, Sun Drops, Gold Mount and Bridal Wreath Spirea, Dogwood, Periwinkle, Money Plant, Calla Lilly, Black Eyed Susan, Clematis, Philidelphus, Canna Lily, Hyssop, Campanula, Ceratostigma plumbaginoides, Lobelia Cardenalis, Wild Basil, and last but not least, on the left next to the grey tree truck you see the spires of a Bugbane flower in white. How is that for a full bed of plants?

I chose this image because it has a good depiction of our Grace Smoke Tree in full bloom. Notice the poofy "smoke" at the top of the image. Those are the flowers. They just hang in the air like clouds. Also in the image is a large cluster of Lilium Conca D'or ready to bloom, Ironweed, Bee Balm and Yellow Lysimachia punctata or Yellow Loosestrife.

White Goosenecks, Cleome, Phlox Paniculata David's Lavender, pink Hypoestes, White Hot Iris, Periwinkle, and Abelia.

A large bed of Jacob Cline Bee Balm. This plant is a hummingbird magnet.

I thought this was an interesting image of Jacob Cline Bee Balm so I posted it.

A cluster of pink and white Cleome.

The bed of Oriental Lily Josephine is starting to bloom.

This is an image looking across the yard. The light green plant in the middle is a large Sum and Substance Hosta. The spires on the foreground are patio umbrellas with covers. 

This image is from the same side of the yard as the image above but I moved down about 30 feet onto the patio. The large white shrub on the fence is a beautiful White Moth Hydrangea. This image has Peach and Plum trees, Marigolds, Iris, Fig, Coleus, Phlox, Calla Lily, Asclepias, Lambs Ear, Caster Bean, Rose, and one and on.

The Start of Summer!

Nothing says summer like Phlox, Petunia and Bee Balm. There are also a few Cleome (white and pink) on the right. Sorry for the ultra bright image and glowing flowers. I'm still trying to figure out my camera..

This cultivar of Phlox is marketed with several names. I've seen it called Spinner Phlox, Peppermint Twist Phlox, Candy Stripe Phlox, and possibly confused with Phlox maculata Natasia. Whatever its called, it's beautiful in the afternoon sun and the pollinators love it. 

Large Jacob Cline Bee Balm is a must have for the summer garden. Its the tallest of the bee balm varieties. We've had it reach six feet. Generally you can let it grow wild but it you have heavy, monsoon rains, its best to cut it in half around the middle of May to prevent it from growing to tall and flopping over. It will recover nicely and bloom as expected from late June through August.

Zen and the art of Sedum Sarmentosum. This is also sold as Graveyard Moss, Stringy Stonecrop or Golden Star Sedum. This sedum grows very fast when happy. It can thrive in sun or shade and chokes out  weeds very well. Its roots are very shallow so its easy to control if it gets out of hand.

A bed of Oenothera fruticosa Youngii or Sun Drops Primrose starting to bloom. I didn't catch a good image of this bed before they stopped blooming. Normally they are covered in yellow flowers. I'll try to do better next year.

This is Spiraea japonica Gold Mound in full bloom. Spirea do best in full sun but this one gets about 6 hours. Chartreuse foliage and pink flowers. This one stands out in a crowd.

This Spiraea x bumalda 'Anthony Waterer' actually performed quite well this season even though it only gets a few hours of afternoon sun.

This rosa Virginiana. Its a native wild rose in the Mid-Atlantic region of the USA. Its hips and petals are edible so if you get lost in the woods you can get a dose of vitamin C!

Rosa Flower Carpet Amber is a shrub rose that blooms heavily and then goes dormant. Its not as large as Knockout but requires full sun to really perform. 

Pink Astilbe plumes in the morning sun. 

You gotta love the rich color of this Clematis President bloom. Unfortunately this one died immediately after blooming. My guess is a vole found it.

The oddly wonderful Grace Smoke tree flower.

The Acanthus spinosus finally bloomed this year. It has been in the ground for three years.