The end of August approaches...

Red coleus add a nice contrast to the garden. We plan to use more of them next season.

Another view of the same bed with Max wondering what I'm doing.

The Marigolds seem to get forgotten because they are so short but this row really did well considering they only receive a few hours of direct sun. Another winner for next year.

Yellow Helenium, also known as sneezeweed, in full bloom. It grew quite tall, about 3 feet in fact. I had to stake it because the flower heads are so heavy. This is our first attempt at growing this perennial. I think its a keeper. 

This is a red variety of Helenium. Not as showy as it's yellow cousin but still very nice.

What we thought was a Peppermint Schnapps Hibiscus turn out to be something else. I thought it might be a Jazzberry Jam due to its rich color but it doesn't have the ruffled edge on the petals. The mystery deepens.

A nice cluster of Rosa Cherries and Cream. This was a Home Depot special. It has been a reliable bloomer for many years.

Finally, a perfectly formed, unblemished, un-munched by insects White Chiffon Rose of Sharon bloom. I may get one or two a season that don't have a blemish before I can take a photo. Apparently, this is one tasty flower.

A large Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly sips nectar from a butterfly bush flower.

A trickle of Raspberry Ice Bougainvillea. The flowers seem to change color as the season marches on. At first they had red tones but not now.

Vernonia baldwinii, or Ironweed, can reach 10 feet if you let it. I let mine grow 6 feet and then mercilessly chop it off. The plant then sends out multiple stems at the chop site resulting in shorter plants with more flowers.

A close up of Vernonia baldwinii.

A very large Castor Bean seed pod.

And finally, a nice trio of Cleome.

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.