August Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day

It’s mid-August and it feels like summer is about over. I’m not sure why, but the summer felt less summery than normal, not as warm. For the second half of July and the first half of August, 18 of 30 days actually posted above normal high temperatures, averaging about 3 degrees warmer than usual among those days; but the other 12 days, which were below normal for high temps, were almost 9 degrees cooler than usual. Maybe that’s why it’s felt less summery lately. Low temps recently have been in the high 40s to mid 50s, so we’ve even closed windows a few nights because we didn’t want the heat (set at 60) to kick on.

I haven’t kept close track of the rain but that’s because there’s been enough rain this summer that I have rarely had to water, especially in the last month. For which I’m grateful.

Let’s look at some plants!

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Veggies and Peaches

riotcolourcrocosmiacosmosechinaceasideyard7Aug2017
veggie garden a bit overgrown with flowers
basilpepperstomatoescloseveggarden15Aug2017
basil, peppers, tomatoes

If some critter had not gotten into the veggie garden while I was away for two weeks in late July, I imagine there’d be a great bounty of tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, lettuce, Swiss chard, arugula, beans, and peppers.

As it turned out, thanks to a groundhog or some other varmint that didn’t breach the fishing wire fence (so not a deer), there’s been no squash, almost no tomatoes, lettuce, chard, or green beans, a few peppers, and less arugula and fewer cucumbers than there should be.

squashplantnotyieldingsquashveggarden15Aug2017
unyielding squash plant
Peachescatheaddestroyedlettuce15Aug2017
visiting cat Peaches’ head, with red romaine that is trying to grow again

The only plants to escape the wrath of the chewing critter were basil and garlic, so I’ve made a lot of pesto.

secondharvestgarlic4Aug2017
second garlic harvest
basilplantedingarlicbedveggarden7Aug2017
10 basil plants instilled into one of the garlic beds (7 Aug)

Tomatoes are trying to make a comeback now, as is chard, arugula, and the cucumbers.

cucumberbasiltomatoesveggarden15Aug2017
cucumbers, basil, tomatoes, sad little romaine
cucumbersharvest15Aug2017
cucumber harvest today
arugula15Aug2017
arugula regrowing

The peaches are coming along, although friends in neighbouring towns have already harvested and frozen theirs. Some of ours are getting a blush and growing a bit bigger. Next year I will be even more brutal in early culling, if we’re lucky enough to have flowers and fruits again. One large branch was still so heavy that it split from the tree. We lost a hundred peaches or so, and the tree is further damaged (the trunk was bored into a few years ago).

brokenpeachtreelimbclose6Aug2017
peach tree damage
fruitguildfencedarksky15Aug2017
fruit guild with two peach trees
peaches15Aug2017
peaches

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Perennials (mostly)

Small colonies of Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed) grow in two spots, next to the veggie garden, and on the other side of the house in the fruit guild. Usually there are lots of Sphex pensylvanicus (great black digger wasps) on it, but not this year, just a couple of golden great digger wasps so far.

SphexIchneumoneusGreatGoldenDiggerWaspasclepiasb11Aug2017
Sphex Ichneumoneus (great golden digger wasp) on asclepias

Other pollinators like it, too:

bumblebeepinkasclepiassideyard4Aug2017
bumblebee on asclepias
monarchbutterflywingswideopenpinkasclepiasb8Aug2017
monarch butterfly on asclepias
honeybeemotionasclepias10Aug2017
honeybee on asclepias

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Echinacea

Another favourite of pollinators is echinacea (coneflower), though certain varieties — in my garden, it’s a magenta watercoloury echinacea called ‘Pow Wow Wild Berry’ and a white one called ‘Primadonna White’ — don’t attract any. On the other hand, ‘Bravado,’ ‘Magnus Pink,’ ‘Purple Emperor,’ and the common unvarietied Echinacea purpurea all seem to attract a multitude of bees, butterflies, and hoverflies. I’ve got echinacea all over the yard: near the vegetable garden, in the fruit guild, in the back border (three or four varieties among seven or eight clumps), and in the front yard as well.

paintedladybutterflyechinaceacenterheadsideyard2Aug2017
painted lady butterfly on echinacea
yellowswallowtailbutterflypaintedladyechinaceab2Aug2017
yellow swallowtail and painted lady butterflies on echinaceas
largeswallowtailbutterflyechinaceab7Aug2017
large yellow swallowtail butterfly on echinacea
monarchbutterflyechinaceac9Aug2017
monarch butterfly on echinacea
ToxomerusMarginatusSphoverflyechinacea8Aug2017
Toxomerus marginatus hoverfly on echinacea
bumblebeepollenechinaceaclose7Aug2017
bumblebee carrying pollen on echinacea
fritillarybutterflyechinaceaveronicastrumfence4Aug2017
fritillary butterfly on echinacea
echinacdathreepaintedladybutterfliesoneswallowtailsideyard2Aug2017
echinacea with two painted lady butterflies and one yellow swallowtail butterfly
purpleechinaceafrontgarden4Aug2017
‘Purple Emperor’ echinacea (front yard)
PowWowechinaceabackborder11Aug2017
‘Pow Wow Wild Berry’ echinacea (back border)
whiteechinaceabackborder7Aug2017
‘Primadonna White’ echinacea (back border)

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Hydrangea

I’m not a huge fan of hydrangea but I inherited two types (one white shrubby type in the rock wall, one traditional blue type — which looks healthy but hasn’t bloomed this year) and actually bought a few others, including a PG hydrangea tree form for $15 at a sale and some (usually) non-flowering ‘Bail Day’ hydrangeas with variegated leaves.

magentaphloxhydrangeaveronicastrumbackborder15Aug2017
back border with phlox, veronicastrum, and PG hydrangea
whitehydrangeabloomingrockwall11Aug2017
shrubby hydrangea in rock wall; we had to cut out a lot of dead branches from it in the spring but it seems OK now
whitehydrangeaflowers11Aug2017
white hydrangea flower – shrub version in rock wall
variegatedBailDayhydrangeabackborder8Aug2017
‘Bail Day’ hydrangea (blooms after very mild winters — not this past one)
BailDayhydrangealeafvariegatedclose30May2017
leaf detail from ‘Bail Day’ hydrangea (30 May)

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Veronicastrum virginicum ‘Fascination’ is one of my favourite tall flowering perennials, perfect for the back of borders. It likes to faint and flail all over the place, taking the bumblebees and honeybees with it.

veronicastrumgrassesbackborder2Aug2017
veronicastrum, grasses, and echinacea in back border
largebumblebeeveronicastrum4Aug2017
bumblebee on veronicastrum
flyorangebumblebeeveronicastrum7Aug2017
orange-belted bumblebee and another pollinator on veronicastrum
twobumblebeesantveronicastrum15Aug2017
two bumblebees and ant on veronicastrum
paintedladybutterflyveronicastrum10Aug2017
painted lady butterfly on veronicastrum
silverspottedskipperEpargyreusClarusbutterflyveronicastrum10Aug2017
silver spotted skipper butterfly on veronicastrum
smallbluebutterflyveronicastrum13Aug2017
maybe a summer azure (Celastrina neglecta) butterfly on veronicastrum
purplesbackborder8Aug2017
back border with veronicastrum and phlox

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Phlox

I’ve got bunches of tall phlox around the yard, most of it shared by friends, so species/varieties aren’t known. I do know a few names, varieties I bought from nurseries, including Phlox paniculata ‘Wendy House’ (magenta), Phlox paniculata ‘Jade’ (white), Phlox glaberrima ‘Anita Kistler’ (which bloomed in July), and a Phlox hybrid called “Intensia Neon Pink,’ which was eaten the first year I planted it but has become a great bloomer in the four years since.

whitephloxbackyard4Aug2017
Phlox paniculata ‘Jade’
whitephloxbackborder8Aug2017
white phlox in back border from a friend
pinkphloxveronicastrumhydrangeabackborder4Aug2017
‘Wendy House” magenta phlox with hydrangea
pinkphloxbackborder2Aug2017
‘Wendy House” magenta phlox in the back border
maryannesphloxpinkwhitebackborder16Aug2017
pink and white phlox from a friend, in the back border
neonpinkphloxsideyard11Aug2017
Phlox ‘Intensia Neon Pink’

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Some more purple, blue, and pink things (and a tiny bit of red):

thymeflowersbumblebeefrontgarden11Aug2017
thyme flowering with bumblebee (and bits of red crocosmia dropped onto it from above)
juniperheatherbloomingdrawfalbertaspruceevergreensbackyard11Aug2017
juniper, heather, and dwarf Alberta spruce
pinkVeronicaRedFox11Aug2017
‘Red Fox’ veronica
commonburdockbackdoor11Aug2017
common burdock by back door
bumblebeepollenArctiumMinuscommonburdock7Aug2017
burdock flowers with bumblebee
purplespikyArctiumMinuscommonburdockbloom7Aug2017
burdock flower
bumblebeespinkzinnias8Aug2017
pink zinnia with bumblebees
TurkishDelightsedumflowers15Aug2017
‘Turkish Delight’ sedum buds
bumblebeehealalllawn7Aug2017
Prunella vulgaris (heal all) in lawn, with bumblebee
perovskiaRussiansage15Aug2017
perovskia (Russian sage)
buddleiaswisschardveggarden15Aug2017
buddleia (butterfly bush) and Swiss chard
largemilkweedbugOncopeltusFasciatusbuddleia11Aug2017
buddleia (butterfly bush) with large milkweed bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus)
purplevervainbloomsb2Aug2017
vervain
elderflowerberries15Aug2017
elderflower berries
echinopsglobethistlesunroomborder4Aug2017
Echinops bannaticus ‘Blue Globe’ (globe thistle)
hoverflypurpleechinopssunroomborder11Aug2017
Echinops bannaticus ‘Blue Globe’ (globe thistle) with hoverfly, I think
burgundyorangedaylilyrockwall2Aug2017
burgundy-orange daylily in the rock wall
crocosmiacornergarden9Aug2017
small patch of crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ at corner of house

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And some yellow things; I don’t plant many yellow things, so these are mostly self-seeders and flowers from seed mixes:

paintedladybutterflyvanillamarigolds11Aug2017
painted lady butterfly on vanilla marigolds (I planted them)
waspgoldenrodfrontyard15Aug2017
wasp on goldenrod
femaleMelissodesLongHornedBeeandnativeMegachileLeafcutterBeepollinatorsbgoldenrod7Aug2017
Melissodes sp. (long-horned bee) and native Megachile sp. (leaf-cutter bee) — both pollinators — on goldenrod
commonthreadwaistedwaspgoldenrodb7Aug2017
common thread-waisted wasp on goldenrod
goldenrodbackcorner7Aug2017
lots of self-seeding goldenrod
QueenAnnesLacefennelyarrowfruitguild7Aug2017
Queen Anne’s Lace, fennel and dill flowers in fruit guild
riotflowersfruitguildasclepiasblackeyedsusanechinaceaQueenAnnesLace7Aug2017
riot of flowers, including asclepias, black-eyed Susan, echinacea, and Queen Anne’s Lace, in fruit guild
blackeyedsusansfruitguild2Aug2017
black-eyed Susans (from seed mix) in fruit guild
blackeyedsusanpollinatorfruitguild2Aug2017
closer look at black-eyed Susans, with little pollinator
yellowdaylilynomothrockwall2Aug2017
yellow daylily in rock wall
yellowflowerAngelinasedumbackborder7Aug2017
‘Angelina’ sedum flower in back border (I planted this)
tallinulaplantblooming7Aug2017
one of three Inula heleniums (aka elecampane or horse-heal) in the yard, this is the tallest at 7 or 8 feet … I planted this and am so happy to see it blooming after 3 years
yellowinulabloomsclose8Aug2017
Inula helenium (elecampane) blooms
brightyellowinulabloom7Aug2017
Inula helenium (elecampane) bloom

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Finally, a few odds and ends. There are always odds and ends, aren’t there?

SoSweethostaflowers15Aug2017
‘So Sweet’ hosta flowers
Loyalisthostaleavesflowers7Aug2017
‘Loyalist’ hosta flowers
commonthreadwaistedwaspwhitealliumbloomc7Aug2017
common thread-waisted wasp on an allium bloom (last year’s leek, I believe, forgotten in the ground)
AndrenaspMiningBeeQueenAnnesLace7Aug2017
Andrena sp. (mining bee) on Queen Anne’s lace
gartersnakegrasssideyardb2Aug2017
surprise garter snake in the lawn near the veg garden
geraniumHabGreysedumfrontborder15Aug2017
purple geranium (maybe Johnson’s blue) and ‘Hab Grey’ sedum
dragonfly15Aug2017
twelve-spotted skimmer dragonfly
cilantroflowersspruceechinacea15Aug2017
surprise cilantro flowers in front garden with echinacea and weeping white spruce … I didn’t plant cilantro this year and have never planted it in the front yard.
hummingbirdbacksidefacecrocosmia8Aug2017
ruby-throated hummingbird on crocosmia stem (taken from inside the house)
hummingbirdperchedcrocosmiaflowersstems20July2017
ruby-throated hummingbird (juvenile or female) on crocosmia

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“I feel like a time traveler:
June, July, August.
Summer dissolves in my mouth
and I can’t remember what it tasted like.”
— Zoë Lianne, “Erasure”

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Thanks for stopping by! Come back in September, when the willow gentian, caryopteris ‘Longwood Blue,’ Joe Pye weed, clethra (summersweet), and asters, among other plants, will be popping pink, purple, and blues around the yard.

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More GBBD, hosted at May Dreams Gardens:

… danger garden – Crocosmia!

… Late to the Garden Party  (south coastal California) – that Callistemon ‘Cane’s Hybrid’ and the view beyond it are luscious!

Lead Up the Garden Path (Devon, UK) – I’ve never seen a peacock butterfly before

… Commonweeder (western Mass.) – similar plants to some in my garden, but the clethra and asters are blooming ahead of mine

… Dirt Therapy (Vancouver, WA) – some gorgeous photos

One comment

  1. I enjoyed every picture because your garden is beautiful. You have so many different pollinators. I suppose they know a fantastic garden when they find it.
    Jeannie @ GetMeToTheCountry.Blogspot.com

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