It’s time (well, slightly past time) for July Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day!
FRONT YARD
Milkweed
A lot of the common milkweeds (Asclepias syriaca) are in the front yard, and this month they budded and flowered, attracting more honeybees than I’ve ever seen in the yard; someone must keep bees not too far from us. Bumblebees are visiting them, too, and butterflies of all stripes and spots (admiral, fritillary, monarch show here). I’ve noticed crab spiders catching a number of moths and other insects on the milkweeds as well. Haven’t seen any monarch caterpillars yet but expect to any day. There’s also some Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed), with white flowers, that’s bringing out the bigger wasps.
Echinacea
Echinacea has just begun blooming; the first purple one flowered on 6 July. I especially love the orangey ones, which might be called “Cheyenne’ something.
Geraniums are starting bloom now as well. Don’t know what the left-hand one is; the right-hand is the very reliable ‘Rozanne.’
This month I planted a native serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis) in the front yard.
Below, a spicebush (Lindera benzoin), Japanese maple ‘Bloodgood,’ some ferns, and some narrow-leaf evening-primrose near the street.
A few others (click to enlarge):
SHADE GARDEN
One of my favourite plants is the Tricyrtis latifolia ‘Golden Leopard,’ which blooms earlier than a lot of toadlilies. I love its looks.
Astilbes (click to enlarge)
Love this filipendula: Filipendula rubra ‘Venusta’ aka Martha Washington’s Plume. It’s just coming into bloom now.
A few other shade garden shots.
SIDE YARD and Vegetable Garden
The vegetable garden is changing. I’ve harvested all nine romaine lettuces before the heat; gave 4 away and used 5 ourselves. The spinach never got anywhere. The garlic and arugula need to be harvested this week, which will leave big areas unplanted. I replaced the romaine with more cucumber, now up to five or six plants. The squash have flowers and one has little squashes. Parsley is doing well; basil is being eaten to pieces by something. I keep planting new ones and they keep being devoured, so I’m done with basil now. Kale is growing great — I’ve harvested it twice for a friend. Peas have had one big harvest, which was a bit too early, and are due for another one now. I’ve picked a few honeydrop cherry tomatoes; there are lots of green ones on the two honeydrops and on the other variety (peacevine?).
The self-seeded calendula is about to bloom, the feverfew has been in bloom for a month, the morning glories (Grandpa Ott variety, I’ve been told) are climbing and blooming. I added two borage plants a week or two ago. Also in the veggie garden are crocosmia, just in bud, a buddleia (made it through another winter, will bud in a few weeks), and a hydrangea that’s all leaves. And several milkweeds, common and swamp.
The rest of the sideyard includes the elderberry shrubs, blueberries (still green, and netted), a sunflower, some nasturtium, cardinal flower (not yet blooming), bee balm (just begun blooming), more milkweed, and some other trees, shrubs, and perennials.
BACKYARD
Back Border (click to enlarge)
Rest of back yard (click to enlarge)
FRUIT GUILD
Peaches are coming along, not as many as in recent years but the reduced crop looks good and will stress the trees less. As usual, the guild is overrun with sensitive fern, despite my pulling a bunch out in June, and fennel and now Queen Anne’s lace. The latter two are planted for the black swallowtail butterfly caterpillars and this week I noticed the first one. What a beauty.
Others (click to enlarge):
Near the fruit guild are the raspberries. We’ve had a couple of big fruit harvests, plus a good clearing out of Virginia creeper.
One harvest turned into a raspberry-rhubarb pie.
ROCK WALL and lawn
Soon we’ll have clethra (summersweet) blooming but for now, it’s hazelnuts forming. Gillenia (Bowman’s root), lady’s mantle, and tulip poplar flowers all recently finished their blooms. (Click to enlarge)
In the lawn, clover is always welcome.
NEW: The North Garden
Because this area faces north and gets little sun, and it’s on a fairly steep slope, we hadn’t planted it until now (thirteen years after moving here). In June I pulled out a lot of sensitive fern and lemon balm from places where it wasn’t needed, and my husband transplanted some of it into sheet mulching along the garage. So far, it’s doing well despite our drought (we are watering new, transplanted, and annual plants).
ODDS & ENDS
(click to enlarge)
See you in August!
Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day is hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens.
I had something devouring my basil that wasn’t in containers early on, but whatever it was has moved on. The basil is rejuvenated. Interested to know a local-ish source for natives, not nativars. Some nativars provide pretty splashes of color, but want to be sure to provide food for native pollinators as well. Yes on the honeybees nearby- they’re all over the white clover in our lawn.