Calamintha nepeta subs. nepeta, (Love. this. plant, and so do the pollinators!) Echinacea 'Fragrant Angel,' Joe Pye weed and 'Herbstsonne' rudbeckia, 'Sparkling Burgundy' heuchera, 'Frosted Violet' heuchera, (blooms all summer if deadheaded,) Echinacea purpurea, (butterfly and goldfinch magnet,) noid phlox and surprise lilies, Monarda 'Jacob Cline,' (hummingbird magnet, blooming for over a month, almost done now,) Hosta rectifolia 'Fujibotan,' (also blooming for over a month.)
'Happy Returns' daylilies (blooming non-stop for the 2nd year in a row,) Salvia 'Blue Hill,' (true blue,) Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm,' (I don't care if they're common,) beautiful, fragrant, and enjoyed by our hummers: Hosta 'plantaginea,' (my first hosta 30 years ago, and sentimental favorite.) About the middle photo - this plant was a gift from the Lawn Man the first year we were together. It came with a little folded info sheet, and according to the sheet this plant is called Cassandra. In trying to find the botanical name I looked up Cassandra plant, and Cassandra flower, both web and images, and found nothing resembling this plant. It's a tender/tropical plant with very glossy, narrow leaves. The information sheet says it needs temperatures above 50 degrees F. So does anyone know what it is? And now onward: Monarda fistulosa, cucumber blossom, Lobelia cardinalis, (hummingbird heaven,) and Rudbeckia 'Herbstsonne,' (a party for goldfinches!)
'Happy Returns' daylilies and the salvia grow in full sun in our front landscape, and the cucumbers grow in the veggie garden in about 5 hours of sun a day. The rest of this stuff, and more, all grows and blooms happily this month in three hours of sun or less per day.
In spite of the heat it's been a good season for our gardens. Except for a dry spell in late June and early July, we've had more than enough rain. We've been enjoying produce from the veggie beds every day since May. August finds the veggie beds peaking. Cucumbers have been the only disappointment, thanks to cutworms that decimated the first planting. There's still time for the replacements to fruit. Ripe tomatoes are being picked every day since late July. Hummingbirds, goldfinches, butterflies, and bees provide endless fascination and entertainment. (We won't talk about the whiteflies, slugs, and Japanese beetles.)
I hope this month of dog days finds you, your dear ones, and your gardens thriving. For more Bloom Day posts, please visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens.
Your garden is full of blooms for August. I also have Happy Returns and love the way it flowers all summer. Thanks for sharing and take care.
ReplyDeleteIt's looking so good there. Here, everything is tired of the heat including the gardener. Happy Sunday and Bloom Day.~~Dee
ReplyDeleteNo ideas on your mystery plant, though I like it a lot! You know, I haven't seen a single Japanese beetle in my garden this year. They're not a huge problem here anyway for whatever reason, but I did have them last year. It's been a great year for our gardens, and your flowers look awesome!
ReplyDeleteYou really have a huge variety of beautiful blooms. Enjoyed the tour. I too have a 30 year old, Hosta plantaginea. That is how long it resided at 664. It is way older since it actually came from my mother-in-law's mother's house. Aren't plants amazing.
ReplyDeleteHi Linda, everything looks so lush and colorful. My nodding wild onion is also blooming, even though it's still in the nursery pot! Everything else looks great, too. Diane was commenting on fewer Japanese beetles this year--it's because August of last year was dry and that's when they lay eggs. Fewer eggs survive in dry soils.
ReplyDeleteWow! Some great examples of what can be done with a little less sun - you have such a beautiful array here!
ReplyDeleteHey, you still got a lot of flowers in August. Wonderful! I especially love the wild garlic... I haven't seen a white one before. The pink impatients are very lovely... I've got white ones, but the snails love them :o(.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Switzerland
Alex
aloha,
ReplyDeleteyou have some beautiful blooms you are sharing with us today, all the colors are vivid even with the summer heat.
i'm loving all the flower mosaics, you present them so well
Great array of flowers. Afraid I cant help with the mystery flower
ReplyDeleteWow @ the blooms galore, I wonder if it is because the Goldfinch lovers have been pollinating your garden...
ReplyDeleteEverything still looks so summerly and fresh. Here in southern Europe, our gardens were first scorched for weeks to the point of no return, and then savagely flooded and cabbaged by hailstorms. And now strangely it already feels like autumn. And I must admit thanks to your photo, I have now discovered the variety of one of my long-time mystery Heuchera, and weird or not, it was the Frosted Violet ;-)
The Northern Sea Oats does not self seed around my garden. Take care.
ReplyDeleteYour collages were a wonderful way of showcasing all the wonderful blooms in your garden. Thanks for sharing today.
ReplyDeleteMy Happy Returns did come back this year. I left it alone and didn't cut it back.
ReplyDeleteEileen
AGOT, gotta love those long bloomers!
ReplyDeleteHi Dee, yep, we're pretty tired of the heat too. We're having a summer for the record books this year. At least we've had enough rain to keep things going in the garden. Hope you get some relief from the heat soon!
The beetles aren't as bad this year as some Diane, but they're definitely here. You're fortunate they're not much of a problem in your garden!
GWGT, Hostas sure are long-lived! There are a lot of newer, fancier ones, but few have such pretty, fragrant blooms as plantaginea.
Hi Monica, the nodding onions are still in their nursery pots here too. They'll go in the ground in the fall when it will (hopefully!) be cooler.
JGH, it's pretty amazing how adaptable some plants are. It's been trial and error, but I'm glad to have so many things that bloom well here even with so little sun.
Hi Alex, most of our stuff blooms a little later here since it gets less sun. I really look forward to July and August in the garden since we have so much blooming at this time of year.
Aloha Noel, glad you enjoyed the collages! It seems like a nice way to show the blooms when there are so many.
Thank you Helen! I wish the botanical name had been on that little info sheet.
Violet, the finches, hummingbirds, and butterflies have been all over the garden this year. It could be the finch lovers, or maybe it's the garden faeries!
AGOT, thanks for the tip. Since not much self-seeds around here, maybe it would safe to try northern sea oats. They're such nice plants.
GINS, glad you enjoyed them!
I'm sorry Happy Returns didn't return for you Eileen. It's interesting how the same variety of plant can perform so differently in different gardens.
I enjoyed visiting your blog today! Larry
ReplyDeleteIt looks like your garden is really thriving, Linda! I like the true blue of the Salvia, not an easy color to find. My coneflowers are already fading, but the Susans are still going strong. I'm with you on the 'Goldsturm'--there's nothing wrong with being "common" when they have such cheery faces.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely tomato picking season here, too--I can't keep up with them!
Hi Linda! I think the problem is, the name of the plant is 'Crossandra'. Here's one that looks like yours: http://summerhillseeds.com/crossandra-yellow-splash-p-320.html. Could that be it? (or a similar cultivar)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful blooms! Looking forward to seeing you soon!
A lovely post, Linda. You certainly have lots of August color. Enjoy the remains of summer gardening. Hope you are enjoying a break in this heat wave ... today is summer awesome!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting Larry.
ReplyDeleteHi Kylee! Eureka - that's it! Thank you! Ours is orange, now that I've moved it into more shade. The sun was bleaching out the blooms. It's such a pretty little plant.
I'm looking forward to seeing you too!
Thank you Joey. I agree - this was a gorgeous day. Such a nice relief. We even had the air off and the windows open for the first time in weeks. Hope you had a chance to enjoy the awesome summer day.
You have such a lovely garden- and your photos are fantastic! If you're interested in a weekly party to share your beauties, I'd love to see you at the Tuesday Garden Party at:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.anoregoncottage.com/2010/08/tuesday-garden-party-planting-for-fall.html
Thank you Jami, and thanks for visiting. Sounds like a fun meme you've got going!
ReplyDeleteGoodness Linda, You have a bountiful Bloom Day posting~the south is tuckered out, thankfully the Susans haven't! What's the secret to keeping celadine poppies? They dislike my garden! gail
ReplyDeleteHi Gail, I think we had just enough rain to counteract the record heat somewhat. It's been very dry here the last couple of weeks though.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what the secret is Gail. I've seen them do well in clay soil around here. I've read they like moist, but well-drained soil. Maybe it's well-drained part that makes them dislike your garden? Ours is well-drained, but also gets pretty dry in high summer. They seem to do ok with that, and so far haven't even gone dormant yet as they sometimes do in dry soil.
Glad to hear you had a good trip, and got back home safe and sound!