It’s Garden Bloggers Bloom Day and garden writers all over the world share their gardens over at May Dreams Gardens. I am loving the pinks and purples in the garden this month. Let’s take a peek at what’s blooming now.
People always find that in July and August gardens start to look tired. Often the first flush of early summer perennials are finished and ready to be cut back. I always add a few annuals in the garden and this year I am really loving the purple Alyssum I grew from seed. Alyssum attracts pollinating insects and adds fragrance to the garden. I not only plant Alyssum in the raised beds of the kitchen garden but tuck it into containers as well. This is one plant that will drop its seed and often come back each year.
Hemerocallis ‘Pardon Me’ is a lovely daylily that grows about 18″ high. It is planted in an area that gets morning sun and afternoon shade and seems to love it there. Daylilies get their name from the fact that each flower blooms for one day. Of course, there are many buds to follow so there are always plenty of flowers to enjoy.
Geranium ‘Ann Folkard’ is at its best this month. Instead of clambering like it usually does, it’s formed a large three foot mound of magenta blooms in the back garden. I keep saying I need to dig and divide this plant so I have more of it but it never gets done.
This year I came across some old Godetia seeds which I figured I should grow out. I love this old fashioned annual that’s seldom seen in gardens anymore. I have this brightly coloured flower in containers and it loves full sun. Over the summer I will let some blooms go to seed so I can collect seeds for next year. It’s said it will self sow but I haven’t had that happen in my garden.
The best flower this week is this climbing rose. There are literally hundreds and hundreds of one-inch pink roses covering the arbor this week. We used to tie up all the rose canes each spring but haven’t done it for a couple of years. Now the rose canes cascade down where I can reach them for bouquets. I like the natural way they tumble down for all to see. There is nothing more beautiful than roses in full bloom with clematis intertwined.
The first Dahlia to open this year is ‘Alpen Cherub,’ a collarette form. I love this type of dahlia for its inner fringe of petals. With the pollen so easy to reach it’s a favourite for bees as well.
What was the first flower you tried to grow? Mine was Sweet William or Dianthus barbatus so this year when I saw plants at the garden centre I had to try them. I haven’t grown this biennial flower in 30 years so I thought it was about time. Well, that’s just a few flowers from the garden. I see buds on Rudbeckia and Crocosmia signalling they will be open soon. I always think of Rudbeckia as being a late summer flower and it saddens me to even think about losing our lazy summer days. I find myself thinking about spring bulbs as I weed the garden this month. Not that I want to rush the seasons or anything but I need to plan ahead. I hope you enjoyed the blooms this month. There definitely is a lot of pink and purple in the garden this month but I love the calming nature of these two colours.
