The Year in Bloom, Part 2: July

The weather report on the CBC(radio) was all doom and gloom this morning. There are bad storms in eastern Canada and several U.S. states making it difficult or even impossible for residents and visitors to get around. In England there are unusually high tides and the threat of flooding along the coast. Here in Ontario it is bone-chilling cold: -35 Celsius if you factor in the wind chill.

Time for some summer pictures to warm things up a bit!

The garden looks fine enough in June, but it really starts to come into its own in July. The hard work of spring is done, and as the heat settles into the final two weeks of the month, it is finally time to sit back and enjoy the garden in all its summer glory.

Here is a look back at last July, with an eye to new plants that were added to the garden this year:

Along the white picket fence there are roses.

The Fairy Rose, Polyantha, 'The Fairy'. Height: 60-90 cm. Spread 60-120 cm.  Sadly it has no fragrance, but on the plus side Japanese Beetles seem to largely ignore it.

I have misplaced the I.D. on the top two roses, but I think the one on the right is a Flower Carpet Pink Groundcover rose. The deeper pinky-red rose on the bottom is Hybrid Musk rose 'Marjorie Fair' and the lighter pink is the Hybrid Musk rose 'Robin Hood'

The view from the far side of the front garden. The bright pink flower is a common Spirea.

Tall Speedwell, Veronica Longifolia 'Eveline Pink' Height: 50 cm, Spread: 30-40 cm. Full sun. 

Hardy: zones 4-9

This is a great little plant although slugs can turn its neat, mounded foliage into swiss cheese. Place it near the front of a flower border. Alpine Betony, Stachys monieri 'Hummelo'. Height 45-50 cm. Spread: 45 cm. Hardy zones 4-9. The tag says full sun, but mine does just fine in part shade.

This year I added the pink form of Betony:

Betony, Stachys officinalis 'Pink Cotton Candy'  Height 45-50 cm. Spread: 45 cm. Hardy zones 4-9.

 Blue Catmint, Nepeta racemosa 'Walker's Low' A long blooming perennial (if regularly deadheaded) that has a mounded, bushy habit. Height: 30 cm, Spread: 45 cm. Full sun. Hardy zones 3-9.

Some people dislike hosta in flower, but not me!

It's never all pretty in a garden. Did you notice the two spiders (upper left corner) 

lurking on the underside of the flowers?

Coreopsis verticillata 'Moonbeam' Full sun. Height: 30-45cm. Spread: 30-45cm. Zones 4-9

Rose Campion, Lychnis coronaria is a short lived perennial that re-seeds itself. The plant has a low mound of soft silver-grey foliage and magenta or white flowers. Height 60-90 cm when in flower. The flowers have no fragrance, but butterflies like them. Spread: 40-50 cm.  Drought tolerant. This clump is in half-shade, but it would much prefer full sun. Zones 3-9. 

Echinacea

Phlox maculata 'Rosalinde' 

I love the dark stems on this pretty mauve Phlox. It is shorter than many of the other varieties 

I have and blooms earlier than most.

Phlox maculata 'Rosalinde' Height 75 cm, Spread: 60 cm. Light fragrance. Mildew resistant. 

Blooms in mid-July. Hardy to zone 4a.

This is a new woodland plant that I added to the back garden. It originates in western China at the edges of forested areas. My image is a bit misleading: the mature leaves on the plant turn a deep, olive-green with silver-green veining. The delicate flowers float on wiry stems and are a very pale lavender. Thalictrum ichangense, Evening Star strain. Height: 25 cm Spread: 35 cm Zones 6-9

Happy New Year to you!

Stay warm!