Patriotic Posies

In honor of the 4th of July,

here are some of the reds, whites, and blues of my garden...

Red Dragonwing begonias are great "fillers" for my summer containers.

Turk's Cap 

(Malvaviscus drummondii) 

is a Texas native that attracts hummingbirds

'Becky' Shasta Daisies 

  remind me of eggs that could be fried on a Texas sidewalk in July!

Salvia 'Snow Hill' 

(Salvia nemerosa 'Schneehugel') 

blooms nonstop all summer

'Augusta Duelberg' Salvia is a white variety of salvia farinacea, 

found by Greg Grant at the grave-site of Henry and Augusta Duelberg.   

You can see 'Henry' in the blue section below.  

Greg Grant is a horticulturist from east Texas who goes around to abandoned home sites and graveyards looking for plants that thrive on neglect.  'Henry' and 'Augusta' fit the bill!   I love to plant these two salvias side by side in my garden so that Henry and Augusta live on together in bloom.

Datura wrightii is also known as jimsonweed, angel's trumpet, or moonflower.  It starts blooming in the evening and smells heavenly.   I have this plant right next to my deck.  It is about nine feet wide and four feet tall.

  I counted over 80 blooms on it yesterday!

The bloom starts out in a tight spiral.

Then begins to unwind...

The trumpet-like bloom is about six inches long and wide.

The bees were so thick on these blooms in the early morning that their unified hum could be heard from a few feet away

Right on cue, 

my 'Tropical Giant' Spider Lily 

(Hymenocallis 'Tropical Giant') 

started blooming on July 4th.  

This plant is also called the 

"4th of July Lily"

Even if this plant never bloomed, 

I'd still grow it because the foliage is so striking

I transplanted the 'Tropical Giant' into my new shade bed this spring, so I was not sure if it would bloom this summer.   I was excited to see these blooms this July!

Salvia guaranitica (Black & Blue Salvia) starts us off on the blues.  I grow this plant in the part sun areas of my backyard.  It can handle full sun or some shade.

The hummingbirds love these tubular blue flowers :-)

Pickerel Rush blooms at the pond's edge all spring and summer.  It's a great landing spot for dragonflies and other insects.

'May Night' Salvia (Salvia nemerosa) blooms are most vibrant in the spring, but it continues to bloom through the summer if it is deadheaded often.

And here is 'Henry Duelberg' Salvia.   

This is one of the longest blooming perennials in my garden.  It starts blooming in March and doesn't stop blooming till it freezes in November.   Sometimes it can get leggy, so I just cut it down to about one or two inches above the ground, and in just a few weeks it has regrown and is in full bloom again.

'Katie's' Ruellia (Dwarf Mexican Petunia) is my go-to plant whenever I need a low-growing filler plant in my perennial beds.    The hotter it is, the more it blooms!  It does reseed readily but is easy to pull out where I don't want it.

I used Blue Daze (Evolvulus) as the "spiller" in combination with Pink Pentas in some of my containers this summer. 

I hope you had a happy, safe, and colorful 4th!

Toni :-)