Monday, July 15, 2013

What's Bloomin' - July 2013

July is one of my favorite months in my garden.   The hard work of spring is over and I can just enjoy my garden and the wildlife it brings.   What better way to spend the day than strolling through my garden with no specific agenda, just deadheading perennials here and there, plucking a few weeds,  marveling at the bees and butterflies, and pausing to take a picture of the newest bloom on the scene (and yes, I must admit, dripping sweat and swatting mosquitoes -- this is Texas in July, after all).

So humor me with my delusions of garden grandeur and come stroll through my garden with me to see what's blooming...


The front perennial beds are full of color:   
Lantana, salvias, phlox, rudbeckia, loosestrife, daylilies, and more.
This swallowtail butterfly paused just long enough on the 'John Fanick' Phlox for a nice photo op.
Last month the swallowtails were partial to the bee balm

The fountain by the front walk bubbles away among 
the phlox, rudbeckia, and ferns
 
 

Unlike those pesky mosquitoes,
annual cosmos is always welcome wherever it lands.
The bold foliage of the 'King Humbert' Canna provides a beautiful backdrop for the orange cosmos and 'Karley Rose' fountain grass on one side, as well as the spikes of 'Morden's Pink' Loosestrife on the other side

The new hellstrip (a/k/a heavenly patch of perennials) along the street is starting to fill in nicely.

The crape myrtles are in full bloom

 Mosquitoes being the exception, good things can come in small packages.   
Katie's Ruellia is a faithful summer bloomer

I am starting to become a daylily addict, 
recently adding seven new varieties to my garden.
Here are a few still blooming this month.
Top Left:  Orange (unknown variety - gift from a friend)
Top Right:  Hawaiian Nights
Lower Left:  Persian Market
Lower Right:  Rosy Rhino

Moving to the backyard....

This pink water lily is new to my garden (also a gift from a friend)

After getting off to a very rocky start after being transplanted in 2011 (our worst summer on record!), the 'Endless Summer' Hydrangea proved to be a survivor and bloomed beautifully this year. 
And the Oakleaf Hydrangeas have faded to a lovely shade of pink.

Unlike my sweaty clothes after a day in the garden, 
the blooms of my 'Guacamole' Hosta have a gardenia-like fragrance :-)

Speaking of sweating, on a recent trip to Beaufort, South Carolina 
(it's just a wee bit humid there),
 I purchased this new hummingbird feeder.  
I hope the hummers like it as much as I do

All sweating and swatting aside,
I hope you've enjoyed July's blooms in my garden.

Join Carol at May Dreams Gardens for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day
and a look at more gardens around the world.

And may your delusions of garden grandeur become reality

Toni :-)

21 comments:

  1. Beautiful! Beautiful!
    Lots of wonderful foliage plants in there, too.
    Love the Hummingbird feeder.
    Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!
    Lea
    Lea's Menagerie

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  2. Oh my goodness, everything is so beautiful! Your hellstrip looks fantastic.

    Our new gardens are coming along well too. Just have to get used to this white gummy clay. :)

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  3. Spectacular views, worth all the sweat and mosquitos.

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  4. That hummingbird feeder is so unique! I'm sure they will like it. It's interesting how our gardens have similar things blooming at this time of year--although yours is much tidier than mine. Oh, and I can't grow Crepe Myrtles. But our Lilies are at about the same stage. If you're up in the Madison area in August, it would be fun to meet for lunch and maybe head to a botanical garden together!

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  5. Your grand garden is no delusion! Beautiful.

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  6. I see why July is a favorite. Your garden is gorgeous this month.

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  7. Stunning captures! Gorgeous series of photos.

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  8. Beautiful; always beautiful, Toni! You've designed a gorgeous garden :)

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  9. Wow! Your garden it fantastic! Yes, I love that hummingbird feeder as well. I've never seen one like that.
    Happy GBBD!
    David/:0)

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  10. Absolutely stunning, as usual. Your garden has been the inspiration for most of my redesigns! :o)

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  11. Your Phlox are just amazing...how do you do it!?! I like heavenly patch of perennials MUCH more than hellstrip...I may have to steal that one ;-)

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  12. SO beautiful! People must stop and stare when they walk or drive by your garden. I know I would! You have so many gorgeous flowers blooming which is no easy task in the TX heat. I always draw so much inspiration from the design of your garden. Happy GBBD:)

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  13. Your Streetside Bed is wonderful. I am a fan of stones. I came here on a search for Ornamental Grasses in the garden. My favs are Gulf Muhly, Vetiver and Lemon Grass.

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  14. How absolutely gorgeous! I hope my 'John Fanick' grows up as beautiful as yours.

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  15. Your gardens are beautiful, Toni. My favorite is the entry with the fern, Rudbeckia and Phlox. Your new hell strip looks great too.

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  16. WOW..beautiful gardens Toni. You can tell you spend every waking minute in the garden don't you!

    Now that I have found your blog I will be back. Check out a few Japanese Iris I posted.

    thanks for sharing.
    Michael
    My Japanese Iris Pictures

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  17. Toni, I've been thinking about that hellstrip of yours ever since you posted about it and for some reason never got around to writing a comment. Well, here's the comment, It is Beautiful! And now that the plants are growing in, it is even more glorious. I can fully appreciate the hard work it took to finish that project. Your gardens are simply fantastic and how you keep them lush and flowering in the high heat is a testament to your gardening expertise.

    I'm glad you had some respite from the heat in when you were up here; gosh, I wish you would have stopped in, we'd love to see you again!

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  19. Wonderful garden you have....One of my friend using chain link fence around her garden for protection.

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  20. Where do you purchase loosestrife? I have one plant but one love to hae more....my e-mail is sharon_hightower07@yahoo.com...please reply!

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