Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - July 2009

July is a time of transition in my garden... when the spring bloomers are definitely finished, and the late summer blooms are just beginning. The change is just beginning, too: I have a LOT of work to do in the garden today, including ripping out pea plants and getting the last of the veggie garden in the ground! So without further ado, here's a mostly pictorial rundown of what's blooming in my garden today.

Vines & Shrubs: 'Jackmanii' clematis and coral honeysuckle are both in bloom on the vine side. Only one shrub is showing off right now, though. It's the pretty 'Sykes' Dwarf' oakleaf hydrangea, shown here with 'Black & Blue' salvia guaranitica and magenta snapdragon blooms:


Herbs, Veggies, Fruits (Edibles): 'Ozark' strawberries, my thornless blackberries (which also have berries close to harvest), 3 different eggplants, 6 different peppers, 8 different tomatoes, 2 kinds of basil, 2 kinds of oregano, marjoram, 'Grosso' lavender, and one branch of my 'Newe Ya'ar' salvia officinalis. That's a lot to choose from in terms of photo subject matter, but after comments on my last posts, I couldn't resist showing this 6ft tall bronze fennel stand in all its glory:


Grasses & Perennials: 4 different kinds of hosta and 3 different heuchera are in bloom--only because I haven't gotten around to cutting down the stalks yet! (I would only leave them if they were scented.) 'Samobor' geranium and 'Copper King' lilies are blooming their last, and 'Rotstrahlbusch' switchgrass is just beginning to throw up a few airy plumes. Several other lilies are showing bud color now, 3 different lamiums are in bloom, and my non-climbing clematis has its first bloom, and the lavender cotton is covered in little yellow button flowers.

Several perennials are in prime flower now, though, starting with echinops ritro-I purposely sited this to take advantage of the contrast of the globe thistle against the silky miscanthus:


'Summerwine' Yarrow, which picks up the warm tones in both this rock and a nearby peachy-leaf heuchera:


'Cinderella' milkweed, which was started from seed generously shared by another garden blogger:


And another asclepias, the orange a. tuberosa (aka butterfly weed) which is (finally) living up to its common name this year, as you can see:


Annuals, tropicals and houseplants: These (okay, and leaf/texture color and contrast) really carry me through the month of July! My sanseviera has thrown up some more flower stalks this year, and two fuchsias were recently cut back or they would be adding to the party. 'Vodka' wax begonias, and red and magenta snapdragons, are dependable bloomers in my summer garden, along with the salvia mentioned above.

A few more plants in this category that keep catching my eye include the 'Vancouver Centennial' geranium and pretty callibrachoa in the urn planter. I can't wait until the brugmansia in the middle joins this party:


A dahlia that I just couldn't resist at the local garden center, although I think I like the blooms even better when they're darker and not yet fully open:


My crown of thorns plant, daringly placed at the top of my porch stairs because I like the way it looks against the brick:


An echeveria that blooms in all the colors of a gorgeous sunset. In fact, I think that Steve and I saw all of these shades on Monday as we were finishing up a post-volleyball walk at Edgewater Park:


One of my favorite self-sowers, 'Hopi Red Dye' amaranth:


Last but not least, more photos from those tile planters that I just can't seem to get enough of. 'Angelface Blue' angelonia:


'Yubi Red' portulaca blooms:


'Desert Sunrise' (I think?) lantana and a different portulaca:


And a close-up of the multicolored lantana blooms:


Maybe I should have lumped this last one in the with the edibles... but here are the first blooms on my Meyer (Improved) lemon. Even if I get nothing edible from them, I adore their sweet scent:


Okay, enough procrastination... time to get back outside and get back to work! (For me, at least.) When you get a free moment, check out what's blooming around the world via Carol's July Garden Bloggers Bloom Day post at May Dreams Gardens.