A Beautiful Bevy of Blooms in the Early July Garden

The hit parade continues into July.

All of these photos were taken this morning (July 3, 2014).

To all my U.S. readers, I send you early Happy Independence Day wishes!

A panicle of bright fuchsia crape myrtle blooms. In previous years, this crape has been stricken with powdery mildew. After pruning last year to open up the canopy, it seems to be faring better this year (so far). While the white Natchez crapes attracts loads of bees - particularly in the first few weeks of its bloom - I have not noticed any bees visiting this crape.

Bee on Agastache foeniculum "Golden Jubilee" 

I took a step back to give you an idea of the size of this one Agastache. It's HUGE and loaded with flowers. There are perhaps a dozen seedlings scattered around from last year's seeds -- and the plant didn't have nearly as many flowers last year. I wonder how many seedlings I'll get next year?! :-o

OK, no flowers here, but the foliage of Baptisia australis is looking lovely, cool and not-too-floppy, despite the fact that I situated it in too much shade.

Bumblebee visiting Cosmos bipinnatus

Dianthus gratianopolitanus "Firewitch". I did a little experiment a few weeks ago where I trimmed back the old flower stalks on one plant and left the other untouched. As you can see, both are experiencing sparse rebloom. I think the unpruned plant actually has a few more flowers, but the pruned plant looks neater. 

Bee on Gaillardia x grandiflora "Sunset Cutie"

Cheerful bright blooms on Heliopsis helianthiodes "Summer Sun". I wouldn't say it's a wildlife magnet yet, but as the plant gets bigger and more established, it's attracting more bees and birds than last year. 

Hibiscus moscheutos / Hardy Hibiscus. I think this is "Luna". So far, not as much sawfly damage as in previous years (knock on wood products), which means more flowers are opening and the foliage looks much healthier. 

Bee on annual sunflower. I order Lemon Queen sunflower seeds this spring. I seem to have gotten an assortment on random sunflowers of all shapes and sizes. Can't say that I'm devastated (many of them are pretty and interesting in their own ways), but I'm a little peeved.

Two small bees on a soaring annual sunflower over 6-feet tall.

Here's another giant sunflower - maybe 7-feet tall. Even though the flower hasn't opened yet, I thought the bud was so sculptural that it deserved its own portrait.

Here are two bees collecting pollen on a Cucumber Leaf Sunflower (Helianthus debilis Cucumerfolius). I didn't plant any of these seeds this year, which means this sunflower can self-sow in a 6b winter (low -2 Fahrenheit) without any insulating snow cover. The blooms are smaller on the Cucumber-Leaf sunflower, but the plants grow quite tall (~6 feet), start blooming a little earlier than the typical Helianthus annuus and are well-branched with lots of flowers per plant. The bees like the pollen, the gold finches visit for seeds, the squirrels seem to leave them alone.

Here's my row of self-sown Cucumber Leaf Sunflowers. Not exactly "front of border" height, but I don't have the heart to rip them out and I love the floriferous display!

Cherry tomatoes are ripening. These are Super Sweet 100s, purchased as seedlings. I also have lots of self-sown cherry tomatoes from previous years. I've done a pretty poor job of staking them this year, so what I really have is a jumble, but I imagine it will be a productive jumble if I can wade through the stems to pick the cherries. I also have some critter (squirrel? rabbit? chipmunk? groundhog?) that seems to be preying on the low-hanging fruit, both red and green.

No flowers here either, but I'm still loving the Viburnum dentatum foliage. This plant has gumption. I kept it in a garage all winter with barely any water. Not surprisingly, it died to the roots, but has since roared back from the roots with 2-3 feet of new growth and it's still going. I do notice (unhappily) that there seems to be some leaf damage. Perhaps the culprits are the lacebugs that attack a nearby Aronia melanocarpa? 

Bee on Vitex agnus-astus flower spike

Two more bees on Vitex agnus-castus (Chaste Tree)

Can't resist another shot of bees on the Vitex. When in bloom, this plant attracts bumblebees in particular from dawn to dusk!

A step back to give you an idea of the total number of flower panicles on the Vitex bush. This is its second full year in the garden, and after some judicious pruning, I'd say it's about twice as big this year as last year, despite our zone 6b winter (-2 Fahrenheit). It leafed out late - and even so the leaves were frozen to much by a late freeze - but as you can see, it's since recovered and thriving. I think it's added at least 2 feet of vertical growth and made lots of bees very happy!

My Neighbor's Peony plus Creeping Zinnia, Cute Gaillardia and Bee-Friendly Salvia

My neighbor's fragrant peony

I don't have a peony, but my kind neighbor does.

She's a gardener too, although her tastes run more toward roses, lilacs and Japanese maples.

She and her husband are originally from China and she told me that peonies are seen as very special there. (This website says the peony is China's national flower!)

Peonies apparently are long-lived, but they can take a few years to settle in. I think this is the first year she has really gotten a nice amount of flowers from her peony.

Not only are the flowers beautiful, but they also have a lovely fragrance that reminds me of roses.

Meanwhile, despite unseasonably hot weather (lots of days in the high 80s) and no rain this month, there are still plenty of flowers and buds in the Garden of Aaron, including:

Creeping dianthus

Coneflower bud

Creeping zinnia...only it's an imposter, because it's not really a zinnia at all, but a completely different species: Sanvitalia procumbens

Gaillardia x grandiflora "Sunset Cutie" (although truth be told, it doesn't look quite like the official Sunset Cutie photos) 

Salvia nemorosa "May Night" and bumblebee 

Salvia guaranitica, Anise-Scented Sage, "Black and Blue" buds

The Natchez Mock Orange is blooming its heart out. I'm happy to see that it attracts some insects - mainly ants and small bees. Despite the fact that some sources describe Natchez as being a scentless Mock Orange, I can detect a light scent -- which is exciting because often I have the opposite experience of not being able to smell flowers that are supposed to be fragrant! 

And They're Back!

Daffodils have been blooming for weeks now in Middle Tennessee
The earliest blooms got felled by nights in the teens, but new flowers have taken their place

If you’re anything like me, you start looking forward to spring around, oh, January 2^nd. 

But it’s a long, cold slog from the dawn of the New Year until many plants starting showing signs of life here on the zone 6-7 border in Middle Tennessee. Trees like Crape Myrtle and Vitex may be able to handle our summer heat, but they can take until mid-April to start leafing out. And perennials like Hardy Hibiscus can hide below ground until at least that time.

Since this winter was particularly harsh, I was worried that Spring would come late. But a stretch of temperatures in the 50s and 60s has breathed new life into the garden. 

(Note that the forecast over the next few days calls for a cold spell with lows in the lower-20s. I'll post updates of any damage. If I don't show damage, that means the plant seems to have emerged unscathed. No news equals good news in this case.)

Fuzzy new growth on an Arrowwood Viburnum
These plants sat in the garage all winter with barely any water.
I bought them too late last year (via mail order) and the weather turned brutal before I could get them in the ground.
Mea culpa. 
And yet, they survived. Color me impressed.

New leaves on Alleghany Viburnum. Actually, the leaves have looked this way for weeks now.
It's my first spring with this plant, so I'm not sure if this is normal or when they'll unfurl.

"Vera Jameson" Sedum  

Salvia nemorosa (either May Night or Blue Hill, not sure which)

Red buds on a redbud tree

Phlox paniculata "David", third year in the ground
I do like that P. paniculata emerges so early and the young leaves look beautiful.
They tend to look tired and tattered later in the summer in Middle TN.
I may try thinning out the stems this year to see if that helps improve air circulation and prevent mildew.

Phlox paniculata "Blue Boy"
Beautiful foliage

Mock Orange, Philadelphus x virginalis "Natchez"

Hydrangea quercifolia, Oakleaf Hydrangea "Snowflake"

Maple tree flowers

Nigella damascena, Love in a Mist, self-sown seedling

Loads of Love in a Mist (and a little Henbit, which is a weed, but a pretty one)
If you grow Love in a Mist, be aware that it can self sow enthusiastically unless seed heads are removed.
(The seed heads do stay on the plant a long time without shattering, so it should not be too hard to prevent or limit self-seeding if desired.)

Stachys byzantina, Lamb's Ear "Helene von Stein"
Note that I left last year's dead leaves to decay. 
Most sources advise raking the dead leaves away in the spring, but I wanted to see what would happen if I left them. So far, the Lamb's Ear seems to be doing just fine. I hope the old leaves will decay in warm weather and provide the plant with nutrients. It's a little unsightly at the moment, but I presume the new leaves will soon cover the old foliage.

Close up on the Lamb's Ear. 
Love the fuzzy foliage.

Geranium x Cantabrigiense, Cambridge Geranium "Biokovo"

Juniperus virginiana "Grey Owl"
(I cheated here a little. There are no flowers or new leaves to show here, but this new addition to the garden performed beautifully through the cold weather and deserves a moment in the spotlight.)

Viola tricolor, Johnny Jump Up
I had lots of these last year, but this is the only flower I've seen so far this year. 
Hopefully more will soon appear.  

 Gaillardia grandiflora “Arizona Apricot”
Gaillardias reportedly are susceptible to root rot in heavy clay soils, so I wasn’t sure if this would come back at all, but it seems to have survived. (Plus you can see how poorly the plant was rooted last year. Now that it's taken root more firmly, hopefully it will perform even better in 2014.)

My neighbor's forsythia. All the forsythias in the neighborhood have burst into bloom in the past few days.

Daylilies. 
As I've mentioned in other blog posts, I'm not a huge fan of daylilies for most of the year.
But I do love the exuberant fresh green foliage in early springtime!

Clematis "Crystal Fountain"
I'm trying to train this clematis to climb a crape myrtle, so far with limited success.

Echinacea purpurea, Eastern Purple Coneflower
I leave the seedheads standing over the winter  both to feed the birds and to help the Coneflowers multiply.
This strategy seems to be working!

Rubus calycinoides (a.k.a. Rubus pentalobus), Creeping Raspberry
I was under the impression that Creeping Raspberry was an evergreen groundcover, instead it seems to be performing like an herbaceous perennial in my zone 6/7 garden. 
This is a little disappointing. 
But I'll be patient. Perhaps the old stems will sprout new leaves later in the spring?
Anyway, it's nice to see new growth and know the plant is not dead!

Unknown camellia.
Several young camellias were severely damaged by our cold winter.
You can see that this established camellia suffered some foliage damage too. 
Still, I'm impressed it did not drop its buds. They seem poised to bloom any day now.

Sedum "Autumn Joy"

Alchemilla mollis, Lady's Mantle
As with the Lamb's Ears, I'm experimenting with leaving the old foliage in the hopes it will decay and fertilize the plant.

Aronia arbutifolia "Brilliantissima", Red Chokeberry

Ajuga genevensis, Geneva Ajuga

Agastache foeniculum, Anise Hyssop "Golden Jubilee"
Love the coloration on these early leaves. Later, they'll turn bright gold.

Close up on a bunch of tightly-packed cocoons on the old stems of the Golden Jubilee Agastache.
I've no idea what species spun these cocoons, but perhaps I'll get to see if/when they hatch! 
Anyone have any guesses?

So...how’s spring shaping up in your garden?