Cool temps and plenty of rain. That’s the kind of summer we have been having so far as we enter the middle of July. That means the gardens are green and full of blooms. Here is what is blooming today on Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day: July, 2014.
The temps rose yesterday to 90 degrees, but the heat isn’t unexpected. And, we are not experiencing a drought like last year. July blooms are on schedule and it seems like the whole garden is making up for last year. The cherry tree is still full of gorgeous red tart cherries. In fact, I picked 4 cups last night and made a cherry crisp. Last year I didn’t even bother with picking. The early warmth and subsequent freeze killed last years crop.
Blooming in the garden right now:
July means day lilies (hemerocallis), and today the fireworks are just beginning to explode into bloom. These are my favorite flowers. As much as I love hydrangeas and my hansa roses, it is the day lilies that charm me the most. The name “hemerocallis” means “bloom for a day” and that’s pretty much what day lilies do. And, they do not actually belong to the lily family.
It was colonists who brought day lilies to the New World, but it wasn’t until the 1930’s that hybridization really began. For centuries gardeners grew what are often referred to as “ditch lilies.” These are the common orange flowers that we see growing wild along country roads, in old homestead sites, and in sunny meadows. But those bright orange or sometimes yellow flowers are not native to North America. They probably came to Europeans from China and other Asian countries where various parts of the plant were valued for their medicinal qualities. Settlers carried day lily plants on horseback and in covered wagons across the North American continent.
Blooming today in the Secret Garden are Cystal Pinot, First Night, Sea Urchin, a nameless deep plum plant, and Red Rum.
But it’s not just day lilies that are gracing the garden. Scroll down to see other shots.
Mid-June is such a wonderful garden moment, and this year it is particularly so. We’ve had a slower spring than last year and the garden seems to be grateful for this leisurely pace.
It’s July and the garden is bursting with bees and blossoms. Oh, and Japanese Beetles. I found a bunch of them copulating on the Virginia Creeper. I decided to keep a respectful distance, mostly because they can chew the virginia creeper to their little beetle-heart’s content. I did look at the hansa roses, though, and discovered bunches of lewd beetles there, too.
But it’s day lily season. This is my favorite time in the garden, when the day lilies start to bloom. I have most of the lilies grouped together around my Garden Lady.
If I have things planned right, I should get a month of blooms. The early lilies are in the middle of their bloom cycle. The pale yellow lilies to the right of this photo are one of the few things I kept from the previous owner’s garden. In fact, I now have several clumps of these in different gardens. The bright red to the right of the lady is crocosmia.
Below is Lavender Stardust, a lily I selected because of its name. How could I not have Lavender Stardust in my garden. This, like many of the lilies in this bed, was added late last summer.
The queen, though, is the un-named dark, dark red lily that I bought perhaps seven years ago and planted in my previous garden. It represents for me a continuity. And my affection for it is bound up in the story of where I found it, the distance I had to travel to get it, take it home, and then take it again when I moved to this house. I remember that first summer when I faced a shabby house and a shabbier yard, overgrown with weeds, neglect, and poor planning. So, I look at this dark, dark red lily and remember that I healed it into that shabby front yard, then moved it to the side yard when the front landscaping took place. Then I moved it to the back yard. And finally, two summers ago, moved to its place of honor in front of the Garden Lady. It is the first lily I see when I enter the garden.
But there is more than just day lilies blooming. The Crazy Daisies are tall and lush and host to lots of buzzing things. And a few butterflies. Too bad this little swallowtail wouldn’t open his wings for the camera.
And the Annabelle Hydrangea seems to like this spot at the entrance of the Secret Garden. It replaces a very old and very large lilac bush that was so fragrant when it bloomed, but so ungainly and overgrown when it wasn’t blooming. It was really nothing more than a huge thicket. And though I used to get huge bouquets from it, I had to remove it. I know the Annabelle will fill part of that space. And I’ve planted two caryopteris in front of it. Those should get quite large, too. And I’ve planted other lilacs, so I will get more bouquets.
