Wednesday, July 15, 2015

July Bloomday! (2015)

Happy July Bloomday! July is my very favorite month. I love the winter holidays; the time from Thanksgiving to Christmas is magical. And the week between Christmas and New Years Day is like a long deep breath before we start all over, a special time to reflect and begin again. But those are in the winter...July...well it's all that is right in the world, in my book. Of course it helps that summer is my favorite time of the year, and that my birthday is in July (along with, as it turns out, many of my garden blogging friends). July is also a very social time. Far away friends visit, and everyone wants to get together. Open gardens, meeting up for a beverage...sigh...it's a good thing July has 31 days!

So enough of my rambling. What's blooming this month in my garden? A lot. So much that I'm not going to even bother to rearrange these photos from the alphabetical way that blogger uploaded them. Unless there's a really frightening color clash somewhere along the line. We'll start with Abutilon 'Nuabtang' Lucky Lantern Tangerine, from the back.

Because every photo I took from the front was out of focus.

Abutilon megapotamicum 'Red', which actually reads as orange. Which is a good thing.

Agapanthus.

Alstroemeria isabellana. I love this crazy plant as much (maybe more) than the day I punched my friends in the face at Joy Creek nursery so I could grab it before they did. I'm only kind of kidding. Seriously.

Anigozanthos 'Amber Velvet'. I went a little overboard with three plants this year.

More Canna 'Australia' flowers, still in the garden and upright! Unlike these that I wrote about earlier in the week.

Cerinthe major ‘Purpurascens’

Colutea x media whose flowers don't look anything like the ones pictured on the nursery site. The ones that pushed me into buying this plant.

Crocosmia orangeade

Dykia choristaminea 'Frazzle Dazzle', I know - it's a silly photo (looking straight down on the plant from the top)...

And we're into the Eryngiums, I've got several. First up is E. agavifolium.

A close up.

Eryngium maritimum

Eryngium pandanifolium var. lasseauxii

Eryngium venustum

And lastly Eryngium yuccifolium, aka Rattlesnake Master

And the Grevilleas! G. 'Austraflora Fanfare'

Grevillea 'Neil Bell' (which is the Energizer Bunny of Grevilleas, it just keeps on blooming).

Grevillea 'Superb'

Grevillea ‘Poorinda Leane’

Hesperaloe parviflora, the cause of more than a few territorial hummingbird battles.

Hibiscus syriacus 'Red Heart'

Lobelia laxiflora var. angustifolia

Kniphofia 'Mango Popsicle'

Lysimachia paridiformis var. stenophylla, looks like there's a critter that has been enjoying the foliage.

Macleaya cordata

Macleaya cordata, just a leaf. Because I wanted to share how huge they are this year. Not that you can really tell from this image I suppose.

Macleaya cordata, tall bloom. With pollinator just for fun.

Moluccella laevis

New to my garden, Neptunia aquatica, a sensitive plant WRONG! I shared the wrong name. This is actually Aeschynomene fluitans, sorry for any confusion.

More than once I've seen a wasp land on it's leaves to get a drink and then be started as they start to fold up.

Paris polyphylla - Heronswood form. I included this last month but what the heck, it's that good.

Sadly I never manage to track the names of my Sempervivum. I do love that this one is blooming creamy...

Rather than the more typical pink.

Tradescantia pallida 'Purple Heart'...very hard to get a photo of those little flowers.

Verbascum bombyciferum 'Arctic Summer', battling with the Tetrapanax for height supremacy.

And finally, Lilium 'Stargazer' - or as I like to call them, my birthday lilies. Some previous gardener here planted them. They bloom every year on my birthday, well, except for this year when they're early. They always get cut and brought inside where I can enjoy their scent. Please visit our hostess May Dreams Gardens to see what blooms other bloggers are sharing this month!

All material © 2009-2015 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

40 comments:

  1. Exciting and Scary. Have a really fun Birthday Month.

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  2. Wow. If I could grow Grevillea I think every other post would be about them, and my macro lens would be buried in those blooms every day! Macleaya cordata -- you reminded me that I hope to add this to my garden very soon -- so great!

    Your Eryngium yuccafolium seems short -- how old is it? My older plants have 5-6' bloom stalks.

    Finally, your water garden is looking amazing! Everything in my pond is getting eaten by either fish or deer, so it's a clear water surface for the most part. Envious!

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    1. My Eryngium yuccafolium is short! It's been in the ground a year. It's my second attempt to grow this plant, the first one never really got going. In fact I don't think it ever even bloomed.

      I am really happy with the water garden this year, and glad that red algae battle is behind me.

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  3. I wish I liked July more, but spring is my favorite season. It's so full of promise. I'm looking into planting more things that like heat and dryness, so I really should take some lessons from you. Definitely more Eryngiums! Happy Birthday and Happy GBBD!

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    1. Thanks Alison! And your in good company with your fondness for Spring.I think I'm the odd one out in that I would happily give up spring if it meant no winter.

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  4. Happy birthday! I can appreciate July through your eyes - your garden is magnificent! I had one bad experience with Ergynium and haven't tried to grow anything in the genus since but, looking at your specimens, I think I need to remedy that error. I love those Sempervivum flowers too.

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    1. Which Ergynium was it that let you down? Yes...do try again!

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  5. July is the best month ever isn't it? As expected you have an amazing selection of blooms but I'm particularly taken with your stock tank pond!

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    1. Hey fellow July babies! Yes. The best month for sure.

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  6. AnonymousJuly 15, 2015

    Beautiful! What is the plant with the redish leaves in your water garden? I've never seen it before and would like to find one for my water pot.

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    1. Ludwigia sedioides, aka Mosaic plant. It's a very cool plant but doesn't like the cold.
      http://www.thedangergarden.com/2015/06/its-last-friday-of-month-and-that.html

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  7. Need sunglasses to look at the Canna (that's good not bad) and the Paris is amazing. July is not my favorite (too hot here) but it sounds lovely for your fair city.

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    1. Well, many here would claim it's too hot in July as well. It's all relative (and oddly this year is looking like maybe June will be hotter than July!).

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  8. I remember how quick you snatched that Alstroemeria isabellana. up at Joy Creek …shocking ! I'm glad I wasn't in your way.

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  9. Star Gazer Lilies are the perfect bloom for celebrating our fabulous July birthdays. Love your mini-ponds!

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    1. Glad you agree. A nice big Casablanca would be good too. Maybe I'll break down and buy one of those.

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  10. I'm so jealous of your Eryngium yuccifolium! I had one for several years...and each year, right as they blooms started to open, some vicious insect would chew all the blooming stems off...I finally gave up and tossed it :-(

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    1. Funny you say that because I did the same thing with my first, which never amounted to anything. I planted this one closer to the house, where it gets more reflected heat. Maybe that's the secret? Although I certainly wouldn't call it vigorous.

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  11. Lavishing love on July obviously brings great results. Hope you are reveling in your whole birthday month.

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    1. I'm really good at spreading out the celebration!

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  12. Im loving your hibiscus & before I read your caption I seriously thought that was a branch from an acacia dropped in your pond!

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  13. I wish my Cerinthe had left some seedlings. I wonder if my parents cleaned them up before the seeds dropped. If so, I guess they meant well. Your view of July makes me appreciate it more, but fall is my favorite season. I would love to watch the wasps getting ousted by the Neptunia. I've been thinking I need to figure out where to put a few Hesperaloe and Macleaya. Your photos of the latter are really fantastic. My favorite plant in this post, though, is definitely Eryngium maritimum. What a gorgeous plant!

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    1. Macleaya has a reputation for producing lots of babies, in fact my plants came from Megan's. So far I've been able to harvest a couple to give to my mom and a couple to move to another part of the garden. I can put you on the "want" list though, in case they ever decided to go crazy.

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  14. So glad to see that Alstro. isabellana is thriving for you. If ever a plant was worth punching someone over, that would be it....kidding (sort of). Happy Bloom Day, Loree!

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  15. Great grevilleas, Danger, they're sure swell! Your water garden is looking great too! Love the mosaic plant. I've heard of but never grown Neptunia aquatica but your wasp antics make it sound like something to try next year. Happy GBBD!

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    1. "Great grevilleas, Danger"...that's what my favorite super hero would say!

      I happened upon that Neptunia aquatica at Portland Nursery and grabbed it quickly. Now I'll never want to be without it.

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  16. That Macleaya leaf is fabulous, as are all of those showy blooms. I could stare all day at that Mosaic plant in the stock tank. I really do need to get some kind of water something going in my garden - if for no other reason than that I want to attract some frogs. And, of course, have my own Mosaic plant. Happy birthday Loree - live it up and celebrate every day this month!

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    1. Frogs. After last years brief encounter there have been no more. There are lots of fish this year though. I bought a couple of mosquito fish, who seem to have started a family. And then earlier a couple of goldfish eggs must have came in with a plant because I've got a couple of those too.

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  17. I like that even some of your flowers are made up of spikes.
    The cream semp flower is lovely as you say, different to the usual yellow or pink.

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  18. July has never been my favorite month, but in terms of gardening, I would have to agree it's my favorite month in the garden with so many things blooming. I think I remember seeing that Macleaya cordata last year during the Fling and asking about it, because the leaves were indeed huge. I'm so impressed with all your Eryngium; I need some tips from you on how to grow them! I've never had much luck with any of them, and Rattlesnake Master is even a native here. Happy Bloom Day and an early Happy Birthday, Loree!

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    1. I wish I had tips to share. I know they like sun and some water, but that's really it. I just kind of leave them to their own devices. If they're in a good (for them) spot they'll take off. Otherwise they sulk.

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  19. Ahhh, so many beauties. I think the one that I lingered the longest over was Anigozanthos 'Amber Velvet'. Also, while I'm mentioning names, Rattlesnake Master and Mango Popsicle are great names. Love the pollinator shot too.

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  20. Wow, so many fascinating blooms. Species of Alstroemeria and Lobelia I never would have imagined. Plus the Agapanthus and all those Grevilleas ... wonderful!

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  21. Ohh, there are many plants I just adore! thanks for discovering them to me. Aeschynomene fluitans is so cool!

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