Closing for July

Vitex agnus castus

 

Vitex with No Id hydrangea

It wouldn't seem like July without the cool lilac blooms of my Vitex shrub in the east garden. It blooms faithfully every year despite drought or other setbacks. So does the Bottlebrush Buckeye (Aesculus parviflora) in the back yard--this year it seems to be blooming later than usual, perhaps because of the drought, but the plentiful rain from the storm two days ago really stimulated the blooms.

 

Bottlebrush Buckeye

The tree is a-buzz with insects in the morning, sipping the nectar and collecting pollen from its fragrant flowers. I didn't get photos of the many types of bees, but managed to snap this butterfly, and a Clearwing Hummingbird moth nectaring on it.

 

Silver-spotted Skipper Butterfly on Bottlebrush Buckeye

 Clearwing Hummingbird moth on the Bottlebrush Buckeye

  

I returned from a trip to Peru to find my garden plants stressed, and some dead. My husband was in charge of watering but alas, Herb doesn't have quite the feel for plants, and didn't water often enough. Most of my 'Pretty Grand' petunias in the hanging baskets on the porch were dead by the time I got home. I went out to water before I'd even said hello or thought to unpack, my poor plants looked so in need! I managed to save a few, but some were too far gone.  At least the vegetables were in good shape, except the artichokes, which are refusing to grow, despite liberal watering.

The Blue Nile Lilies (Agapanthus) in Herb's bed are looking lovely, though puny in size compared to the potted ones I saw in Cusco in a Museum's garden-- a wonderful garden! I plan to do some Peru postings later on, but for now, I need to catch up with myself and my own garden.

 

Agapanthus

Agapanthus in Herb's bed

Agastaches 'Blue Boa' and 'Pink Pearl'

The Agastaches in Herb's bed are making a nice display. Most of the Liatris (ligulistylis and 'Kobold' have finished blooming but a couple of stems, eaten back by the deer, re-sprouted, and the Monarchs can't leave the flowers alone. I've had two Monarchs hovering over them for days, but haven't managed to get any shots of them.

 

Liatris ligulistylis with Yucca 'Color Guard', gladiolus and Anise Hyssop

 

The bush Clematis'True Love'  is also blooming, along with the Black-eyed Susans and Chinese iris.

 

Clematis 'True Love'

Chinese iris with Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia) and Clematis

 

The patch of Anise Hyssop is looking good! I hate to deprive the bees of its nutritious pollen but I'll be gathering some flowers and leaves for tea for this gardener--their scent is delicious!

 

Anise Hyssop

 

 The one lone Daylily the deer left me is beautiful! Wish I could remember the name of the variety.

 

 

A hanging basket full of Petunias and Nasturtiums survived my absence with flying colors.

Petunia 'Supercal Red Maple'

 

That's the state of my garden at the end of July. Another round of flowers will be coming along in August. I'm hoping the rains will become more plentiful too. A few tomatoes, Asian eggplants and Blue Lake green beans from the garden would be welcome, and of course, more hummingbirds!

July Sizzle

Bench on the back deck

 

The temperature is sizzling on these first days of July, and we've had some 100 degree days this week. Despite the continuing drought, I'm surprised my garden has such a nice display at this time of the year. I attribute it to the new deer repellents placed all over the yard--I haven't seen this many flowers  in several years.

Starting with the front walk, the pink gladiolus and potted Salvias are putting on a good show.

 

Gladiolus in front

Potted plants along the front walk

My climbing rose 'New Dawn'  didn't put on as great a display as in other years--it badly needs pruning and re-training, but still, it's something. My Clematis 'Etoile Violette' seems to have disappeared, probably smothered out by the rose and a black walnut the squirrels planted there that I haven't been able to dig out yet. I've dug out at least a dozen walnut seedlings from my beds this past month!

 

Rose 'New Dawn'

The wintergreen 'Fiesta' in the woodland garden to the east has put out some of their charming little flowers, despite the drought and alkaline soil. I hope eventually they'll make a good ground cover there. 

Gaultheria 'Fiesta'

The Hydrangea 'Incrediball'  is blooming as usual, and the Oak-leaf Hydrangea 'Gatsby Pink'. 'Endless Summer' may yet bloom later on if we get some decent rain, but the lace-cap Hydrangea to its right, which died down to the ground, is not likely to bloom.

 

Hydrangea 'Invincibelle' wih holly 'Nellie Stevens'

 

I've hardly had any blooms on my Daylilies for several years--the deer eat the buds before they have a chance to open, but this year 'Purple de Oro' are looking very nice. Another Daylily on one of the beds west of the house has blooms too.

 

 

 

'Purple de Oro' Daylily

No ID Daylily

The California Lilac (Ceanothus 'Gloire de Versailles') near the orange Daylily has also escaped the usual browsing. My Crocosmia 'Lucifer' in the back yard beds also seems to have escaped and is stunning this year.

 

Crocosmia 'Lucifer' 

Ceanothus 'Gloire de Versailles'

 

I hadn't seen this many Coneflowers in my back beds in years! Those deer repellents must be working! I hope the goldfinches, which are starting to check out my yard will enjoy the seeds when they're ready.

 

Back bed with Coneflowers

 

Coneflowers under Honeylocust tree

Herb's bed has a lovely display of flowers, mostly wild fleabane that seeded itself, but my Texas Yucca is blooming, one spike of Clary Sage and some Liatris 'Kobold' too. Towards the rear the Agastaches and more Liatris are looking good. The Yellow butterfly weed in the Little Indians bed put out a bit of bloom too, now that the orange ones are past it. Why won't the butterfly weeds all bloom at the same time?

Herb's bed with Texas Yucca, Clary Sage, Liatris 'Kobold' and wild fleabane.

Liatris, Agastache 'Blue Boa' and Coscosmia 'Lucifer'

'Hello Yellow' Butterfly Weed

The Queen Anne's Lace 'Dara' mix I planted in the Little Indians bed has produced some pink and purplish flowers for the first time--the white ones had predominated before.

Queen Anne's Lace 'Dara' Mix

 

Here's hoping we get some rain soon--it's been a very dry and hot spell, and the predicted thunderstorms have brought only fractions of an inch thus far. I've been spending a fortune watering my garden this year.

I'll be traveling for ten days leaving on the 10th, so I'll miss July's Bloom Day --this posting will have to do until I get back. When I get back I'll be looking into installing an irrigation system. In the meantime, happy Bloom Day!

June 2026 Bloom Day

Gaillardia 'Arizona Sunset'

It's the 15th of June 2026, Bloom Day for garden bloggers hosted by Carol Michel's May Dreams blog. Not to be confused with the literary Bloomsday celebration in Ireland, commemorating James Joyce's novel Ulysses, which takes place on a June 16th of the early 1900's, whose protagonist is Leopold Bloom. The Bloomsday literary festival in Dublin now extends over the entire week.

This post is being written a few days earlier, since today I have to help hang our Botanical Art Society of the National Capital Region's (BASNCR) Botanica 2026 exhibition at Brookside Gardens in Maryland. Our theme is a celebration of this year's 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, titled "Enduring Plants from Colonial Times" and I'm proud to say one of my paintings was chosen for the exhibition poster.

 

"Red White and Blue Lobelias" watercolor, 

 

The models for my painting were plants from my garden, Cardinal Flowers (Lobelia cardinalis) for the red, and Blue Lobelias (Lobelia syphilitica) for the blue and white. Thomas Jefferson grew the Cardinal Flower in his gardens at Monticello, and George Washington grew the Blue Lobelias in Mount Vernon's gardens. Of course, these are not blooming right now, but they'll put on a show later in summer.

Here's what is blooming right now in my garden--butterfly weed bushes, and the Fritillary butterflies love them! There were several flirting about when I took this shot, but only one posed.

 

Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) with Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly

 

The Little Indians bed in the east

The red-hot pokers are also putting on a show--two colors in the long island bed by the veggie pagoda, and orange ones on the west side of the house. This spring my 'Color Guard' Yucca regenerated some bi-color growth, so I cut back the ordinary green ones that were overtaking the plant, hoping the golden foliage will predominate once again. But, no flowers are likely this year. 

 

Red-hot pokers (Knifophia uvaria) with Yucca "Color Guard'

 

Red-hot Pokers with creeping and English thyme.

Salvia 'Pink Nebula' with rosemary and English thyme

Red-hot pokers and red yarrow on west side of the house.

The Texas Yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora) in the Herb bed is sporting a flower spike this year, though not yet open. The Clary sage, which usually is ready to bloom about now, doesn't look like it will have much in the way of flowers this year--it's a biennial, after all. The poppy mallow planted two years ago is making a nice display next to some lavender.

 

Sedum in flower with Texas Yucca spike.

Poppy mallow and lavender 'Hidcote'

The coneflowers in the back bed are starting to open--we'll see how many the deer leave for me to enjoy this year. The new deer repellents seem to be dissuading them somewhat, but some plants are still way too appetizing for them to pass up.

 

Coneflowers in the back bed.

 

A little Cranesbill geranium in the back bed survives only because of a protective wire cloche--it was decimated a few years ago, and is only now recovering enough to flower. It's a constant struggle!

 

Geranium 'Biokovo'

 My shrub roses have escaped the munching thus far, but the 'Simplicity' rose behind them had all its buds eaten, despite the repellent placed right next to it. Ditto for my red 'Double Knockout' rose right along the front walk. 

 

'Petal Pushers' roses along the west front yard.

 

The deer even munched on the leaves of a Rhododendron in the blue pot that I'd been nursing, and my flame azalea (this shot was taken before they ate them back). But they didn't touch the exotic Florida Coonties (Zamia integrifolia) that I grew from seed collected during a trip a few years ago. Those are growing well, but need to come indoors every winter, as they're not hardy.

 

Potted plants in the front yard, Florida Coonties on the right

My  porch baskets are themed red white a blue this year, with 'Pretty Grand mix' petunias, which I love--the blue ones have a wonderful scent! That's it for June, thanks for visiting!

 

Porch baskets

 

The Cranesville Swamp, Part 2

Me at the Cranesville Swamp.

 

The Cranesville Swamp consists of a flat expanse surrounded by low hills, populated by trees here and there. A convenient boardwalk allows one to walk without interfering with the vegetation or sinking into the bog, though there were some places farther along submerged under several inches of water. I believe one would call it technically a fen, as the water does flow, albeit very slowly, through the terrain.

 

Skunk cabbage among hillocks of mosses

 

We'd hoped to see the pitcher plants that grew here that we'd read about, and perhaps some of the sundews, but the skunk cabbage had overgrown everything so much that any pitcher plants and sundews were totally obscured. There were plenty of large Cranberry bushes (Vaccinium macrocarpon) with flower buds (or berries?) on them, their leaves still showing red. The name seems deceptive, these plants grew very low in height.

 

 

 

Large Cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon)

 

 

The lowbush and highbush blueberries were a bit taller, but it was hard to distinguish between the two--I'm not sure I have these correctly identified, but it seemed the flowers of the lowbush were paler, as its botanical name indicates, and the highbush blueberry redder.

 

 

 

Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium pallidum) 

 

Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum)

 

As we ambled along the boardwalk some Viburnums in bloom were visible, perhaps wild raisin, (Viburnum cassinoides), or highbush cranberry (Viburnum edulis), hard for me--a non-botanist--to tell. I wish I'd been able to go on the earlier Wildflower Festival walk with some experts, to learn the differences.

 

Viburnum cassinoides?

 

The array of low-growing plants along the boardwalk was fascinating, the tiny berries of Wintergreen, the unfurling fiddleheads of ferns (Bracken?)  and fruiting mosses were just lovely.

 

Low growth along the boardwalk

 

Mosses with spore heads

At the north end of the boardwalk, a few tall tamarack trees (Larix laricina), also known as the American larch, could be seen, only one had rather skimpy foliage. Here is the southernmost occurrence of this deciduous conifer more typical of northern latitudes such as Canada and the upper midwest, and they didn't seem to be prospering. I understand there are a number of insects that can damage these trees, it seemed the few here could use some help.

  

 

Tamarack trees (Larix laricina)

The plants in this setting were so beautiful to my eye, that I'd like to try a painting depicting several of them in their environment later on.

 

 

Fern fronds unfurling

 

Small trees or shrubs

Drooping sedge (Carex crinita)

Maleberry (Lyonia ligustrina)

Towards the northern end the boardwalk was submerged in several inches of water, and when we re-entered the woods, the ground there was so soggy one had to tread with care. The recent rains had really waterlogged this part of the preserve and we were really glad we had waterproof boots!

 

Skunk cabbage among the ferns and cranberries

 

I'd love to visit the Cranesville Swamp again at another time of the year, like in the fall, to observe how the landscape changes with the seasons. I imagine it would be covered in the bloom of goldenrods and native asters, ripe berries, and some colorful foliage in the background... perhaps this coming fall.