Bright Blooms of July

Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa)

The fiery colors of summer and their complements on the opposite side of the color wheel take center stage in July. On this Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, Butterflyweed is waning (though still vibrant), while other blooms in the sunny cutting garden/potager are peaking. Here are the highlights:

Coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) (so pretty in all it's forms)

Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)

Lantana (L. camara)

Blazing Star (Liatris spicata)

Drumstick Allium (A. sphaerocephalon) layered with Blue Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum) (which will be covered with blue flowers in late summer into fall, after the alliums have faded)

'State Fair Mix' Zinnia (Z. elegans)

'Zowie! Yellow Flame' Zinnia (Z. elegans)

'May Night' Salvia (Salvia x sylvestris)

Torch Tithonia (T.  rotundifolia) (now blooming, but I really like the buds, too)

Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)

'Sensation Mix' Cosmos (C. bipinnatus) (again, the buds are as fun as the flowers)

Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata)

Tomatoes and flowers (thank you, pollinators)

The bees, spiders, butterflies, and other garden visitors are welcome here, and the flowers bring them in! What's blooming in your garden?



I'm linking this post to Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day at May Dreams Gardens. Head on over to see what's blooming in gardens around the world.

Promise

Plant of the Month: Prairie Sundrops

Most of the wildflowers in this garden lived here before we moved in, nearly 19 years ago. Prairie Sundrops (Oenothera pilosella) were among them. Also known as Meadow Evening Primrose, this plant has flowers that open during the day, unlike other species of the Evening Primrose family that close by midday.



Prairie Sundrop spreads and can form dense mats. It also can be propagated with seeds.

In my garden, Prairie Sundrop is not aggressive; in fact, it's pretty much stayed in the same general area in the garden for all the years we've been here--in a small patch at the base of one of our old Oaks. It tends to bloom in mid-June through mid-July, and adds a burst of bright yellow just as some of the late spring flowers are fading. My patch is in dappled shade, although most sources recommend full sun to partial shade.



The 2" flowers are attractive in all their stages--from bud to bloom to closed flower. Each flower lasts only a few days, but the flower clusters bring new blooms for a couple of weeks.



Other than its daytime blooms, this species is similar to Common Evening Primrose (O. biennis) and Narrowleaf Evening Primrose (O. fruticosa), but it's shorter (about 1' to 2' tall), and has hairy stems and fuzzy leaves. In addition, its fruit/seedpod tapers toward the base. Like the other species, each flower has a distinctive cross-shaped stigma. The pollen on the anthers turns reddish as the flower matures.

Prairie Sundrops are native from Eastern Canada through the Midwest and south through Louisiana and Texas. Some sources say they aren't native to Wisconsin, but USDA updated maps say they are (perhaps originally more in the southern part of the state). In any case, they prefer rich, wet mesic to dry mesic soils, according to the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden Plant Identification Guide. The flowers are visited by bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. Like other Evening Primose species, this one is a host plant to several moth species.



I like it. I take it for granted--of course, I shouldn't and I think I need to plant more or spread some seed.

I'm linking this post to Gail's Wildflower Wednesday meme at Clay and Limestone. Head on over to learn about wildflowers blooming around the world.

The Flowers Are Nice, But the Foliage Is Fun

With the tropical conditions we're experiencing lately (80s and 90s for highs and about four inches of rain during the past couple of days), the plants are plump and healthy. Quite a few are blooming, but it's the foliage that's really standing out right now in my dappled- to partial-shade garden.

I always plant quite a few Coleus in pots--plants that like shade and offer dramatic swatches of color.  What's not to love?











And several dramatic foliage combinations weren't entirely planned, but I'm enjoying them:

Looking across colorful Coleus to the underside of speckled Calla leaves.

OK, this one was planned because I do it almost ever year: Purple Shamrocks (Oxalis triangularis) with variegated English Ivy (Hedera helix). I overwinter these guys in pots in my sunroom.

Also in pots with English Ivy--Alternanthera (A. ficoidea 'Red Threads'), from the top. I've grown Alternanthera before, but never in a "foliage only" pot. I like it, and I'll probably do it again.

The same Alternanthera, looking up through the foliage with dappled sun shining through it. Talk about drama!

Here are a few more subtle, but nifty, combinations of plant forms and structures:

Severely clipped Petunias (to encourage heft and more flowers), with Sedums in a hanging basket.

Here's an unnamed variegated Hosta surrounded by several friends. Can you name the friends?

This arrangement of ferns in front of a large rock was placed by the previous owners. It's lovely, but it's in an out-of-the-way place that's barely noticeable: kind of a mini secret garden.

Sedums and Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) planted in a tipped whiskey barrel. I use lava rocks for mulch in most of my pots to discourage chipmunks and squirrels from digging.

A new plant for me this year: 'Sugar and Spice' Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia). This one is a nativar. With the exception of my potted plants, I'm trying to add mainly straight species native plants, but I made an exception for this one. The flowers are nice, but the foliage is really nifty.

Somewhere along the way, I missed the memo that Pam at Digging is no longer hosting the 'Foliage Follow-Up' meme, but I thank her for the inspiration and her years of encouraging us to look beyond the blooms.