Made in the Shade on This August Bloom Day

A tilted, angled view--up and over the pond and patio and into the back garden.

It's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day--a meme hosted monthly by Carol over at May Dreams Gardens.

It's been a warm, humid summer here in Southern Wisconsin, but I won't complain! I like the heat; the cold weather will have its time. Plus, a shady backyard has its merits during a hot summer.

First, a few updates from the sunny garden I favored in July:



The purple Salvia (S. nemerosa 'May Night') is on its fourth or fifth round of blooms, after repeated deadheading. Each trim encourages new blooms for the pollinators.



After comparing several cultivars of Lantana (L. camara), it appears 'Lucky Flame' is the best choice for my little patch of sunny garden, because of its height and repeat blooms. Other gardeners will have different conditions and preferences, but you can't go wrong having a few Lantanas in a pollinator garden.



These photos were taken following a soaking rain, so the Angelonias (A. augustifolia 'Angelface Blue') were a little floppy. After a bit of sun, they perked back up. This is another fabulous repeat bloomer--from planting to first frost.



The Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) continues to produce new buds and flowers. I don't remember them blooming this long during past seasons, and they're putting out a bumper crop of seed pods, too. I will need to share.



Meanwhile, the Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) in partial shade is winding down its blooming. This is a fun plant to watch at the peak of bloom, as it's a pollinator magnet--drawing in bumbles, honey bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds ... often at the same time.

I added several more patches of both Swamp and Butterfly Milkweeds this year--to benefit the Monarch butterflies and their caterpillars, and because they're delightful garden plants.



Some plants seem to be blooming a little earlier this year, whether it's because of our warmer summer or a message of some kind (early frost?). I've always perceived this Hosta, planted by the previous owners, to be Hosta of the Equinox (H. aequinoctiiantha), since it's smaller than the Longpipes Hosta and it usually blooms in September.



Each year, it seems the Resurrection Lilies (Lycoris squamigera) bloom a little earlier. I caught this one in bud phase, just after it popped up overnight out of the Hostas that surround it. Now it's blooming.



Also nicknamed "Surprise Lilies" and "Magic Lilies," they're fresh and fragrant, and have a long vase life as cut flowers.



The Spotted Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis), a native annual, is blooming and putting out seed for next year.



The 'Camelot Lavendar' Foxglove (Digitalis) is performing a late-summer show.



I've had the best luck with the hybrid Fuchsia 'Marinka.' These beauties like the dappled shade of the back garden, even during warm weather. I overwintered two hanging baskets, and they rewarded me with new growth and blooms this season.



'Cathedral Sky Blue' Salvia (S. farinacea) prefers full sun, but it's working for me in partial sun, facing south. It's a pleasant companion with Coleus 'Wizard Pineapple.'



The Coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) I planted in partial shade a couple of years ago were rabbit food last summer. They're back, and hopefully they'll fill in more next year. I have more planted behind fencing in the sunny garden.



Finally, Blue Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum), another butterfly magnet, is preparing to bloom.

That's a sampling of what's blooming for me this warm August. What's blooming in your garden? To see what's happening in gardens around the world visit May Dreams Gardens.