The summer is flying by, August is upon us. We were fortunate to receive some much-needed rain last week so myGardens4me are looking pretty luscious this week. Early August blooms are plentiful.
A few blossoms pictured in my late July post are still hanging around, surprisingly. A perennial geranium is reblooming, even though I did not get around to cutting it back as I usually do to encourage a repeat performance…
butterfly bushlarkspurclematisrose‘Cherry Pie’ rose
New this month are the heliopsis or false sunflowers, providing splashes of vivid yellow at my gate and amongst the greenery of my “jungle” as my 6-year-old granddaughter calls it.
heliopsis
Also new this month are the garden phlox (as opposed to the creeping variety) in bright pink and white…
pink phloxwhite phlox
as well as tickseed…
3 varieties of tickseed
Also thriving after our heavy rains are the weeds in my lawn. My granddaughter (the same one that loves my “jungle”) helped me mow the weeds one day, until a thunderstorm sent us running into the house…
I love the fact that my grandchildren enjoy my gardens, hopefully, they will remember these days in years to come. I know I cherished the time spent in my own grandmothers’ gardens.
Today I stopped by the hospice that I volunteer at to check out the gardens and containers I planted. I am particularly thrilled with the progress of thecoleus spilling out of these containers in the shade. Every year there appear to be more varieties available; their colours are striking!
Does your garden feature late July blooms? Colour can be a little anemic this time of year here in Ontario, so your gardens may need some extra TLC.
Fill in with Late July Blooms
My solution? I try to visit garden centers every two weeks to purchase perennials in bloom at that time, then take them home and add them to the spots lacking colour in my gardens.
I did just that earlier this week. I found this huge container of pink larkspur that broke up into six individual plants when I took it out of the pot. Bonus! One was blooming, the others have tons of blooms ready to explode. I planted all of them separately to add splashes of colour throughout my backyard garden.
larkspur in various stages of bloom
If you have more patience or less money to spend on plants, take note of friends’ or neighbours’ gardens with late July blooms and ask them for a chunk. They shouldn’t divide their plants while in bloom but may be willing to part with a piece to enhance your garden next year.
Annuals Offer Late July Blooms Too
This time of year I also add annuals to my containers that need a colour boost or to replace annuals that are not performing well. Here are a few pictures of the same containers with an infusion of colour…
a fuschia pink, annual diplidenia adds a splash of colour on my front porchA pop of pink adds pizazz to this container
Ask a Neighbour to Water for you When on Vacation
During this heatwave we have been sweating through, my containers need watering every day. That fact and vacation do not go together well. I recently came home from an extra-long weekend at the cottage to find the cleomes (one of my favourite annuals) on my front veranda were fried. They have since been replaced with three Spanish lavender plants that are considered annuals in my Ottawa area. At present all it has to offer is a heavenly scent, but it should bloom soon…
If you go away for more than two days, ask a neighbour to water your containers, or move them (the containers, not the neighbours) to a shady spot to prevent their demise. Water balls (the things you fill with water and insert into the soil) work well for a few days too, depending on how hot it is and how thirsty your plants are.
the blue water ball (center, back) provides moisture when I am away
The pink wave petunias are stretching towards the sun, but look like they are trying to escape through the railing of my veranda.
Also needing daily attention (refilling) are the numerous bird baths in my gardens, a chore my 2-year-old granddaughter tackles diligently when she is here.
a chickadee sipping the cold water
Lily Trees
The lilies are absolutely spectacular, there must be close to thirty blossoms on the three plants at my front lamp post and more in my back garden…
My lilies in part sun spots are still looking good too, and my weigela tree is providing an encore…
Weigela rebloom
My Annabelle hydrangea is coming along, parts of it are in bloom, and others are still working on it…
… and this pink gayfeather is just beginning to show off…
By next week its bold spires will be stretching to the sun and waving in the breeze.
That’s it for blooms in Gardens4me now that July is on its way out, but into the history books for our hottest and driest July in many years.
In my Gardens4u business I design gardens based on the wishes and dreams of my clients. In a moment of silliness, as I was waiting for Premier Ford to allow me to get back into those gardens, I painted Gardens4me on the archway over the gate to my own backyard garden. That’s because they have been created according to my taste and no one else’s. My personal oasis of sorts.
gateway to backyard
My own gardens are created just the way I love gardens….the style I aim for is called English Cottage Garden. I like when the plants, predominantly perennials with a shrub here and there, blend together, looking like they belong together. It takes a loooooong time to achieve this effect and is never quite “done.” I am always tweaking the look, moving, dividing and adding plants as I see fit. Although purple is my favourite colour in the garden (can you tell?) I do try to add contrasting colours to make each bloom “pop.” A variety in foliage shades and textures is a must too for my desired effect.
The following gallery of pictures is from my backyard. It seems the garden gets bigger each year and the lawn shrinks…
backyard blooms
When we moved into this home years ago, the south-facing front yard was in full sun, but a dwarf blue spruce turned out not so dwarf, so I get part sun there now. This allows for a wider variety of plants…
These pictures were snapped just after a rainfall, that’s when they look the lushest. Although we have had an usually hot June with very little rain (my lawn is already looking parched), next month the real heat lovers (roses and lilies) will be the feature…….stay tuned!
