Mid-July Blooms in Gardens4me

July 16, 2020April 30, 2023 ~ Loreeebee ~ Leave a comment

Those lily trees I told you about in a previous post have now popped, adding incredible colour and fragrance to my mid-July Gardens4me gardens.

mid-July lily trees — lily trees and monarda

Also in bloom, this time of year are drought-tolerant perennials in every colour of the rainbow. The filipendula sprays are turning from white to their signature pale pink, the monarda is still going strong, and the delphiniums are bluer than blue. Reblooming daylilies are still showing off as well…

mid-July filipendula — filipendula turning from white to pink

mid-July daylily — filipendula turning from white to pink

The annuals I planted in containers and bare spots in the garden are also still blooming well in mid-July. I always choose annuals that offer interesting foliage as well as flowers. For these containers, I use colours that are opposites (contrasting) on the colour wheel for maximum effect. This way you get pops of colour; for example, look at the purple next to the orange in this first picture:

Now I’m hoping for some rain to help me keep all these blooms hydrated. Stay tuned for the next batch of pictures from Gardens4me. My next Gardens4u project will be completed soon as well, will be sure to post pictures of it too.

Save your banana peels for bulb planting

October 26, 2017October 31, 2021 ~ Loreeebee ~ 1 Comment

Yes, you read that right. Now is the time to save your banana peels for bulb planting. Over the years I have tried many things to deter squirrels from digging up the bulbs I plant in my clients’ gardens as well as my own.

Placing a few strips of banana peel over the bulbs in the hole you have dug seems to be the best method I have found, especially for single (and expensive!) bulbs like Lily trees …

Another trick is to plant daffodils and tulips in the same hole as that seems to deter squirrels too because they do not like daffodils…

daffodils

We eat lots of bananas in my home, so I collect the peels in a plastic baggie and store the baggie in my freezer until I am ready to plant the bulbs…

Try my banana trick and let me know if it works for you. Now is the perfect time here in zone 4 to 5 for planting bulbs!

In bloom this second week of August in my Ottawa zone 4 to 5 gardens

August 11, 2017October 31, 2021 ~ Loreeebee ~ 1 Comment

Here are the newest perennial blooms in my own zone 4 to 5 gardens this second week of August;

peachy perfection

This ornamental grass is my favourite although it is only an annual here in zone 4 or 5. It makes a beautiful centerpiece for a container or it can be planted right in the garden!

grass 1

Still strutting their stuff, these perennials are still looking great:

tickseed

sedum

daylily

On their way out (unfortunately) are my gorgeous lilies. They will return bigger and better than ever next year though! Every client I have planted some of these lily trees for have commented on how spectacular they are, well worth the price.

I hope you are enjoying these weekly walks through my gardens…

whole garden