July Blooms

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July brought new players to my garden theater. They joined those which started to bloom in June. My special recognition goes to several plants which are maybe not the prettiest but special nevertheless.
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The Columbine on the front bed has been blooming for more than a month. The darker variety on the other flower beds has already gone, but this one doesn't show any signs of quitting. I wish I knew its name, but it came as 'Mixed Columbine. Aguilegia'.
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This double-colored variety is not only long-blooming, but also doesn't spread and become a nuisanse like others.

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The Poppy plant, below, obviously came from a seed brought by the wind from my Terrace garden. It's tucked at the wall, its stem is bended, it doesn't have much sun, but here it is showing us the bud, the bloom and the seed pod at the same time:
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What is this 'Snow' Lady Shasta Daisy trying to tell me with its upright petals? Is it asking to be watered or just wants some attention?
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Wait, there is a whole bunch of them! Does anyone know what they want? Why are some petals pointed upward?

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Astilbe 'Bridal Veil' is at its best now. Together with the Tree Mallow, it draws attention when you approach the house. One plant, bought several years ago, spread and allows me to move parts of it to other spots . The place, pictured below, has partial sun and gets plenty of moisture. Other Astilbes growing under the big fir trees in a dry spot are considerably smaller.
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This Lavatera 'Bredon Springs' proved to be true to its name: Tree Mallow. It got so big that it totally blocked the arbor with climbing roses. I don't complain since it helped to create a wall separating two garden rooms.

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Phygelius 'Purple Prince' is growing in a pot, and I move it to the spots which need it the most. Right now, it is on the central island under the tall trees. I put it on the bald spot where nothing grows.

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And what do we see here? Is it fall already? The Chrisantemum is blooming! A bit early, but it is very welcome!

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Serbian Bellflower (Campanula poscharskyana 'Blue Watrefall') is getting bigger every year. In the picture below, two plants stretch from the border to the lawn. Each of them is about three feet (one meter) in diameter and loaded with starry violet-blue flowers:
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I have to collect the seeds from the Silene armeria (Sweet William Catchfly). Several years ago, it took a huge space in the Terrace garden and, thanks to it selfseeding ability, looked like a big pink-purple wave. Now, this clump in the next picture is everything that's left.

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I don't want to lose it! I like how it looked before( If you are curious, there are two posts about it: What plant is this? HELP! and I lived with a stranger for 4 years... )
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Nasturtiums stepped up to their garden duty to protect vegetables from pests. This year, I am trying to tame these vigorous spreaders by pinching their tops. Last year, they attempted to take over the garden.
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Blue and purple alliums finished their performance, but here is the white one.

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Big clusters are not round like in the blue and purple varieties, but still are very impressive:
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Below is its relative, an ordinary onion. It's easy to see that they both are from the same family of Alliums:

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Stargazer lily starts to open:
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The heavenly blue color of this Nikko Blue hydrangea is amazing:
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This Tradescantia is blooming for the first time in my garden.
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One of my neighbors gave it to me when I visited her absolutely stunning garden. I plan to show her garden in one of my future posts. This is a preview picture:

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Isn't it something?

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Copyright 2010 TatyanaS