There’s no shortage of color at Hayefield this month, despite the continuing dry spell. Certainly, the daylilies (Hemerocallis) seem to do all right, no matter what the weather. I’m not especially fond of them in general, but their flowers are a favorite summer treat for Daniel and Duncan, so most of the plants are relegated to the “alpaca snacks” garden. There are a few, though, that are sufficiently unique to earn a place in the front garden, starting with ‘Nona’s Garnet Spider’ (above).
‘Milk Chocolate’ (above) starts out rusty brown and ages to more of a terracotta color, with dark purple-brown markings and a bright yellow throat. It offers lots of opportunities for creating interesting combinations, but I like it best against dark foliage, such as that of Diabolo ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Monlo’).
‘Jungle Beauty’ (below) is so dark that it gets lost against very dark leaves, but so far I haven’t gotten around to giving it a lighter background. This year, it ended up pairing with ‘Wyoming’ canna.
Coneflowers, too, are another classic of the midsummer garden here in southeastern Pennsylvania. Above, purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) with Veronica grandis against golden elderbery (Sambucus nigra ‘Aurea’) and ‘Grace’ smokebush (Cotinus). And below, an abundance of giant coneflowers (Rudbeckia maxima).
July is prime time for Culver’s roots, too. Above is the species Veronicastrum virginicum with ‘Karley Rose’ fountain grass (Pennisetum orientale), drumstick chives (Allium sphaerocephalon), ironweed (Vernonia) against ‘Center Glow’ ninebark. Below, the selection ‘Fascination’ with golden elderberry and purple coneflowers.
There are also lots of other perennials doing their thing now, including Mardi Gras Helen’s flower (Helenium ‘Helbro’) – above, with a celosia and ‘Nona’s Garnet’ Spider’ daylily – and sunset hyssop (Agastache rupestris) – below, with ‘Prairie Sun’ gloriosa daisy (Rudbeckia hirta).
Above, golden oregano (Origanum vulgare ‘Aureum’) with ‘Velvet Cloak’ smokebush (Cotinus coggygria); below, Sanguisorba obtusa with ‘Saucy Seduction’ yarrow (Achillea) and allium seedheads.
Above, the ready-to-pop buds of ‘Axminster Streaked’ balloon flower (Platycodon grandiflorus); below, Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile).
Above, false or bastard hemp (Datisca cannabina); below, rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium).
And above, one more perennial: teasel (Dipsacus fullonum). (Technically it’s a monocarpic perennial, which means that it dies after it flowers; here, it usually does that in its second year, so it acts as a biennial.) I have a really hard time growing sea hollies (Eryngium), but teasel makes an interesting substitute.
Moving on to some summer bulbs, there’s Lilium leichtlinii (above and below)…
… ‘Robina’ Orienpet lily (above), and good old ‘Stargazer’ Oriental lily (below).
There are a few alliums in bloom, as well, including Allium carinatum subsp. pulchellum, above; Allium flavum, below; …
…and drumstick chives (Allium sphaerocephalon), below with spike gayfeather (Liatris spicata).
Among the annuals looking good now are the spiky celosias: above, peachy pink ‘Celway Terracotta’ and below, an unnamed seedling.
Above, ‘Marbles’ four-o’clock (Mirabilis jalapa); below, purple devil (Solanum atropurpureum).
Above, Pennisetum glaucum ‘Jade Princess’ and ‘Jester’ with ‘Mandarin Orange’ creeping zinnia (Sanvitalia procumbens) and ‘Profusion Orange’ zinnia; below, ‘Black Velvet Scarlet’ geranium (Pelargonium x hortorum).
Above, one more annual: snow-on-the-mountain (Euphorbia marginata) against pony tail grass (Stipa tenuissima).
There are a few shrubs in bloom now, including southern bush honeysuckle (Diervilla sessilifolia), above, and buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), below.
This is also the time to start collecting seeds for next year, or for sharing with friends and seed exchanges this winter. Above, the seedheads of (I think) Clematis texensis; below, the long-awned head of variegated barley (Hordeum vulgare ‘Variegated’).
Above, ‘Amazone’ tuberous Jerusalem sage (Phlomis tuberosa); below, Allium schubertii;…
…and below, ‘Cramer’s Plum’ love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena) with an unnamed Japanese maple (Acer palmatum).
To see more flowering action in gardens all around the world, visit Carol’s July 15th Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day post at May Dreams Gardens. And for you leaf-lovers, remember Pam’s Foliage Follow-Up event at Digging on the 16th. Instead of doing a separate post, I’ll throw in some foliage shots here, starting with ‘Australia’ and ‘Wyoming’ cannas, ‘Sedona’ coleus, and ‘Oakhurst’ pineapple lily (Eucomis comosa), below.
Two new foliage finds this year: above, near-black Pennisetum purpureum ‘Vertigo’; below, Old Gold’ field corn (Zea mays).
Above, glorious ‘Sunspots’ annual sunflower (Helianthus annuus). And last, the ordinary but still lovely (when not chewed by caterpillars) ‘Ruby Perfection’ cabbage.
Awesome as always. Love the way you use color. Super photo of the unnamed celosia paired with daylilies and helenium. When do you have an open garden so we can do a road trip? You’re a bit of a drive, but I might even consider it, would be worth it to see the glory of your gardens for real. Really look forward to your blog.
That celosia-helenium-hemerocallis combo is my favorite too, Brenda. I wouldn’t have intentionally combined range, red, and magenta, but that celosia came up in just the right place to add the wow factor.
The garden will be open in late September (25th, I think) through the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. Really, though, you’re seeing the best of it here.
-Nan
Dear Nan, you garden is such a joy to visit, thanks for sharing it! So many fine combination ideas are shown here, so that is where the Karley Rose needs to be, with the Veronicastrum. Where the spade?
Heh – it’s hard to think of a bad place for ‘Karley Rose’ this time of year, Frances. And there’s at least one good thing about the lack of rain: she’s standing up straight and tall this summer!
-Nan
Whoa-a! That Purple Devil is something! Where can I get that????
I’ve been thinking of a bed of weird or wicked plants…. stuff like black pansies, alliums with wild seed heads and so on. Purple Devil would fit right in!
Great pictures, btw.
Isn’t that a stunner, Elisabeth? Its other common name (if such a thing can be said to have anything common about it) is “malevolence.” The seeds are available through Plant World Seeds.
-Nan
As always, a wonderful tour of your very special garden. Thank you for sharing your garden with us.
My pleasure, Dorothy.
-Nan
Nice pig.
She’s supposed to be a cow, but her creator must not have known that pigs and cows have very different ears.
-Nan
It’s one fantastic plant combination after another! I need to take some time and read over your older posts, as I’m certain I can absorb plenty of useful knowledge.
Beautiful!
(I’m adding “Teasel” to my wanted list, as well as Helenium ‘Helbro’ and the “Nona’s Garden Spider” daylily.)
The teasel is wonderful, though I should warn you that once you get it, you will always have it: it self-sows all over the place. I tried to eradicate it at one point, but then I read somewhere that some folks have used teasel root as a treatment for Lyme disease. I don’t know if it really works, but I decided that it might be a good idea to always have a few plants around, just in case.
-Nan
What can I say – I am in awe of what you have created in your garden. Beautiful! Happy GBBD :)
Thanks, Christine. You have some beauties in your midwinter garden, too. I can’t imagine ever having camellias to show here in January (or really, any other month, for that matter).
-Nan
Not only is the cabbage perfection so is your garden. I always like to come here to see the dramatic blooms and foliage that can be achieved.
Happy Bloom Day, Lisa! I have to think that if they weren’t so common, cabbages would be considered exquisite foliage plants. Mine rarely look this good, though: for some reason, the cabbage whites disappeared soon after they first showed up, and the cabbages escaped the flea beetles too, so their leaves are nearly perfect so far.
-Nan
aloha,
i love all the plant combinations especially the yellow lillies against the brown plant…the marble four o clock is very colorful and sweet
Thanks for visiting, Noel. I too like that four-o’clock; it’s a new one for me this year. Some are pure yellow and some have the red-and-yellow markings.
-Nan
In reference to Brenda’s comment above: WHAT?! Where are you in PA [I’m just over the Delaware Water Gap in Northern NJ~], so I can justify a visit! Hehe.
But your posts, as always, are supremely wonderful and I look forward to them every month~ It’s also great to see some 4’o’clocks – I don’t think enough people grow them! I grow swathes of them because of my 9~5 job… I miss the good blooms! And your Balloon Flower’s flower is variegated?! Oooooh…
I’m in upper Bucks County, Donna. I imagine that PHS will be announcing the event soon. There will be several gardens open on the same day.
Good news about that ‘Axminster Streaked’ balloon flower: it comes almost entirely true from seed!
-Nan
Your photos and combinations are amazing! I always learn so much when I come to your blog, just the pictures are a learning experience. I really love that daylily/helenium/celosia combo.
What a nice thing to say, Alison. I always think of Bloom Day as a time to simply wallow in pretty pictures, but if you’ve learned something too, so much the better!
-Nan
I love your striking color combos, your lilies and not to mention your
“purple devil” ! I have some “Marbles’ four-o’clock seedlings so can’t wait for blooms.
I bet the purple devil would be great in your climate, Nicole, though maybe so much so that it would become weedy, which would be extremely unpleasant!
-Nan
Thank you for the July roundup. It is a treat to see what you have blooming. I do like that blue pig. Your barley shot is beautiful, but so are all the rest too.
I’m liking that barley too; it’s another new experiment. The foliage is green with white markings: interesting but not especially showy. The seedheads are quite nice, though, and I look forward to collecting the seed.
-Nan
A wonderful bloom tour. You always inspire with plants, colors and textures. Even when you feature plants not suitable for my garden, you provide ideas.
Are you growing wild quinine (Parthenium integrifolium)? I saw it at The Battery Park gardens in NY and now I’m anxious to try sowing seeds. I can’t find the plant here…been looking around.
I’ve been trying to find new seed sources and saw you recommended a few online shops in several posts.
Yep, I had wild quinine in June’s Bloom Day post and could have shown it again, but it didn’t quite make the cut when I was choosing images. I originally got it as part of a seed mix I sowed on my sand mound when the house was built. A few years ago, I moved a few seedlings up to the garden. Seed is available from Prairie Moon Nursery. They also sell bare-root plants in spring.
-Nan
I often ponder the daylily, to have or not to have, and I always come back to keeping it. The sunny yellows remind me of old fashioned cottage-y gardens, and I don’t mind the foliage as a filler in between plants. Probably will remain perched on the fence re:them forever. Now if I had alpacas……….
I doubt I’d ever be without them altogether, Cheryl, even if I didn’t have two impatient alpacas waiting for the deadheaded blooms every evening. The white-striped foliage of ‘Kwanso Variegated’, at least, makes a very attractive – albeit quite vigorous – filler.
-Nan
So inspired Nan..your gardens never look contrived and yet the combinations are artful..painterly. I never tire of it.
I think the reason they don’t look contrived is because so many of the combinations happen purely by chance. So really, the plants get the credit – I’m just here to appreciate and capture the results.
-Nan
Your photo of the unnamed celosia is stunning beyond words!
Thanks, Gayle. That combination has been giving me happy chills for over three weeks now. It will be sad when the daylily and helenium are done, but some tall maroon-and-orange marigolds are just about to bloom there, so the effect should continue for quite a while yet.
-Nan
I appreciate the opportunity to view this wonderful post… your photos are excellent! Larry
Kind of you to say that, Larry. Happy Bloom Day to you!
-Nan
As always Nan, your Bloom Day post tops all others! I’m loving your pairing of the Liatris and Allium…those multiple tones of purple, in spikes and spheres, is so attractive…just magical. I’m inspired that you grow Teasel! I’ve always been tempted to collect seed from plants growing on the roadside…but figured people would think I’m crazy to grow a common “weed” in my garden…but I love their form…so architectural (especially since I grow so many loose, billowy plants…a little structure is nice)! I love Clematis seedbeds, maybe even more than the flowers, sometimes…the way they catch the light is amazing. One last thing…the color echo between the Nigella and the Acer is astounding…how DO you do it! It’s like you have some sixth sense about color!
Sigh – I can’t take credit for those combinations either. The liatris was dormant when I was scrounging for spots to tuck in the allium bulbs last November. When they came into bloom at the same time a few weeks ago, I was very disappointed at first, but then, I really got into the contrast of forms. And the nigella: well, there’s not supposed to be any white in the front garden, but the nigella put itself in that spot. I only get credit for not pulling it out while it was blooming. I was very glad I hadn’t when those reddish purple pods formed and made a perfect echo for the maple!
-Nan
In a word, stunning! I love your color combinations and your plants look so healthy and happy. I’ve never seen a four o’clock that looks like that. It is gorgeous. Do you trouble with them trying to take over your garden? I was given some of the plain white and yellow a few years ago and I’m still digging them up. They are very rampant in my garden.
I think ‘Marbles’ is a recent release; bought it from Summer Hill Seeds, one of my favorite seed sources. I’ve been growing ‘Limelight’ for quite a few years now and usually get a few self-sown seedlings, but not so many that they’re unwelcome. That could be because I collect most of the seed for sharing, though.
-Nan
I can almost smell those Asiatic lilies! A visit to your blog is always a feast for the eyes!
Thanks for visiting, Cathy. Looks like you had a busy Bloom Day too.
-Nan