The summer continues to be dry here in southeastern PA, but we are finally getting a break from the heat for a bit—a blessing for which the garden and I are very grateful. It’s amazing to see how well many of the plants are holding up, considering the tough conditions they’ve been through. Despite the challenges, there’s still plenty to see, so let’s get started!
A few groups are particular stars right now. The morning glories (Ipomoea), for instance, take a while to get going but are finally producing an abundance of bloom.
‘Sunrise Serenade’ morning glory (Ipomoea): shaggy, bright pink flowers among large, heart-shaped leaves on vigorous vines‘Fuji no Murasaki’ Japanese morning glory (Ipomoea nil): Large, white-spoked flowers and variegated leaves‘Kikyo Snowflakes’ Japanese morning glory (Ipomoea nil): Exquisite, starry blooms and substantial, deep green leaves‘Sazanami’ Japanese morning glory (Ipomoea nil): Watercolor-blue blooms with variegated leaves‘Keiryu’ (‘Mountain Stream’) Japanese morning glory (Ipomoea nil): variable tie-dye markings on the flowers, and variegated chartreuse foliage‘Golden Chain’ morning glory (Ipomoea): the fuchsia/magenta flowers really pop against the bright yellow foliageI’d read that ‘Golden Chain’ morning glory (Ipomoea) would reach 4 to 6 feet tall, so I put it in a planter and gave it a 5-foot trellis.That was woefully inadequate. It is starting to eat the barn!
“Abundance” also applies to the tomato harvest season. I got way too carried away trialing different foliage varieties this year. There has been more than enough fruit for seed-saving and eating as well.
‘Painted Lady’ tomato (Solanum lycopersicum): striped, heart-shaped fruits and variegated leaves‘Moonlight Mile’ tomato (Solanum lycopersicum): beautiful striped fruit and variegated foliage‘Sweet Splash Electra’ tomato (Solanum lycopersicum): bushy plants to about 3 feet tall, with variegated leaves‘Keith’s Ailsa Gold Leaf’ tomato (Solanum lycopersicum): still gloriously golden in foliage and producing an abundance of red fruit
Late summer is also prime time for many perennials: lobelias, including…
Great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)White great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica f. alba) from seedCardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
…and eryngiums, including…
Rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium) with Culver’s root (Veronicastrum virginicum), ‘Raspberry Wine’ beebalm (Monarda), tall larkspur (Delphinium exaltatum), Carolina lupine (Thermopsis villosa) seedheads, and coreopsis (Coreopsis)Marsh rattlesnake master (Eryngium aquaticum): flowering for the first time here. I hope it will make lots of seeds!
…patrinias, including…
Golden lace (Patrinia scabiosifolia) with plains coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria), Deam’s orange coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida var. deamii), and switch grass (Panicum virgatum)Patrinia monandraCloseup of Patrinia monandra
Hoary vervain (Verbena stricta)Pink vervain (Verbena hastata f. rosea) and blue vervain (V. hastata)
…and wild petunias, including…
The regular wild petunia (Ruellia humilis)A wonderful seed gift that I received this past winter: a white form of wild petunia (Ruellia humilis f. alba), flowering the first year
The color tour I did last month seemed pretty popular, so here are the other August flower, foliage, fauna, and seed-stage stars arranged that way, as best as I can.
‘Jester’ purple millet (Pennisetum glaucum)‘Red Freddy’ basil (Ocimum basilicum) with salt heliotrope (Heliotropium curassavicum). Just a note that I got tricked into buying this basil based on a photo that showed it being truly red. It is definitely NOT!‘Albe Red Variegated’ cotton (Gossypium herbaceum)Korean angelica (Angelica gigas)Red orach (Atriplex hortensis var. rubra)Penstemon ex dark-leaved form (Penstemon): The leaves are more of a red-tinged green this time of year, but the stems and seedpods are this lovely deep red‘Heartthrob’ hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus) with Deam’s orange coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida var. deamii)‘Sultane Mix’ strawflower (Xerochrysum [formerly Helichrysum, and then Bracteantha] bracteatum)Pretty sure this is ‘Blue Buddha’ castor bean (Ricinus communis); does anyone know? I may just end up calling it “blue pod” until I get confirmation.Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa): these red calyces are terrific in tea!‘Mischief’ musk mallow (Abelmoschus moschatus)‘Firefly’ cuphea (Cuphea)Red mallow (Pavonia missionum)Royal catchfly (Silene regia)‘Prairie Glow’ brown-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia triloba)‘Mandarin Orange’ globe amaranth (Gomphrena haageana)Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia)Queen Anne’s pocket melon (Cucumis melo var. dudaim), also known as plum grannyTall coreopsis (Coreopsis tripteris) with Joe-Pye weed (Eutrochium maculatum)Partridge pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata)‘Flying Dragon’ hardy orange (Poncirus trifoliata)Love-in-a-puff (Cardiospermum halicacabum)‘White Glory’ snake gourd (Trichosanthes cucumerina)Developing seedpods on false hemp (Datisca cannabina) and rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium)Greater quaking grass (Briza maxima)Winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus)Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) with the distinctive larva of spicebush swallowtail (Papilio troilus)Northern bayberry (Morella [Myrica] pensylvanica) with the wickedly cool larva of cecropia moth (Hyalophora cecropia)A pale form of tall larkspur (Delphinium exaltatum) with—I’m pretty sure—a snowberry clearwing moth (Hemaris diffinis)Gopher spurge (Euphorbia lathyris)Downy skullcap (Scutellaria incana)New York ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis) with an unnamed garden phlox (Phlox paniculata)Virginia meadow beauty (Rhexia virginica): I didn’t realize that it would flower the very first year from a winter sowingWlassov’s geranium (Geranium wlassovianum)American basket flower (Centaurea americana)Smooth purple coneflower (Echinacea laevigata): A unexpected late bloom to celebrate the fact that as of August 5, the species is no longer considered federally endangered! Its status has been downlisted to threatened.White-leaf leather flower (Clematis glaucophylla)Surprise lily (Lycoris squamigera)‘Purple Kisses’ queen-Anne’s lace (Daucus carota) with short-toothed mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum)Hairy mountain mint (Pycnanthemum verticillatum var. pilosum)Skirret (Sium sisarum)Wild quinine (Parthenium integrifolium) with tufted hair grass (Deschampsia cespitosa)‘Jyunpaku’ bitter melon (Momordica charantia)White American basket flower (Centaurea americana)White Japanese burnet (Sanguisorba tenuifolia var. alba)Spotted beebalm (Monarda punctata): hard to figure out where this one fits color-wiseDrumstick scabious (Scabiosa stellata): flowers and seedheadsWhite teff (Eragrostis tef)Pretzel beans (Vigna unguiculata ‘Pretzel Bean’)‘Ping Zebra’ lima beans (Phaseolus lunatus): At least THESE were happy with the heat!
Well, back to watering the rest of the seed crops and hoping the garden as a whole will get some actual rain very soon. Happy August Bloom Day to you all!
Deam’s orange coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida var. deamii) with prairie blazing star (Liatris pycnostachya) and ‘Karl Foester’ feather reed grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora) in the Perennial Meadow at Hayefield
14 thoughts on “Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – August 2022”
Marilyn
As always I really enjoy this tour full of unusual species ! Here in France, my garden has really suffered from heat and I relaly think I will have to reconsider my way of gardening…
Good morning, Marilyn! From what I have heard, much of Europe has experienced far worse than where I am. It is just so sad. But on a happier note, the little silene you shared with me continues to delight; thank you for that!
-Nan
Susan Gilmour
Good morning Nan, great to see that you have been able to water, it’s definitely keeping me fit! Couldn’t water the verbena hastata so just it didn’t really bloom too much, just a bit of purple then faded out, too bad. It was lovely last year with all the rains. Love seeing all your blooms and so healthy! Your new wild petunia looks like a double, so cute. And the morning glories of yours are beautiful, you will have them till a frost for sure, gotta have that late summer colour. You even have neat insects, so cool! Thanks for posting all your plants, really enjoy your gardens. TTFN…Sue
Happy Bloom Day, Sue! Yes, hauling buckets of water certainly makes for a good workout. Here’s hoping we get some much-needed rain very soon.
-Nan
Judy Zatsick
Delightful! What a great way to start the week.
I’ve heard from many that PA is very dry this year. It doesn’t show in the photos though, they are beautiful Nan. Thank you. Also wonderful that Echinacea is off the endangered list, That’s a WIN! I have several things on my wish list. Am curious if the marsh rattlesnake master will tolerate our clay soils better. And I thought Rhexia was a bog plant. Mine is growing with my Saracenia. Looks like you have it in gravel? Doing a rain dance for PA!
I was excited to try the marsh rattlesnake master, hoping that it would be tolerant of my winter-wet soil, and it indeed is thriving where I have not been able to grow other Eryngium species (besides E. yuccifolium). I have Rhexia seedlings growing in a couple different nursery beds, in just regular soil, and the plants look terrific; go figure!
-Nan
As always, you grow so many new things I want to try, and I have a friend who needs to see all of your tomato varieties with such gorgeous foliage.
I am actually growing the white bitter melon this year and harvested my first one yesterday. May I ask what you do with your fruits, and if you save your own seeds? I think the vines are gorgeous and the fruits look like a porcelain sculpture, but now that I have it in hand I’m stumped as to make the most of it!
Hah–the problem with growing things for seed collection is that I often don’t get to eat any of the harvest. My plants set a few fruits back in June but none since. I finally started giving the vines supplemental water a couple weeks ago and they seem to be growing again; I hope they will set more fruit soon. Because I wanted the seeds, I waited to pick until the fruits turned orange and split. My original seeds came from Baker Creek; maybe yours did too? I think there were suggestions there as to what to do with the melons if you want to eat them.
-Nan
Ah, I was wondering if seed saving would get in the way of your use of the fruits. Just heard from a friend that they are great with eggs, so I’m going to give that a shot!
Deirdre M Crowley
Loved this! Beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
I really appreciate you taking the time to visit today, Deirdre. Happy Bloom Day to you!
-Nan
Ian Warden
Hi Nan
Since getting some of your seed in the UK several years ago, I’ve moved to France, where, this year in particular, the weather has been a real challenge. I agree that these drier summers look to be the way of things in the future. However, I’m not about to give up and go plant only cacti, palms and yukkas! There are too many other fascinating things to try as your wonderfully inspiring blogs testify. My weakness is variegated and coloured filiale and I always come across something new in your blogs. Thank you for this one and all the others!
Ian
Great to hear from you, Ian. We can only hope each year that things will be good for gardening and then deal with the reality as the season progresses. I wish you all the best with your new garden!
-Nan
Allan
Hi Nan a feast for the eyes as always, thank you. Hope you get the rain soon. Here in NW England we have had 1 week of very hot weather (I’m not complaining lol). Now we have the rain, I’m hoping that the hot weather returns. We gardeners are never satisfied are we lol
Allan
Hi Allan! I suspect that being satisfied is not a common state of being for most gardeners. We seem to always want more or less of something!
-Nan
Jean Spangenberg
So many beautiful flowers Nan! Especially enjoyed seeing all of your morning glories, but so many beautiful plants. Visiting eastern PA and some really cool nights here, but also not much rain.
Enjoyed your post as always and hope you are doing well.
Jean Spangenberg
Thanks for checking in, Jean. Yes, at least it has been cooler here; whew. I hope you are enjoying your visit. I often send good thoughts your way when I admire some of the lovely things I have from seeds you shared with me!
-Nan
Deborah Banks
I found a cecropia caterpillar on one of our blueberry bushes 5 or 6 years ago. So amazing! I have not seen one since, though I have looked for them.
It just doesn’t look like it could possibly be real, does it? I didn’t even mind that it did quite a number on my young bayberry. I wish I could have seen the resulting moth.
-Nan
Shelley
Love those Japanese morning glory varieties! I must look for those.
And those caterpillars are quite a sight. We had a sphinx moth caterpillar with a blue horn in his rump, and for the first time, monarch caterpillars who are all now in the pupae stage. The wonder of the garden will never cease to amaze!
Thanks for your tour, Nan!
Hey there, Shelley! I hope your garden is treating you well this year. I know you have been so busy with your painting. Here’s looking forward to a lovely fall season!
-Nan
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As always I really enjoy this tour full of unusual species ! Here in France, my garden has really suffered from heat and I relaly think I will have to reconsider my way of gardening…
Good morning, Marilyn! From what I have heard, much of Europe has experienced far worse than where I am. It is just so sad. But on a happier note, the little silene you shared with me continues to delight; thank you for that!
-Nan
Good morning Nan, great to see that you have been able to water, it’s definitely keeping me fit! Couldn’t water the verbena hastata so just it didn’t really bloom too much, just a bit of purple then faded out, too bad. It was lovely last year with all the rains. Love seeing all your blooms and so healthy! Your new wild petunia looks like a double, so cute. And the morning glories of yours are beautiful, you will have them till a frost for sure, gotta have that late summer colour. You even have neat insects, so cool! Thanks for posting all your plants, really enjoy your gardens. TTFN…Sue
Happy Bloom Day, Sue! Yes, hauling buckets of water certainly makes for a good workout. Here’s hoping we get some much-needed rain very soon.
-Nan
Delightful! What a great way to start the week.
I’ve heard from many that PA is very dry this year. It doesn’t show in the photos though, they are beautiful Nan. Thank you. Also wonderful that Echinacea is off the endangered list, That’s a WIN! I have several things on my wish list. Am curious if the marsh rattlesnake master will tolerate our clay soils better. And I thought Rhexia was a bog plant. Mine is growing with my Saracenia. Looks like you have it in gravel? Doing a rain dance for PA!
I was excited to try the marsh rattlesnake master, hoping that it would be tolerant of my winter-wet soil, and it indeed is thriving where I have not been able to grow other Eryngium species (besides E. yuccifolium). I have Rhexia seedlings growing in a couple different nursery beds, in just regular soil, and the plants look terrific; go figure!
-Nan
Beautiful blooms. Love your cardinal flowers, I only have one of those. Your tomatoes are great. Thanks for sharing.
Thank YOU for taking the time to visit, Judy. I hope you and your garden are thriving!
-Nan
Another beautiful tour even though it seems that we all have had a difficult gardening season. Best regards to you, Nancy
Thank you, Carol. I wonder if “difficult gardening season” is redundant? Seems like we can always find something to complain about!
-Nan
Nan, you are a great photographer! Love seeing all of your photos and especially nice that you add the names. Wonderful blog!!!!
How kind, Carol; thank you so much. May you enjoy a beautiful Bloom Day in your own garden!
-Nan
As always, you grow so many new things I want to try, and I have a friend who needs to see all of your tomato varieties with such gorgeous foliage.
I am actually growing the white bitter melon this year and harvested my first one yesterday. May I ask what you do with your fruits, and if you save your own seeds? I think the vines are gorgeous and the fruits look like a porcelain sculpture, but now that I have it in hand I’m stumped as to make the most of it!
Hah–the problem with growing things for seed collection is that I often don’t get to eat any of the harvest. My plants set a few fruits back in June but none since. I finally started giving the vines supplemental water a couple weeks ago and they seem to be growing again; I hope they will set more fruit soon. Because I wanted the seeds, I waited to pick until the fruits turned orange and split. My original seeds came from Baker Creek; maybe yours did too? I think there were suggestions there as to what to do with the melons if you want to eat them.
-Nan
Ah, I was wondering if seed saving would get in the way of your use of the fruits. Just heard from a friend that they are great with eggs, so I’m going to give that a shot!
Loved this! Beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
I really appreciate you taking the time to visit today, Deirdre. Happy Bloom Day to you!
-Nan
Hi Nan
Since getting some of your seed in the UK several years ago, I’ve moved to France, where, this year in particular, the weather has been a real challenge. I agree that these drier summers look to be the way of things in the future. However, I’m not about to give up and go plant only cacti, palms and yukkas! There are too many other fascinating things to try as your wonderfully inspiring blogs testify. My weakness is variegated and coloured filiale and I always come across something new in your blogs. Thank you for this one and all the others!
Ian
Great to hear from you, Ian. We can only hope each year that things will be good for gardening and then deal with the reality as the season progresses. I wish you all the best with your new garden!
-Nan
Hi Nan a feast for the eyes as always, thank you. Hope you get the rain soon. Here in NW England we have had 1 week of very hot weather (I’m not complaining lol). Now we have the rain, I’m hoping that the hot weather returns. We gardeners are never satisfied are we lol
Allan
Hi Allan! I suspect that being satisfied is not a common state of being for most gardeners. We seem to always want more or less of something!
-Nan
So many beautiful flowers Nan! Especially enjoyed seeing all of your morning glories, but so many beautiful plants. Visiting eastern PA and some really cool nights here, but also not much rain.
Enjoyed your post as always and hope you are doing well.
Jean Spangenberg
Thanks for checking in, Jean. Yes, at least it has been cooler here; whew. I hope you are enjoying your visit. I often send good thoughts your way when I admire some of the lovely things I have from seeds you shared with me!
-Nan
I found a cecropia caterpillar on one of our blueberry bushes 5 or 6 years ago. So amazing! I have not seen one since, though I have looked for them.
It just doesn’t look like it could possibly be real, does it? I didn’t even mind that it did quite a number on my young bayberry. I wish I could have seen the resulting moth.
-Nan
Love those Japanese morning glory varieties! I must look for those.
And those caterpillars are quite a sight. We had a sphinx moth caterpillar with a blue horn in his rump, and for the first time, monarch caterpillars who are all now in the pupae stage. The wonder of the garden will never cease to amaze!
Thanks for your tour, Nan!
Hey there, Shelley! I hope your garden is treating you well this year. I know you have been so busy with your painting. Here’s looking forward to a lovely fall season!
-Nan