2020 has been quite the trying year for our Small Blue Dot so far. During December of last year, there was word of a new virus spreading through China. At the end of February, the first death related to the virus was reported in the Pacific Northwest of our country. On March 23, Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive order to Stay Home Stay Safe. In our state, nonessential travel is prohibited. We are not to leave our homes except as necessary “for health and safety reasons, to get groceries and supplies, for certain outdoor activities, and to care for others”. Today that order was extended to April 30th.
The Other Half and I are fortunate our jobs allow us to continue working. We are both able to telecommute, so for the most part our income is uninterrupted. However, there are many who will be facing an unplanned and sudden loss of income. It’s a real test of our species’s ability to support one another.
Nature Still Progresses
As we walked through the Lot this early evening after work, the Other Half and I noticed the continuing progress of the plants. During a time the world’s societies seem frozen in place, nature is still on the move. It’s a humbling reminder the human species is not the center of the universe as we often believe ourselves to be.
In the south bed, these frilly daffodils are blooming. The tulips are on the way, the foliage already out of the ground.
We left the confines of the Lot to take a stroll down to the park to see what else was blooming. On the way, we found these peonies against a south-facing brick foundation. They are well ahead of the peonies on the Lot, which do not receive as much sun this time of year.
In the park we found more daffodils in bloom. This west-facing bed also had some peonies breaking ground.
Just opening are the forsythia shrubs. We clipped a few small branches to bring back and place in a vase at home.
And finally, the magnolia trees are also just starting to open.
On the 15th of each month, garden bloggers from around the world celebrate Bloom Day together. We photograph to share with everyone what’s in bloom in the garden. If you’d like to see even more blooms, head over to May Dreams Gardens. The following is what is in bloom on the Lot in USDA growing zone 6a.
Seasonal Signals
After gardening awhile, you begin to notice the changing of the seasons by the behavior of plants in your garden. On the Lot, summer is winding down when the asters and sedum begin to bud after a season of quiet foliage. The anemone push up thin stalks with marble-sized buds at the end of each. The amsonia’s green needle-like foliage begins its transition to a lovely gold. And then there are plants profusely blooming through the summer, and as the amount of daylight shortens they begin to slow down.
Late Summer / Early Autumn Blooms
This season brought yet another new bed to the Lot. We replaced the mess of soil and ground stump where the dying norway maple had been with some plants I’m hoping are tough in the sun yet salt tolerant. Of those plants, the blanket flower (Ghilardia ‘Arizona Sun’) and some yellow lilies are continuing to offer up their cheery, warm-hued blooms.
Across the sidewalk in the southeast bed, the jupiter’s beard (Centranthus ruber) is blooming. It usually blooms most of the summer, but a snaggle of rose canes had been shading it. The rose was pruned (later in the season that it should have been because this gardener needs staff!!!) and the jupiter’s beard is now adding a splash of pink to the bed.
Also, the autumn crocus (Culchicum) have emerged from the soil to brighten the bed. These always remind me of a dear friend who gifted them to me. These blooms are the special type of lavender/violet that really glow at dusk or on overcast days.
It wouldn’t be the end of summer without the sedum blooming! This is one of two on each side of the stairs. In full bloom they remind me of cotton candy. Also pictured are the fading blooms of the black-eyed susan (Rudbeckia) and the little, blue blooms of the plumbago.
Another set of autum crocus are on the other side of those black-eyed susans. There is just a bit of red left from the tickseed as well.
Still in the south bed, the yellow blooms of the shrubby cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa) are becoming less and less frequent. The purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) are fading as well.
In the backyard garden, located in the north bed but far enough away from the house to receive some sun, the cardinal flowers (Lobelia cardinalis) have done awesome this year. This whole bed was redone when the patio was installed last fall. It was later in the season when I transplanted the cardinal flowers, but they seem to have adapted well. I really like how they look against the dark foliage of the astilbe behind them.
Here are the last blooms of the foamy bells (a cross between Heuchera and Tiarella) in the same north bed. They have been blooming all summer long. As the blooms fade, you can deadhead them, and the plant sends up more of the fairie-like flower stalks.
Another autumn bloom we enjoy on the Lot is the Japanese anemone. Here is a volunteer blooming in the backyard bed. This plant is known to reseed a bit, well, a whole bunch. So far it is behaving. There is something about this color and flower shape appearing in fall that I enjoy.
Here is the star of the autumn blooms on the Lot. On the pergola in the backyard garden is the sweet autumn clematis. It is absolutely lovely and smells wonderful. On a sunny day, I like to stand beneath it and listen to the air hum due to all the bees visiting the plant.
Gardener Beware: This plant grows very fast and will freely reseed. It politely behaved its first several years in the garden, but this season I was pulling A LOT of volunteers. Also, you need to really dig and grab the volunteer plants by the roots to remove them. Otherwise the vine will snap and you’ll be pulling the same plant a week or so again later.
While out taking photos for Bloom Day, the Management pointed out the catnip that is blooming. It is always blooming. Bees love it. The Management loves it. Many gardeners prefer catmint because it is a saint compared to the free-roaming, gangly catnip plant. However, I enjoy letting it wander about the Lot and just pulling the old plants when they get too out-of-hand.
Another bloom for autumn is the aster. They have finally popped! Here they are with the fading tickseed (Coreopsis).
And here’s another shot of the asters deeper into the garden.
This plant is newer to me. I rescued it as foliage a few seasons ago when I was replanting a garden for someone. I wasn’t sure what it was, so I planted it and waited. It turns out to be closed bottle gentian (Gentiana andrewsii). I need to do some more reading on its preferred growing conditions because even though it blooms, the plant is quite floppy where it currently resides.
I didn’t realize how many blooms we have going on the Lot at this time of year until I started resizing photos and writing up this post. Something Bloom Day forces me to do is look at all areas around the Lot at different times of the growing season. I see where there may be “holes” in the color… which means the opportunity to go shopping for new plants, right?!
Even though it has been horribly hot and humid on the Lot, we have had some overcast days. This allowed me to take pretty okay photos for a Bloom Day post! “What is Bloom Day,” you ask? It’s a day gardeners from around the world post pretty pictures of what is currently blooming in their gardens. Then we all swap links over at May Dreams Gardens. So let’s do this!
The city removed the failing norway maple in the verge, so this spring I created a new bed. During the winter we have a lot of salt thrown up from the road by the snowplows. So this bed is a bit of an experiment as I’m testing salt-tolerant plants. One of these is now blooming, the blanket flower (Gaillardia ‘Arizona Sun’).
Also up front, the native coneflowers are beginning to open up in the south bed. These blooms attract oodles of pollinators before offering seed to the finches in the autumn. Behind the stand of coneflowers, the little shrubby cinquefoil (Potentilla) is producing its cheery, yellow blooms.
I often wonder if gardening is a gateway hobby to entomology because HOW COOL IS THIS LITTLE BEE? It is quite tiny, as the bloom belongs to the tickseed (Coreopsis) in the front bed. Tis the season for tickseed on the Lot as all cultivars are currently in bloom.
I have to admit, I wasn’t much of a daylily fan until I actually had some on the Lot. These lovely blooms, planted in the southeast corner of the house, are from a friend who was losing a battle with lily-loving deer.
On the east side of the house a bed receiving morning sun and a slight blast of sun in the in early afternoon. Then the shadow of our home passes over the plants and gives them a break from the really hot mid to late afternoon sun. The white bloom is from the masterwort (Astrantia). The yellow blooms are the fading lady’s mantle (Alchemilla).
In the back garden, there is a lot in bloom right now. Here’s Fini with a Hosta ‘Mouse Ears’ on the left and a dwarf bellflower (Campanula) on the right.
I’m pretty excited about the white blazing star (Liatris) pictured above. I finally have arranged the planting in the bed correctly so the plant has enough sun to bloom. The purple blooms just now opening are balloon flower (Platycodon grandiflorus). I also learned balloon flower belong to the larger bellflower family.
Also in the back garden, these little coneflowers (Echinacea purpea ‘Butterfly Kisses’) are blooming. They serve as a part of a ‘living mulch’ to help keep the roots of a clematis cool.
The main sun bed in the backyard garden has a whole lotta stuff happening. Both the yarrows (Achillea millefolium) are finishing their blooming. The butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is in bloom and hoppin’ with pollinators.
This is another plant I’ve had for awhile and it just didn’t receive enough sun to bloom. It’s now tucked behind the yellow yarrow in the main, backyard bed. Love the blood red bloom on the Himalayan cinquefoil (Potentilla atrosanguinea).
If plants were sorted into Hogwarts houses, this pretty purple clematis would be in Hufflepuff. The clematis ‘Rooguchi’ is a rambling clematis that doesn’t suffocate other plants and provides blooms from about May to late autumn on the Lot.
As mentioned earlier, all tickseed is in boom right now. This is a threadleaf variety planted back by the water barrels and receiving a hot blast of afternoon sun.
Hydrangeas are another flower I wasn’t very keen on when first beginning to garden. However, they are beginning to grow on me. This one is a more compact variety, only growing to 4’x4′.
Also blooming are all 3 varieties of bee balm (Mondarda). This one is from the pollinator bed I created last autumn. It is conveniently located on the south side of our 2 veggie beds. In addition to insects, I’m hoping to see a few hummingbirds this season.
These final blooms are opposite the alley bed. They belong to the rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium). The plant belongs to the parsley family and is native to tallgrass prairies of eastern and central North America.
I planted the rattlesnake master with the idea of creating a larger bed catered to ground-nesting bees. The area is at the northwest corner of the Lot by the alley, where not many neighbors walk. It would have the sun it needs and also be more safe for the bees. However, the plant selection is dwindling as the maple on this corner matures and the bed gets more and more afternoon shade. I think we can still #makeithappen, it just won’t be as large as initially imagined.
Slowing Down to Smell the Flowers
Something I am trying to consciously do this year is to slow down during these warmer months. Heat makes me cranky, and then it is not so fun to be in the garden. I’m aiming to spend any time deadheading and weeding in the very early morning and the early evening. Otherwise, I am attempting to sit and be still to enjoy the Lot and all the creatures visiting it. I’m seeing insects I’ve never noticed before. With a cool drink in hand, it’s been pretty fabulous so far.
So that is all for July’s bloom day on the Lot! I’d love to hear what is blooming in your garden.
