Now Blooming

Before I get to what's blooming right now, I'd like to welcome some new additions to the garden. I'm very excited about two new Helenium "Rotgold." These beauties will provide daisy-like flowers in assorted yellow and oranges in late summer. They will produce blooms from July to September if all goes well. I am a sucker for late summer blooms. That's one of the reasons I love purple coneflower so much. Just when I think the summer has fizzled, the coneflowers come alive and keep blooming and blooming and blooming. I'm hoping for the same thing from the Helenium...but no pressure.

I've also added two Salvia "Caradonna." I'm excited about these plants for an altogether different reason. They're supposed to attract hummingbirds. A few weeks back, I had a visit from a hummingbird. I think it's safe to say it was the first ever visit by a hummingbird to my garden. I was standing by the back door and heard the sound of its wings. I looked up, caught a glimpse, and it was gone. Brief but magical. The salvia is my attempt to bring that hummingbird back.

On to the tried and true. First up: lavender. I live smack dab in the middle of the city. But this picture makes me think about the wide open prairie. There's just something about the way the light hits the plant. The stems also lean to the right. I imagine the plant swaying in a prairie breeze. It's amazing to me that pictures can invoke memories of certain fragrances. But I look at this image and I can smell the lavender right now.




Can anybody stand another picture of the veronica? I love this plant. Enough said.





The Nepeta or Catmint has done a fabulous job of hiding the less than attractive base of my foxtail lily. It's starting to flop over though and is due for a trim. I'm hoping for a second set of blooms later this summer. The plant is also crowding one of my sedums. Maybe more than a trim is in order.

This cranesbill has to be the big disappointment of the season so far. After a great display last year, it has barely turned out a handful of blooms. I divided it in spring. That was probably my mistake. It's been struggling ever since. But I'm giving it a little extra TLC and have my fingers crossed for a full recovery. It really is quite an impressive plant.

And last, but certainly not least, the Serbian Bellflower. This one is very easy to miss. I forget about it year after year. It's planted along the edge of a path but hidden under the branches of a winged euonymous. It seems to be doing just fine in this shady, sheltered spot. It's very much worth it to stop along the path and peek under the branches to catch a glimpse of this tough but dainty bloomer.