Saturday Surprise — What’s been blooming this month
July 31, 2021
Since next week is my monthly wrap-up post and I saw that I had a ton of pictures of my flowers, I decided to share what’s been blooming in July this week 🙂
First I’ll start out with this image of the two different sized flower pots on my front steps. The one on the left is the one the deer got into, ripped to shit and then spit OUT what they’d destroyed–they didn’t even eat it! So the million bells planter on the right looks much better.
Right now my favorite flower– Stargazer lilies–are blooming. The scent is ambrosia and they’re so pretty. The pic on the left is of the single bloom variety and the right picture shows the extra set of petals this variety has:
I’m terrible about keeping track of what I planted. This bloomed in early July and I have no idea what it is. Not hollyhock, because I hate them, but something I planted 2 years ago because this didn’t bloom last year.
Have you ever heard of Joe Pye Weed? I know, weird to pay money for something that literally has “weed” in the name! I planted one out front because I wanted some height variety and then this year I found another plant (they are hard to come by here for some reason) and planted it next to my hibiscus.
I love cone flowers, or blanket flowers as some people call them. Both of these plants are new this year to replace the plants that didn’t survive the winter.
I wish I would’ve taken some pictures of the gorgeous wild lavender bee balm that is blooming everywhere in the Black Hills right now! Instead I’ll share the two varieties I have: dark pink in the back garden and the red variety out front
It seemed to take forever for the lavender to bloom this year…anyone else have the same thing happen? Worth the wait though 🙂
This yellow yarrow looks a bit floppy, but it is in much better shape than the red yarrow I have out front which is completely bleached out!
This is the first year that the orange day lilies D2 dug up from her house HERE (she moved 3 years ago) actually bloomed! The plant itself has always been healthy it just never bloomed. For some reason the voles left the burgundy day lilies alone so I was happy to see them bloom too
I planted 2 of these…oh 3 years ago? The damn deer get the one closest to the road, but these put on a good show this year. They are taller than Mr. James! They’re some kind of black eyed Susan/coneflower variety — again, I can’t remember but I’m glad this one survived the deer buffet
I really enjoy planting annuals and I went a little overboard this year. But they look so good and caring for them makes me happy, so win/win, right? Coleus do amazingly well on my decks. I have 3 of these big containers, each is planted with just coleus varieties. I opted to only take pics of one of them, and this is the biggest grouping
Since our back deck gets so hot you can’t walk on it during the heat of the day, I have to plant heat-hardy flowers. I’ve found that lantana does very well and I love that there are so many color options available
I found this plant at Fleet Farm and although they look like moss roses, they aren’t. It is very full and the blossoms close at night. The basket below it is verbena.
I have lots of square feet of deck rails, so that’s where the bulk of my flowers end up. I bought 4 new containers this year and yep, I filled every one of them. I prefer a wild flower look, where I mix all sorts of colors together 🙂 Geraniums, pansies, some purple vine, and marigolds in image 1, image 2 is dragon’s breath, double begonias, moss roses and ivy
The left is zinnias, marigolds, a mounding succulent and some variety of a lipstick vine. The second is a close up of a cactus that looks like a big diamond is nestled inside but it’s just a raindrop!
These are just 2 random baskets but I love how colorful they are!
If I come across any pics that I missed — trust me, I have WAY more flowers than this on my decks! — I’ll post them next week.
Hope you’re all staying cool and enjoying the summer!
LAST WEEK’S WINNER FOR THE BIRTHDAY GIVEWAY WAS DEBBIE FULLER! Debbie email me lorelei@loreleijames.com to claim your prize!
XOXOXO
L~
22 Comments:
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Karen Lauterwasser said:
So gorgeous! I think I liked the mixed coleus pots the best. Just my quirky point of view.
Janice said:
It all looks so beautiful!
I don’t have deer to worry about, but what I do have is a hubbie with a fetish for his weed wacker, that keeps destroying everything I try to grow. So, I’ve got plant envy, seeing all the gorgeous plants that you’ve got growing!
Everything just looks so pretty and healthy. It must look amazing around your place.
Kristie Galindo said:
Your flowers are so beautiful!
Sharon said:
Wow! Love, love all the color you have this year your gardens!! Coleus, I grew from seed this year and are huge.
Debra Wolsleben said:
LOVE your flower pictures! Thank you so much for sharing them.
Mary Preston said:
I CAN ONLY IMAGINE HOW MUCH WORK YOU PUT INTO YOUR GARDEN. BEAUTIFUL PICTURES.
Sherry said:
I love your flowers! Especially the colorful ones. Of course the purple and lavender are my favorite color.
Michelle Holden said:
I wish I had your green thumb, I swear I could kill a fake flower. My Mom can grow anything from a seed or cutting that gene skipped me.
It was so nice chatting with you the other night on Kimber’s Book Blog 😀
K. A Bylsma said:
The purple on long stems with the delicate blooms at the top, are wild geranium, here in Alaska… Invasive but smell so goid and tolerance to weather remarkable!
Amy Perrault said:
Love the flowers!! I’m in the country so we get piles of them. My favourites are Red Roses & Purple flowers to go with Epilepsy!!
Margaret said:
Thanks for sharing. Everything was beautiful
Jule said:
Awesome green thumb!
Jenny Black said:
Those are all so pretty. You are so lucky to have such a green thumb. I have a tendency to kill green things.
Kathleen O'Donnell said:
It all looks so lovely. My landlady does all the gardening in our house. She works really hard to make everything bright and green.
Denise Johnson said:
Beautiful!
Nikki said:
You certainly have a green thumb! All your flowers look so healthy and lush. I especially love stargazer lilies. Their scent is just so special. I have searched for several years trying to find a body lotion or spray that has scent, but, alas, I have not been successful.
Our lilies and snap dragons did great earlier this year, as well as the holly hocks, gladioli, cannas and a few other varieties. But it’s been so hot here in north Texas, they’re all starting to fade away. Even our lantana is sulking.
kc said:
Lorelei, I think the light purple (almost blue) tall plant with all the blooms is delphinium, variety may be Summer Skies https://www.hgtv.com/outdoors/flowers-and-plants/how-to-plant-grow-and-care-for-delphinium. Yes, I know Joe-Pye Weed; in SW Ohio, esp. grown near a pond as it can like to have it’s feet wet, it gets very tall! I was 5’8″ at full height & it usually towered over me, depending on where it planted. Not sure what the tall yellow plant is, maybe if we had a closer look at the flower itself? and I’m wondering at your yarrow being so spread out; is it in full sunlight? Love your pots! Lots of color!
Sheila Renner said:
Your flowers are beautiful. Thank you for introducing your gardens to us. The purple stems of flowers are Delphiniums. I’m not sure what the other yellow ones are called. Happy August. My birthday is Today. I hope you got my Birthday card. I pressed flowers from my garden to decorate the front.
Ruth said:
Thank you for sharing your Beautiful Flowers with us!
Well Done😎
Rolanda Tovey said:
The not Hollyhock plant looks like Monkshood to me. I had some growing a few years ago. Poisonous to deer so they avoid it. The other plant looks like False Sunflowers and again deer don’t eat them, my husband loves them and they spread like crazy. They are all over my yard. Enjoy.
Kim B said:
Beautiful flowers
Elisa said:
Love your Coleus planter! Looks gorgeous!