Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - August 2019

Monarch butterfly on 'Zowie! Yellow Flame' zinnia

We took a couple of great trips this month, first to Boston then to Charlottesville, Virginia. But as the song says, 'It's very nice to go traveling, but so much nicer to come home'. I was a little nervous that I would find my garden a mess after leaving it untended, but it really wasn't too bad, with some beautiful blooms for Bloom Day.

The zinnias I grew from seed turned out to be quite stunning although I started them indoors in a different medium than usual, and when they germinated, the seedlings seemed awfully puny. I grew two sorts this year: 'State Fair Mix' and 'Zowie! Yellow Flame.' Zowie is my favorite zinnia of all time, not least because it attracts so many butterflies. I captured three monarchs in the picture below, but actually there were at least five on that stand of zinnias.

'Zowie! Yellow Flame' zinnia. Can you see three butterflies?

I have milkweed in three of my gardens. All are supporting monarch caterpillars. Also, there are lots of aphids keeping the ladybugs busy. I don't spray; I just wait for the predators to arrive.

All except the bottom left are milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). Bottom left is butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) - newly planted in the rain garden.

Let's take a walk around my gardens ...

Joe Pye in the rain garden is another butterfly magnet. That is the American swallowtail butterfly.

I planted a variety of pollinator plants in the cutting garden. These are from a free packet of seeds I received from Renee's Garden Seed Company.

Hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' turned from white to pink. The blooms were white in my last posting. They will be almost red by the end of the season.

Red crocosmia, aptly named 'Lucifer'. My mother in England called it Monbretia. Not very full this year due to winter damage.

Most of the daylilies have finished blooming. I showed you these fabulous red ones last month, but must include them for Bloom Day as they make such a statement -- and are my favorite.

Daylily (Hermerocallis 'Chicago Apache')

After all the bright colors of the cottage garden, let's rest our eyes on some white blooms ...


Clockwise from top right: Shasta daisy; phlox 'David'; German chamomile; caladium 'White Christmas'; David Austin rose 'Lichfield angel'; hydrangea 'Annabelle'

The water lilies continue their beautiful blooming in Froggy Pond

There are a couple of signs that summer will come to an end:

Top: Red berries on Korean spice viburnum 'Diana'. Bottom: Chinese lantern plants with their 'lanterns' turning orange

I am linking with Carol at May Dreams Gardens for her meme 'Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day' that occurs on the 15th of every month. Please click on the link to see what is blooming around the world today.

Wishing you all a happy Bloom Day,
Pamela