When I first started blogging I often featured the garden, but as the years went on I wrote about it less and less and focused on house projects more. And then I pretty much stopped blogging and I didn't garden as much either. But my garden has been a place of peace and relaxation for the last year and I've become passionate about gardening once again.
So let's see what's blooming this month for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, shall we?
 |
| front bed |
July in my garden means a coneflower explosion. The coneflowers dominate every border, especially the front bed, which makes this old post about how I struggled to finally grow a coneflower pretty funny. Now I'm to the point where I need to remove some to make room for other plants.
These all came from just a few plants, which I distributed the dried seed heads throughout the garden over the years. While coneflowers aren't my all-time favorite flower, I admire their stamina. They withstand the heat, humidity and dry conditions we often have and bloom from mid-summer until frost. Not to mention that they've been a great bargain for my gardening buck!
 |
| the side bed They're all purple/pink except two plants of White Swan coneflowers that popped up in the side bed. I plan to move those to the front this fall and plant some more white coneflowers via seed next year. |
There are more Zinnias in pots on the deck, along with some nasturtiums and some elephant ears that I've lifted and overwintered for three years now. There are some lemon cucumbers growing on the side.
You certainly have an explosion of purple coneflowers! But they look beautiful and pollinators sure seem to love it! The variety of flowers you have is so pretty-- and while not a flower, I have to mention that I love your door color. One of my favorite tones.
ReplyDeleteMaria - Thanks for stopping by and your kind words! I too love the door color. We plan to repaint the house this fall and when I decided to keep it white I knew I needed something different for the doors. I really love how they turned out and they make the house feel much more cottage-y to me.
DeleteWhat a lovely garden you have. My garden features a lot of purple echinacea as well and I agree with you that the bees and other insects dearly love it. Happy Bloom Day!
ReplyDeleteThanks Dorothy! We’ve gotta keep those pollinators happy.
DeleteThat's the way I was with coneflowers. Tried and tried to grow them from seed, then just tossed some mixed seeds from the Dollar Tree and got a bunch! Then, tossed some Pow Wow Wild Berry seeds and one took. Trying to grow them just didn't work for me. I was lukewarm on them too, but as you say, they are dependable. Bees prefer my other flowers until they are all that are left.
ReplyDeleteThey perform so well I might just add more coneflowers in different colors and styles. They’ve won me over!
DeleteI'm VERY impressed with your coneflowers, plants that are generally treated as annuals in my climate. Happy Bloom Day!
ReplyDeleteWow, I didn’t know coneflowers are annuals in some areas, very interesting. Happy Bloom Day to you too.
DeleteHi Candi, I love your coneflowers too! I have one plant which has doubled in size over 3 years (which is still not very big) but following your advice, I will try to distribute those dried seed heads! I really like nasturtiums and snapdragons. I'm in zone 6b and would not expect snapdragons to return either!
ReplyDeleteThe old fashioned petunias aren't hardy here, but I let mine go to seed and more came up the next year. Perhaps your snapdragons are from the seeds of last years. Some of my coneflowers struggle here, but they always survive. Your garden is beautiful with all the colors.
ReplyDeleteYour coneflowers are magnificent! I have never grown them before, but would like to try. My tip for keeping petunias going is this: when they start looking tired/ leggy I cut them back by half and feed with a liquid fertiliser- they come back rapidly and you should get another flush of nice flowers (provided you don’t do it too late for your particular climate). Hope that helps!
ReplyDelete