Even though my flower borders begin to look a bit disheveled by mid August (their height of bloom is in June), there are flowers coming into bloom while cicadas buzz and robins fly south.
Rosin weed is a magnificent, 8 foot tall plant that is a spreading clump beside a telephone pole. Some years, the deer eat a lot of it before blooming because it's outside the protection of the electric fence. This year they only had a taste, so there's lots of cheerful yellow in view. 
Phlox is, of course, a mainstay of the summer garden. Here, beginning to bloom, is a stunning cultivar named Nicky, with intense purple red coloration. I have a lot of trouble growing beautiful phlox because my borders have very wet soil, caused by lots of rock ledge under the ground. Part of the cellar in my house is filled with ledge, and rocks grow out of the soil every spring.
Campanula Carpatica "Blue Clips" is a small mounding plant that is very happy growing in front of my porch. It has reseeded itself profusely in this area. When I tried growing it in the front of a border, it wasn't at all pleased: too wet. Plants certainly let you know their likes and dislikes very clearly.
The Casa Blanca Lilies just began to bloom. They add a rich and heavy scent to the garden. I love the way their huge stamens make a strong graphic statement, like insistent brushmarks on a blank canvas.
"insistent brushmarks on a blank canvas"
ReplyDeleteWow! That is one for my "wish I'd written that" list.