Six on Saturday: My Garden in July
Shall we talk about the weather again….. it’s been so ridiculously hot this last week. The last time I felt so drained by the heat it was at Uluru in Australia back in February!
But today the temperatures have returned to normal and my garden is absolutely delighted that’s it is raining, and not just a bit of rain, it’s getting a proper soaking. And yours truly is feeling just a little bit smug that the lawn was mowed yesterday and is looking beautifully green.
The garden is thriving but displaying subtle changes as we approach August. The anemones are either flowering or in bud and the asters are also getting ready to do their thing.
Just to ensure I’ve got enough colour in a quiet corner, where Erysimum Bowles Mauve is feeling a little sorry for itself, I’ve invested in a few bargain cosmos plants today which should flower in pots for the next two or three months.
Anyway, these are six of my July highlights….
This anemone was last year’s end of season buy from Bluebell Cottage Gardens. It was a tiny plant when I bought it; the last one left on the nursery shelves and probably the runt of the litter. But just look at now…… its a beauty!
This was the first of my three roses to flower in May and I wasn’t expecting to re bloom until early September. But here we are at the end of July with more flowers and lots of buds.
Verbena Bampton is such a pretty plant with it’s purple leaves and lilac coloured flowers. I saw it used in a couple of the show gardens at RHS Tatton this year as well. Not the easiest plant to photograph in a way that shows it’s best qualities though!
Two for the price of one with this photo. The phlox has been there for years providing a reliable splash of July colour in a shady corner. I have no idea what variety it is. The salvia is a new acquisition for 2019 and I’m really pleased with it.
There seems to be a bit of a pink and purple theme to this month’s selection, so to partially redress the balance here’s something different. Dyer’s Chamomile, to give it it’s common name, is a fabulous perennial and a lovely soft (ish) yellow colour. I’m a big convert to yellow flowers in the garden!
Any finally it has to be another verbena. I have lots of this in the garden as it obligingly self seeds all over the place…… and the butterflies just love it. This variety is more compact than bonariensis and also more bushy in habit. I like it because it is a better height for butterfly photography but unfortunately the plants that grow from seed are considerably taller. A Chelsea Chop may be required for next year’s seedlings!
And that is my Six On Saturday. I hope you’ve enjoyed a quick look at my garden highlights and for more ‘sixes’ take a look at the site of the creator of this weekly collection. His Six on Saturday is always an excellent read and there are many more photos and blogs on twitter under the hashtag #Sixon Saturday
