Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, August 2013

Backyard raised beds, black-eyed Susans in the back

Well, well. I'm actually going to do a post for Carol's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day meme. I used to post fairly regularly for GBBD but life has gotten in the way. Yet I'm happy to say I took some quick photos yesterday evening of some things going on in my little world that I will share with you. GBBD celebrates all things blooming on the 15th of every month.

Bronze fennel

I'm loving my bronze fennel this year. I tried it once before and was underwhelmed. It seems to be happy this year, though. I planted it for the butterflies to lay their eggs on. Once the umbels open it should be very attractive to other pollinators.

'Baby Joe', a dwarf variety of Joe-Pye weed, and bee

Speaking of pollinators, Joe-Pye weed is always a good one for them. The variety I'm growing - 'Baby Joe' - is a dwarf one. I would give you the botanical name of Joe-Pye weed but last time I looked there were a couple of them (is the genus name Eupatorium or Eutrochium now?).

'Baby Joe' behind the birdbath

To give you a frame of reference of its size, here it is behind the birdbath.

'Issai' purple beautyberry (Callicarpa dichotoma)

The beautyberry is starting to color up now. That means fall won't be long! Yes, it's technically not a flower but I consider the berries colorful enough to qualify. By the way, this particular variety is supposed to be about 3- to 4-feet wide by 4-feet high. Well, it's 4-feet high but a good 7-feet wide!

'Mardi Gras' helenium

This photo of 'Mardi Gras' helenium is a little blown out by the setting sun (as are several of my photos), and the blooms are a little past peak. But the fact that it's growing at all is a slight miracle to me. I bought it last fall on a whim thinking surely it doesn't really do well here, but it'll do for a little fall pick-me-up. Lo and behold, here it is blooming again this year!

Sacred lotus seed pod

Love this little seed pod. I just wish the raccoons would stop washing or whatever they're doing in my lotus bowl.

'David' tall garden phlox 

Here's another surprise - 'David' phlox. It's a mildew resistant variety that didn't take too well to the first place I planted it. Perhaps not enough water?? I moved it to my rock wall bed and recently accidentally decapitated it. That didn't seem to phase it, did it?

'Autumn Joy' sedum

Another sign that fall will surely come soon is the budding out of the 'Autumn Joy' sedum. Some blooms are even starting to turn pink. One thing I love about this plant is how long the blooms last and the colors the blooms go through - white to pink to bronze.

'Black and Blue' salvia

After a drastic cut-back, my favorite salvia is blooming again. I cut it back by a third to a half after its first spring bloom in order to keep it from getting ratty at the base. It's one hummer friendly shrub!

'Patrick's' abutilon

It was getting a little dark when I took this photo of 'Patrick's' abutilon. It hasn't bloomed that much this year, and I'm not sure why. Guess I could try fertilizing it (something I rarely think to do with most of my plants!).

That's just a sampling of the flowers in my garden today. I've also got cuphea, basil, arugula, borage, some roses, coneflower, lantana, verbena, and some succulents blooming. What's blooming in your garden? Check out May Dreams Gardens for links to other bloggers' GBBD posts.

This post was written by Jean McWeeney for my blog Dig, Grow, Compost, Blog. Copyright 2013. Please contact me for permission to copy, reproduce, scrape, etc.