More perennials beginning to bloom.

Shasta daisies:
'Real Dream'


and 'Sante'


Of our Echinacea, the 'Sundown' is the most noticeable.
(Over the years we've lost all our other Big Sky series but this particular plant has been a real survivor.)


Some of the daylilies are beginning to flower; 'Siloam Double Classic'.


For some reason, of all the garden phlox we have in our garden, this 'Bright Eyes' is by far the most advanced. It's not in a particularly sunny location and we have other 'Bright Eyes' plants.


The following have been planted this growing season to filling in gaps in the perennial beds.
Phlox:
Violet Flame


and Younique Red


Lychnis sieboldii 'Lipstick'

Wonderful photos. Such a joy to see them all.

Love those phlox.
My Bright Eyes is blooming.

Very nice, Charlie! I've never had any luck with phlox myself.

All so beautiful Charlie - my daylilies are winding down.

Front yard phlox are blooming en masse. None are blooming in the backyard which does have less sun. Wasn't aware of the younique series of phlox. I do have 2 of the younique series of astilbe.

Thanks, All.

Notable how location affects bloom time (e.g. Vic's daylilies in North Carolina now winding down).
Also seeing differences in the start of blooming between the same cultivars located in different parts of our single garden (as Gary notes for his garden).

Other way round for me Gary; saw the Younique phlox series first. Guess I'm strongly oriented to garden phlox!

Very short on rain for first part of July; however, now have had a couple of big rainfalls. Was intending to get garden pictures today, but it's been raining much of the day (a big weight off my back). Just had to replace some annuals at Mrs. L's (even though there's a sprinkler system). Used geraniums ( viz. pelargoniums). The rain does crush down their blooms for a few days, but the plants soon bounce back and overall they work really well here.

Am a bit traditional with daylilies (after Sharon convinced me to use them); still focused on orange (albeit doubles), like 'Awesome Luck'. Am guessing that a problem with doubles is that the dead flowers can be rather obvious, though I'm compulsive enough to deadhead our daylilies daily. Still daylilies have become very helpful in my perennial gardening.

Last Friday.


As indicated, garden phlox blooming in places in the garden.


Other places, just in bud, or just beginning to bloom.
Sure some of it is also to do with which cultivars are involved.
Two stalwarts, 'Twister' and 'Pina Colada'.


Last Saturday.
The culver's root are in blooming and the bees love them.
Most of what we have is 'Fascination'.


The purple phlox is Nicky ('Düsterlohe').
Hard to get a good picture of the purple.
Took this day's pictures at 6 a.m..


Am unhappy about some gaps in the flower beds. Thinking the winter and terrible earlier spring may have killed
some plants off. Perhaps as part of the consequence have still been pulling out lots of weeds. Typically find that,
in summer, the taller perennials shade out seeding weeds.

As said, think we also have some increased shading in one corner of the garden (perhaps especially from our own star magnolia). Believe, however, that properly selected and maintained trees and shrubs are likely to be much more important to selling an average sized property (here), as our one, than a nice mixed herbaceous perennial garden.

Oh, your blooms make me smile Charlie - all so lovely. I love the bright colors of all your echinacea's and yet the culver's root is so dainty and whimsical and love the color of that as well.

I have a phlox which when I purchased it, was described as a changeling. It is about 24" tall and has a very nice head of very full flowers. They are a glowing true blue in the early part of the day when they are in more shade, and more of a mauve during the height of day. I really like it. I will not be able to tell you it's name until things die back in the Fall. I really enjoy the phlox season.

Love that orangey-red echinacea and your helenium; I seem to be getting into those oranges lately.

Thanks.

Vic, I too really like the colours of the echinacea cultivars, especially that bold orange of 'Adobe Orange' (picture above).
Just saw a 'Cheyenne Spirit' (think the particular plant has some unusually attractive flower colour) at Home Depot.
Am still thinking of it! Also some very reduced coral bells 'Mega Caramel'. Find that colour quite attractive and having to plant area of our garden which is now more shaded, notably by our own star magnolia.
(Vic, are any contribution being collected for the Sharon Daylily yet? Realize it won't ever be able to cross the border, but we were all Sharon's Folk).

Debbie, re orange, as said, I too really took to orange in recent years. Read one on-line study of colour preferences. By age, orange, like yellow, gets less preferred with age. Not in my case at least! Have also long found helenium a very useful later summer-earlier fall bloomer here. That 'Mardi Gras' above is our only helenium blooming at this time; unusually early for helenium generally in our location. We seem to have lost our Helenium 'Sahin's Early Flower'.

Gary, interesting about the changeling. Will be interested to hear the cultivar name. Have read that the colour of Nicky (= 'Düsterlohe'), purple, picture above, changes through the day. Haven't been able to see any generalization about the colour change myself. I'm usually more challenged by colour changes from plants themselves to photographs, but will be interested to look again while the plant's still blooming.

Some pictures from Mrs L's yesterday. I planted this garden (English Gardens: Perennial Gardening) in 2000 and have maintained it ever since.There's been a small addition in 2015 and replanting after a small tree was taken out, this year.

Charlie, we told Arlene, since she lives in GA and that is where the daylily was "created", that whenever she's ready, we'll help pay for the daylily and I told her you were on board with us. Her and her hubby just returned from a fantastic vacation in Spain and now are so busy with the garden and grandchildren. You know how that goes. I'll tell her you brought it up. Thank You! Yes, we are all part of Sharon's Folk

Larry has been posting some awesome photo's of the daylilies he hybridizes. I know you can't buy them but might want to look. Here is a link to his website:

https://cottageinthemeadow.pla...

Mrs. L's garden is freaking awesome!

Vic, I second that " freaking awesome" motion". Will check out Larry's site later.

Thanks, Vic, including for site Larry's daylilies site. Regards to Arlene.
Thanks, Mike.

Gary, am learning something about "changelings". Didn't know the term or much at all about the topic before you raised it. Found some useful information from the garden phlox pages in the Perennial Pleasures Nursery current catalogue. Post at bottom has some interesting speculation about the whats and whys.

All, our garden.
Last Saturday.


Today. Lots of garden phlox blooming.
From back garden.










From front garden.

Oh Charlie - what a beautiful and COLORFUL garden. It makes me happy. The swan makes a beautiful back drop for the photo

. Very nice.

Thanks, Vic, Mike.
Deadheading phlox but still lots of bloom.
On some days the back garden's quite fragrant.

Yesterday.

Charlie - Your photos belong in magazines - stunningly beautiful, dreamlike.

Exactly what Pirl said Love the fragrance of phlox.

My front yard looks like the phlox gardens Charlie shows. I added blackeyed susans last year too. I had a man stop by while I was doing some spot watering. He wants to bring his granddaughters to show them. He was very complimentary as he walked about. I really love phlox season. I do have a lot of phlox seedlings popping up all over. Some of the seedlings are beauties.