Early August in My Flower Garden
Colorful flowers continue to bloom in my cutting garden.
Fortunately, there are many flowering plants that blossom this time of year, including rudbeckias, phlox, balloon flowers, and nasturtiums - and my large flower garden, located just behind my main greenhouse, is filled with them. My goal for this garden was to always highlight unusual flowers from different parts of the world using seeds from trusted sources and seeds I find during my travels. I really enjoy seeing its progress from year to year.
Here are some photos - enjoy.
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- There’s always something to see whenever I walk through my flower cutting garden. Close to the footpath is this attractive Nasturtium. Nasturtium plants, Tropaeolum, are loved for their rich, saturated, jewel-toned colors. Planted in the spring after the threat of frost has passed, they are fast and easy to grow. Nasturtium is a genus of about 80 species of annual and perennial herbaceous flowering plants. It was named by Carl Linnaeus in his book Species Plantarum, and is the only genus in the family Tropaeolaceae.
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- These flowers can vary in shade, but the most popular versions are orange, yellow, pink, red, or mahogany. There are also varieties in subdued shades of butter yellow and cream. This variety has variegated leaves.
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- Here’s a closer look at the interesting leaves of variegated Nasturtium. Variegated Nasturtium leaves are circular, shield-shaped leaves that grow on a trailing plant. The leaves are fragrant, with a mustard-like scent.
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- Ageratum houstonianum, a native of Mexico, is among the most commonly planted ageratum variety. Ageratums have soft, round, fluffy flowers in various shades of blue, pink, or white.
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- The phlox is thriving in the garden. Phlox has superb heat and mildew resistance. Phlox is a tall and upright grower that’s great for the back of the border, or even planted at the edge of the garden among the shrubs. Phlox also comes in a range of colors from pure white to lavender to even red and grows happily in most parts of the country. If properly planted and sited, phlox is largely pest and disease free too – a perfect perennial.
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- This phlox is called ‘Robert Poore’. The deep green foliage is topped by large rounded clusters of fragrant magenta pink flowers from summer into early autumn.
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- Here’s another phlox variety. The flowers bear a mild fragrance and come in a wide range of colors. These perennials also attract hummingbirds and butterflies.
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- Growing on the fence surrounding the flower garden is this dainty perennial Sweet Pea or Everlasting Pea. It is a herbaceous climbing vine with beautiful bright flowers that grows up to 10 feet tall. This white and light pink variety is so pretty.
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- Here is another one in crisp white. The perennial sweet pea blooms in summer, and blooms are on long peduncles above the foliage. It climbs by tendrils and can be trellised or used to cover a fence or other structure. It also makes a nicely mounded ground cover.
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- Morning glories are annual climbers with slender stems, heart-shaped leaves, and trumpet-shaped flowers of pink, purple-blue, magenta, or white. The vine grows quickly—up to 15-feet in one season.
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- This is a balloon flower, Platycodon grandiflorus – a species of herbaceous flowering perennial plant of the family Campanulaceae, and the only member of the genus Platycodon. It is native to East Asia and is also known as the Chinese bellflower or platycodon.
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- Balloon flowers get their name from the unopened buds, which swell up prior to opening and resemble little hot-air balloons.
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- This is a double, white, bell-shaped flowers. Balloon flowers thrive in sun or partial shade. It likes well-drained, slightly acidic soil; and although the balloon flower plant will tolerate dry conditions, it prefers plenty of moisture. This cold hardy plant also does best in cooler conditions in summer, so afternoon shade is a good idea for warmer regions.
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- These are the showy flower heads of rudbeckia. Rudbeckia’s bright, summer-blooming flowers give the best effect when planted in masses in a border or wildflower meadow. In general, rudbeckias are relatively drought-tolerant and disease-resistant. Flower colors include yellow and gold, and the plants grow two to six feet tall, depending on the variety.
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- I have many, many roses in my flower garden and in various other areas of the farm. This perfect yellow rose is just opening. In the last few years, I’ve added to my collection of roses – David Austin roses and various varieties from Northland Rosarium. A rose is a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus Rosa, in the family Rosaceae. There are more than a hundred species and thousands of cultivars.
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- I also grow many alliums here at the farm and they continue to bloom so beautifully. These easy-to-grow bulbs come in a broad palette of colors, heights, bloom times, and flower forms. They make excellent cut flowers for fresh or dried bouquets. These one to two inch diameter flowers are lavender or mauve and stand above the foliage.
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- Alliums can grow in almost any garden soil, but need full sun and good drainage.
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- Since most alliums multiply naturally, they can be left untouched in the same area for years. These late summer alliums will bloom through the month.
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- Also growing – this beautiful purple gladiola. Gladiolus is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the iris family. It is sometimes called the ‘sword lily’, but is usually called by its generic plural name, gladioli. Gladioli are grown from bulb-like structures called corms that are planted in the ground in early spring and bloom throughout most of July and August.
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- This plant is Aloysia citrodora, lemon verbena – a species of flowering plant in the verbena family Verbenaceae, native to South America. Other common names include lemon beebrush. It was brought to Europe by the Spanish and the Portuguese in the 17th century and cultivated for its oil.
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- Just outside the cutting garden is Pulmoniaria. Pulmonaria are members of the Boraginaceae family and first cousin to other well-known garden favorites such as myosotis, brunnera, symphytum, and mertensia, the Virginia Bluebell. The name Pulmonaria come from the foliage, which is often green with white spots, resembling a diseased lung. In fact, its common name is lungwort. The silver spots on Pulmonaria leaves are actually the result of foliar air pockets used for cooling the lower surface of the leaves.
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- And this is a metallic colored heuchera with the most attractive marbled and veined leaves. Slender stems hold sprays of tiny pink to white bells during spring. My large flower cutting garden, which measures 150-feet by 90-feet, is growing more and more lush each year, and every bed is planted with a variety of specimens, making it colorful and interesting. What are some of your favorite summer blooming plants? Share your comments below.
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