Early Summer Blooms
Early summer is such an exciting time at the farm because so much is growing and blooming, especially in my perennial flower garden.
It takes a lot of time to maintain a garden this large. It measures 150-feet by 90-feet. I, along with my gardeners, are constantly weeding and watering, and then weeding again. Every year, I add a number of flowering plants to this collection. And now, it is so full of color.
Enjoy these photos.
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- These larkspur are right next to my main greenhouse and are looking so beautiful right now. The larkspur flower is the common name for Delphinium. It is considered an herbaceous perennial and commonly bears purple, blue, white, or lavender flowers.
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- Growing on one side of the fence surrounding the garden are these dainty perennial sweet pea or everlasting pea flowers. The sweet pea is a herbaceous climbing vine with beautiful bright flowers that grow up to 10 feet long.
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- Inside the garden are these tall foxglove plants, Digitalis purpurea. These add lovely vertical interest to any garden. Foxglove flowers grow on stems which may reach up to six feet in height, depending on the variety.
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- Here is another foxglove in pretty creamy yellow.
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- These are the showy flowers of rudbeckia. Rudbeckia’s bright, summer-blooming flowers give the best effect when planted in masses in a border or wildflower meadow.
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- I have many roses in my flower garden. Some of them were transferred here from my former home in East Hampton. I am so happy with how well they’re doing. In the last few years, I’ve added to this collection of roses – David Austin roses and various varieties from Northland Rosarium.
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- Here is another rose in a delicate pastel peach.
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- Many of the poppies going strong. Poppies require very little care, whether they are sown from seed or planted when young – they just need full sun and well-drained soil.
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- Poppies are flowering plants in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. They produce open single flowers gracefully located on long thin stems.
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- The flowers have four to six petals, many stamens forming a conspicuous whorl in the center of the flower and an ovary of two to many fused carpels.
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- Poppies are an attractive, easy to grow flower in both annual and perennial varieties, and they come in nearly every color of the rainbow and can take on different forms like this more fluffy variety.
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- Here is a poppy seed pod, which is what’s left on the stem once the flower blooms and the petals fall off. As the seed heads turn brown with ripeness, it’s time to cut them and harvest the seeds. One can tell when pods are ripe by shaking the stem. If the pod rattles, it’s ready.
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- Alcea rosea is also known as hollyhock. These plants can reach five to eight-feet tall and up to about four feet across. Hollyhocks grow with single or double flowers that bloom from the bottom up and butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds love them.
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- The columbine plant, Aquilegia, is an easy-to-grow perennial that blooms in a variety of colors and forms during spring and early summer. The most striking feature of columbine flowers is the collection of five backwards-projecting spurs. Each spur is a petal that has developed into what appears to be a tall, slender, hollow hat. At the very top of each spur, inside, is a gland producing sweet nectar.
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- Shasta daisy flowers provide perky summer blooms, offering the look of the traditional daisy along with evergreen foliage. They are low maintenance and great for filling in bare spots in the landscape.
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- 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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- Achillea millefolium, commonly known as yarrow, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is a hardy perennial with fernlike leaves and colorful blooms. The large, flat-topped flower clusters are perfect for cutting and drying.
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- Lupinus, commonly known as lupin or lupine, is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. The genus includes more than 200 species. Lupines come in lovely shades of pink, purple, red, white, yellow, and even red!
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- There are numerous types of dianthus – this one with its fringed blooms. Dianthus flowers belong to a family of plants that includes carnations and are characterized by their spicy fragrance. Dianthus plants may be found as a hardy annual, biennial, or perennial and most often used in borders or potted displays.
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- Butterfly Weed is a bright orange showy native wildflower that’s easy to grow, cold hardy, and does well in poor, dry soils. Long-lasting clusters of small, flat-topped flowers are crowned with a yellow, sun-kissed “corona” and blooms from June through August. Butterfly Weed is an important nectar source for Monarch butterflies and its leaves provide essential food for developing Monarch caterpillars.
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- And down the center footpath of the garden is Lady’s mantle, Alchemilla vulgaris. In late spring and early summer, the plant produces lovely chartreuse colored blooms.
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