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Thursday, July 18, 2013

Gardening in Pennsylvania ~ GBBD July 2013

The Hill Garden this week with purple coneflowers in bloom.

Take a walk around our garden this July to see what is blooming in the heat!

It has been nearly 90 degrees (32 C) everyday this week and very dry. Watering needs to happen every other day for my veggies and containers, which gives me an opprotunity to walk (slowly!) around and appreciate the flowers that thrive during these sultry summer days.
A hummingbird moth enjoys a sip from the lavender in the Driveway Garden.
These purple lily trees perfume our walk to the house.
These coneflower have a developed curious condition that produces red balls instead of the typical petal-like rays of Echinacea purpurea. Geranium 'Orion' is still blooming from last month, but will soon need to have its very sticky flowering branches cut back to the ground. It often reflowers in the autumn after this pruning.
Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus) blooming this July with Geranium 'Rozanne' and Miscanthus sinensis 'Dixieland'.
The right side of the Driveway garden is still looking nice, supported by all of the foliage from the plants that have already finished blooming for the year.
Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), Canna 'King Humbert' and Veronicastrum in the Hill Garden.
The red-veined foliage of Canna 'King Humbert' is dramatic in every setting. Here it is with Shasta daisies, now named Leucanthemum × superbum.
The Hill Garden will be full of coneflowers blooming for another month (the white variety are just getting started). By September, Rosa 'The Fairy' will be blooming again, returning the pink color to this garden.
Echinacea purpurea and Canna 'King Humbert'
Pot of annuals adding some color punch to the front steps: red leaves of a Hibiscus, pink Petunia and white variegated Pelargonium with red flowers.
Our front porch, an often neglected area, was recently spruced up a bit by a Boston fern. Such restraint, yes? With so much color in the front yard, it kind of needs a swath of green. :)
A look down the front path along the Front Walk garden. People comment on how nice our grass grows.... Our secret: seed the bare spots with white clover. It adds nitrogen to the soil, which means free fertilization, breaks the turf monoculture, mows down nicely and give the bunnies something to eat other than my lilies!
The Front Walk is full of foliage and flowers buds at the moment. It should be in bloom again by August with pink Japanese anemones, Dahila 'Jean Marie', which has a purple and white flower, and more white cosmos. Perhaps even a few orange Canna flowers will be thrown in! Zap!
Some cosmos, Cosmos 'Psyche White', are threaded through the variegated loosestrife near Cherry Corner.
Cosmos 'Psyche White'
View of Cherry Corner, which is still full of daylilies blooms, and the Shade Path, which is full of purple hosta flowers.
Hemerocallis fulva 'Kwanso' blooming in Cherry Corner and the Front Woodland this week is all ruffles.
View from the front corner to the back fence...
...and back the opposite direction.
The Circle Lawn is mostly green at the moment, but will soon break out with Sedums, Sea oats and Buddleia flowers for fall.
View down the grass of the Shade Path garden.  The hosta flowers are everywhere in July, hanging like little bells. This path is designed with a foreshortened perspective to elongate it - it is wider at the front than by the gate.
My little girl could not resist ringing all those bells.  :)
A few dragon wing Begonias are newly planted out in the Shade Path; they were successfully overwintered from last summer! (Three cheers!!! I have killed so many, I nearly gave up hope that I would ever make it work.)
A ratty, salvaged Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) has turned into a pretty shrub in the past two years. The white, strappy foliage behind it is a variegated Pulmonaria and variegated Sedum 'Frosty Morn', which is a favorite of mine.

View down the Shade Path to the corner. Foliage that can be seen here consists of various Hosta, Brunnera, Foxgloves, Epimediums and Helleborus.
View from our back gate down the Shade Path. We are so pleased at how the weeping cherry has started to shield us from this busy corner. Many shrubs are planted along here, which will continue to grow and give more privacy through the years, while also being interesting ornamentally - not just green blobs, which do have their place in other garden situations.
All along our fence we have planted hardy, scented Geranium 'Bevan's Variety' , which flowers oh, so nicely in May, stays green in July and turns to red in November.
July containers of Begonia and yellow pansies on our back steps. The ivy has really filled in on our hills - finally!
Like my weeds? Last year I shook Queen Anne's lace (Daucus carota) seeds along our curb strip. I am quite happy that some many took and are starting to flower this year! More updates on that later.
And lastly, by our fence we have the first of the Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight' flowers for the year.
Thanks to Carol at May Dreams for hosting Garden Blogger's Bloom Day!
A bit late this week, but better than never. :)

Hope you all are staying cool in this heat in the US & UK!
~Julie

23 comments:

  1. A lovely peaceful garden. Your Echinaceas look great.

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    1. Thanks Janneke!
      I am looking forward to taking some time to catch up on your garden too. :)
      ~Julie

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  2. Beautiful foliage and flowers in your July garden! I especially like the foliage combo of hydrangea, hellebore, and geranium in that one shot. And how cool to have captured that hummingbird moth on camera!

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    1. Thanks! There were quite a few messy photos of that moth that I had to delete :)
      ~Julie

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  3. So beautiful Julie and you've got green grass - here in Scotland we're just at 28 today and the grass is really starting to scorch as we're not used to constantly having those temps. I'd never noticed that you'd cut that shade path in such a way to elongate it visually - very good :)

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    1. Thanks Rosie! Looking forward to seeing your garden this month as well! I have been missing my blog reading lately & am in need of a catch up.
      ~Julie

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  4. Beautiful pictures. And very cool hummingbird moth, the ones we see are not so colorful!

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    1. Thanks Jason! That was an especially nice one... though they move so fast it is hard to get a good look at them most times. :)
      ~Julie

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  5. My 'Pink Double Delight' coneflowers also made some globes when the heat struck early this month, but then it cooled down a bit and normal flowers showed up. Your yard is beautiful, beautiful! It looks so lush and green.

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    1. Interesting... I had one flower like that last year. I wonder why?
      Thank you! Looking forward to seeing more of your new back yard ;)
      ~Julie

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  6. Julie your hot summer garden looks so lush and cool...fabulous blooms in all this heat.

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    1. Thanks Donna! It stormed more today, so at least it is still getting some rain. Very humid here... makes me look forward to cooler temps, I will admit. :)
      ~Julie

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  7. I am always struck that you have the luckiest neighbours in the world! They get to enjoy your garden all the time without having to do any work. I also like how you make the foliage of flowering plants work for you, my philosophy also. We also share the same taste in classically shaped pots - I have exactly the same ones. Christina

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    1. Thanks Christina. It is really fun to share the garden with the neighbors. I just meet a half dozen more this evening who have enjoyed our garden for sometime. They were all enthusiasm!

      It is hard to go wrong with a well-shaped terra-cotta (like) pot! :)
      ~Julie

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  8. Thank you Julie for the beautiful tour again. I just can't wait to see your blog everyday. It makes my day. Thanks for suggestions of clover in lawn. I have too many rabbit and I like the idea. Used to have clover but don't now. Have a great week and keep as cool as you can. Sheila

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  9. wow!! a walking in this beautifull garden!

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    1. Thank you! So pleased you enjoy visiting from the other side of the world! The internet is a wonderful invention, yes? :)
      ~Julie

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  10. Your garden looks glorious, as always...and I love that photo of the Hummingbird Moth! I haven't seen one of those since I moved to Portland!

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    1. Thanks Scott! Looking forward to catching up on your summer garden beauty too!!
      ~Julie

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  11. absolutely beautiful garden tour, made my day, I have just got out of hospital with serious colon surgery and this has lifted my soul.
    Elaine S.

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    1. So glad, Elaine. Take care! Will pray for you!
      ~Julie

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  12. Beautiful! I found you via Pinterest and love it. I started a garden 4 years ago and add lots every year. I hope it'll look like yours soon!

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