Garden Bloger's Bloom Day: June 2018

Welcome to my Garden Blogger's Bloom Day post for June 2018.  Every month garden bloggers post whats blooming in their gardens on the 15th of the month.  I didn't think we had much going on until I took a walk around the garden last night after dinner.  It's actually looking pretty good.

We have an informal hedge of Ruby Slipper Oak-leaf Hydrangeas across the front of our house.  They seem to love where they are planted and perform really well.  Here they are in May.  They have a ton of white blooms that really pop in the shade.

They have now started to fade to their pretty deep pink.  They don't stay white for too long.  Ruby Slippers is a more compact form of Oak-leaf Hydrangea.  Ideally we won't have to work to hard to keep them below the windows.  So far so good...but it is this planting third summer, so there is still time for things to go crazy.

I added a Cuphea, or bat face flower, into the pollinator garden this year.  I didn't get it due to it attracting large numbers of pollinators (though you can see an ant using this flower).  I got it because I wanted it, and the pollinator garden is where my impulse plants end up by decree of the true plant geek.  He gets worried since I tend to like wild, self sowing type plants.  They can get out of had really quickly.  This Cuphea is doing just fine, staying under control, and blooming it's little head off.

Of course lots of the Rudbeckias and Echinaceas are also blooming in the pollinator garden.  They will likely give us some color through much of the summer's heat.

Some of are heady Alstermaerias have started to bloom in the shade garden.  This yellow was planted last year, and is starting to get better established.  I've visited gardens where this stuff has basically become a ground cover, so in the next year or two, it should take off.

We also have some pitiful hydrangeas in the shade garden.  I'm almost ashamed to show the actual plant to any of you.

This picture greatly exaggerates the size of both the bloom and the plant.  It's really the size of a tennis ball and I'm not sure the shrub has grown at all since we planted it two or three summer's ago.

Of course we have daylilies.  Lots and lots of daylilies.  I don't have too many in this post since they aren't looking their best after dinner, but here is the new mini- collection.  A mini is any daylily who's flower is under 3 inches.  Ignore the yellow hybridizing tags, they don't really add much to photos, but do help keep me organized.

Here is a picture of the barrier garden.  It's pretty wild in there with all of our favorite diploid daylilies.  Daylily gardens in general tend to look a like weedy to me.  Add to this limited time to actually get in there and weed, mixed with a husband with an injured back and a toddler who like to copy everything you do, and the weedy look is amplified.  Not our best looking garden in pictures, but the flowers are lovely.

We've added a few other flower to try and extend the bloom time in this bed.  Cleome, Verbena bonariensis, and Zinnias right now.  Maybe other will join the daylilies over time.

Around the pool the cannas are just getting down to business and looking really good.  You can also see one of my favorite daylilies 'Notify Ground Crew', a 72 inch tall flower scape with a nice yellow flower.  Since they have only been planted in our garden a few years, they aren't getting to 72 inches yet, but each year they've gained a bit.

And of course, it wouldn't be a bloom day post from my garden this time of year without a few daylily pictures.

'On Silken Thread'

'Starman's Quest'

'Wilson Spider'

'Laughing Skies'

If you want to see more posts head over to May Dreams Gardens and see whats happening in everyone else's garden.