Here is the August Bloom Day report. The summer of 2017 has been relatively cool, with only a few days that went over 89 degrees. We also had rain – almost sufficient to my desires. The hellstrip in front of the house is full of bloom – daylilies, bee balm, yarrow, coneflowers, and marigolds. Weeds and fallen sycamore bark as well.
Several of the roses are blooming again. Folksinger, a Griffith Buck rose, is the most enthusiastic.
Thomas Affleck was a great rose for me in Heath, and it remains a great rose in Greenfield. I will let these two roses stand in for Purple Rain, The Fairy, Polar Express, Red Kockout, Peach Drift and Paprika.
The clethra is gaining stature and so is the bee balm. That is a rain-bowed thalictrum in the background. There will have to be substantial dividing and rearranging in the fall.
The honeysuckle has a substantial but hidden trellis while the Grandpa Ott morning glory is hanging on to a couple of stakes and the fence.
When my friend gave me some small divisions this spring I misunderstood the gift. These rudbeckias look great this year, but I think I will have to find someone in the spring to share with myself.
Monarda fistulosa is a wonderful pollinator plant. I have two other bee balms, one is Colrain Red, and the other is a darker, more winey red.
Culver’s Root is another plant chosen because it is a pollinator magnet, as are two types of mountain mint, still bloom and feeding pollinators.
The Asclepias area is filling out, but the season is starting to go by.
Three hydrangeas are a major part of the South Border. The most easterly is Limelight. This is the third summer for all three.
Angel’s Blush is just beginning to show shades of pink, that don’t really show in this photo.
You can see the blooming sedums on the ground and an aster clump that will be blooming next month.
These tall asters with sprays of very small flowers are the first to bloom.
This has been the third summer for our garden. We began planting the South Border in June of 2015. We are so happy to see everything making the show we hoped for and look forward to rearranging in the fall ans 2018 spring to do a bit of simplifying.
I thank Carol over at May Dreams Gardens for hosting Bloom Day. Go and visit and see what else is blooming over all our great land.
Your garden looks great Pat, so much is in bloom. Even the hell strip is pretty. I love your roses. They look so healthy. Happy GBBD.
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What a feast for the pollinators you have created! Love your hellstrip. Hard to believe your garden was just begun three years ago–it looks like it has been here for a long time. Happy Bloom Day!
Your garden is lovely Pat as always. Those rudbeckia can get quite unruly with rain. It’s a pollinator paradise. My asters aren’t blooming yet, but not long now.~~Dee
I can’t believe your garden is only 3 years old! You have done a wonderful job creating it, so lovely.
Thanks for sharing on GBBD.
Jeannie @ GetMeToTheCountry.Blogspot.com
Wow, your roses are incredible! And your Hydrangeas and your Monardas! It looks like August is kind to your garden. Wonderful blooms!
Beth – we have been really happy with the rain we have had this summer. The growth and bloom has been really lush.
Jeannie – I’m so glad you visited. It’s been a wonderful 3 years starting this garden. Now we will start fine tuning. The shrubs have gotten BIG, as we intended, but we don’t want things too crowded.
Dee – I was stopped in my my tracks on Sunday when I was giving a talk on pollinator plants and pollinators and one member of the audience who interns at a local blueberry farm said that asters do attract pollinators but that nectar can cause the honey to crystalize. Just when I think I know ‘everything” I realize I have to do more research.