Thursday, July 15, 2021

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day & Foliage Follow-Up July: Mid-Summer Blooms!

Welcome to my July Garden
Welcome to my July Long Island Garden for Bloom Day & Foliage Follow-Up! Thank you for being here. IMPORTANT NOTICE: If you have missed my last post, Blogger has made an announcement that Feedburner will no longer be sending e-mail notifications of new posts, so I am using a new blog subscribe service called follow.it. It has an excellent reputation and is real simple to sign up if you haven't already done so. If you have already been following, you should be receiving a notification from follow.it with a link to accept if you wish to continue receiving posts. Here's more info.  Now, onto the tour!!!
Echibeckia Summerina 'Blazing Fire'
July is welcomed in with this new addition to the garden. It is Echibeckia, which I found at a local farm stand last summer. I tested it out and it is a winner! Echibeckia is a new cultivar derived from a cross between Echinacea (Coneflower) and Rudbeckia (Black Eyed Susan). It is hardy in zones 7-9, grows 16-24 inches tall, is more disease resistant and the flowers are a wonderful three inches in diameter!
Summer Perennial Border 
Here is a view of the rest of the perennial border with Salvia, Daylilies, Astilbe, Lamb's Ear and Echinacea. It provides me with blooms spring through fall.
Salvia 'May Night'
The bumblebees love the Salvia in the perennial border and it is so nice to view them working away doing their job. Tip:  Deadheading the spent blooms of Salvia will keep more coming for several months!
Back Island Bed Summer Blooms & Foliage
Here in the back island bed is the foliage of Sedum 'Brilliant' (blooms to come!), 'Caramel' and 'Palace Purple' Heuchera (Coral Bells) and more Saliva!
Back Island Bed Evergreens & Flowering Shrubs
Other members of the back island bed include Hinoki Cypress 'Compacta' (center), Mugo Pine (two sides) and dwarf Variegated Weigela 'My Monet' in the foreground with 'Palace Purple' Heuchera to the right. Weigela showed its dainty deep pink blooms back in spring and the Coral Bells are producing their spikes of Baby's-breath-like flowers now.
Western Pool Garden
In the western pool garden, this little statue of children playing leap frog can be spotted tucked away among Sky Pencil Holly and Coral Bells.
More Foliage Combinations
As you probably know, I love foliage combinations and this is just another one to add to the list. Here is the deep green foliage of Hinoki Cypress 'Compacta' (backdrop) with Sedum 'Brilliant' (to the right-light green foliage, pink blooms late summer), 'Palace Purple' Coral Bells (to the left-burgundy foliage, blooms now in mid-summer) and 'Gold Standard' Hosta (in the foreground-blooming now). 
Dwarf Rudbeckia (Black Eyed Susan)
These Dwarf Rudbeckia 'Little Gold Star' is starting to bloom in the back northern garden bed. Kousa Dogwood is behind them and forming its fruit, which will become a bright red hue later in the summer. 
Pool Garden-Daylily 'Sammy Russell Red'
Daylily 'Sammy Russell' is blooming along the waterfall in the pool garden with its bright crimson red blooms with yellow centers. This daylily starts its blooms a little later, following immediately after 'Stella D Oro', which started last month.
Back 'Secret' Garden
Peeking through the Viburnum and behind a Kwanzan Cherry tree is this bird bath, which I turned into a planter this summer with Black Mondo Grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus) and 'Platts Black’ Brass Buttons (Leptinella squalida). Hosta 'Shadowland' is on each side of the planter.
'Secret Garden' Planter
Here is the planter up close!
Back Perimeter Garden Double Pink Knock Out Rose Blooming!
The Double Pink Knock Out Roses are blooming in the back perimeter garden. Knock Out Roses are easy to care for and I get prolonged blooms throughout summer into fall with a little maintenance deadheading.
Back Perimeter Garden
While the roses are blooming on each far end of the perimeter garden, in the center is Weeping Blue Atlas Cedar, bordered by Heuchera (Coral Bells) 'Palace Purple' and 'Caramel'.
A Little Garden Whimsy!
Around the bend on the opposite side of the garden towards the southern side of the property is this little gardening boy watching over things...
St. John's Wort
as St. John's Wort starts blooming in the northwestern 'Secret Garden'. It will continue to provide interest through fall.
Hydrangea 'Nikko Blue'
July is Hydrangea time as this old fashioned 'Nikko Blue' produces its vibrant deep blue blossoms in a more acidic soil. To the left of 'Nikko Blue' is Hydrangea 'Tokyo Delight' with its pinkish-purple lace-cap blooms.
Hydrangea 'Endless Summer'
On the opposite side of the property is 'Endless Summer' Hydrangea. Located in a more basic soil, its blooms are pink. It's nice to enjoy the variety of both colors, and sometimes there is even a little hue of purple to be seen!
Driveway Border
Follow me along to the front of the property as we take a look at the driveway border. Here is 'Skylands' Golden Oriental Spruce, accompanied by yellow Coreopsis 'Zagreb', bluish-purple Nepeta 'Walkers Low' and the burgundy foliage of Weigela 'Spilled Wine'.
Echinacea 'Cheyenne Spirit'
Also in the driveway border is Echinacea 'Cheyenne Spirit', producing its array of multi-colored blooms, all on one plant!
Front Entrance Garden
Here is a view of the front walkway with evergreens Weeping White Pine and Blue Atlas Cedar, along with Japanese Garden Juniper, Variegated Liriope (purple blooms later in summer) and Golden Sedge. Coral Bark Maple and 'Skylands' Spruce are in the backdrop.
Front Island Bed
Osmanthus Goshiki (Fasle Holly) is doing well in its second season on the front island bed. It is accompanied by Hosta and Weeping Norway Spruce, with Weeping Japanese Maple and Blue Atlas Cedar, each seen in the distance.
Herb & Vegetable Planters
Last, but not least is the herb and vegetable planters on the back patio. An assortment of  Parsley, Basil, Spearmint, and two types of Cherry Tomatoes are grown for our enjoyment and for cooking too!
Thank you for Visiting!
Thank you for visiting my July garden. As always, I enjoy hearing from you and seeing what's growing in your neck of the woods! Special thanks go out to our hostess Carol at May Dreams Gardens, who makes it possible to see blooms on the 15th of every month with her meme Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. Also, special thanks to Pam Penick at Digging who has hosted Foliage Follow-Up for all these years, a meme I will still continue to honor. I am also linking with some other wonderful hosts and hostesses at Floral Friday FotosMacro Monday 2, Mosaic Monday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf, Nature Notes at Rambling WoodsImage-in-ing weekly photo share every Tuesday with NC Sue and Gardens Galore Link Up Party every other Monday with Everyday Living. I am also happy to join the Weekly Photo Link-Up at My Corner of the World on Wednesdays and Garden Affair at Jaipur Garden

A GUIDE TO NORTHEASTERN GARDENING NEWS:

If you are a gardener or wanting to learn more about garden design and maintenance, you may enjoy my books. To learn more, visit My Author Page. I have written four books to pass along my knowledge and experiences as a landscape designer and gardener, which I have been all my life! They are A Guide to Northeastern Gardening: Journeys of a Garden Designer Zones 3-9, Landscape Design Combinations, Dream, Garden, Grow!-Musings of a Lifetime Gardener and my latest Gardening by Month: A Monthly Guide to Planning the Northeastern & Mid-Atlantic Garden. If you have read and enjoyed any of my books, please share with a friend, plus reviews are greatly appreciated!

Be well and As Always...Happy Gardening! 😊

Author: Lee @A Guide to Northeastern Gardening,© Copyright 2010-2021. All rights reserved.

22 comments:

  1. Dear Lee, what a pleasure it is to see your garden. Love your hydrangeas, yellow hosts, sage. The Endless Summer hydrangea is especially good. It's too hot in here + 34C (84F)
    Happy July!

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    1. I enjoyed your garden too Nadezda. All your blooms are so beautiful and I like the silvery foliage of Cineraria Maritime and your Dahlias and roses! We have had some heat spells here with temperatures reaching 90 Fahrenheit!

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  2. I always love to visit your garden because, while I love flowers, I love foliage even more! And you always have the best combinations! But your flowers are beautiful too. I love the look of the Echibeckia, but I am especially loved the Echinacea 'Cheyenne Spirit' with those different tones-- so lovely. Thank you for sharing your beautiful garden with us!

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    1. Thank you for your kind words Angie. It makes me smile that you enjoy the foliage just as much as the flowers. Your garden is beautiful and I love the assortment of colors. It has such a nice cottage look about it, which is very inviting!

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  3. Fantastic garden! I always look forward to my monthly visits here. Happy Bloom Day!

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    1. I am so glad you enjoyed the view Dorothy and thank you for raising awareness about our precious environment and wildlife with your informative posts.

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  4. Love that new variety - echbeckia! Your landscape looks healthy and happy with this year's climate!

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    1. Thank you Rita. It’s been hot but we have been getting regular rains during the evening hours to replenish the plants. I enjoyed your summer table setting. You are so talented!

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  5. The Echibeckia is amazing! But, the showstopper for me is Sammy Russell. Your Cheyenne Spirit is lovely. I hesitate getting it, because a lot of them aren't as beautiful as yours.

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    1. The Cheyenne Spirit is fairly simple to maintain Lisa. It just likes a lot of sun with moderate watering. They bloom a long time too. Thanks for the kind words.

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  6. Your garden is looking magnificent and very, very colorful, Lee! The Echibeckia is intriguing. I love both Echinacea and Rudbeckia but both are very iffy in my zone 11a climate. You noted that it's zoned for USDA 7-9 but the Sunset Western Garden Book with its finer zonal definitions often spreads a wider net. As the latest edition (2012) doesn't yet list Echibeckia, I may have to conduct my own experiment ;)

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    1. Thank you Kris! I am finding the Echibeckia to be quite hardy and it came back twice the size since I planted it last summer. It is definitely worth a try!

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  7. Love the shape and color of the 'Blazing Fire'! Many beautiful plants in your garden.

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    1. I am so glad you enjoyed the garden. I loved all your blooms and your Dahlias are gorgeous!

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    1. Thank you! I am so glad you enjoyed the tour! Have a great weekend!

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  9. Another lovely tour, Lee. My hydrangeas are looking good, too, this year but I don't have a blue one. I should try for one by making my soil more acidic. Do you do that, or is it naturally so? P. x

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    1. Thank you Pam. The one set of hydrangea are blue naturally, but I do add Espoma Organic Acidifier to the soil in June and then sometimes again once they start blooming to make the color even deeper. It seems to work almost immediately with watering

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  10. Your garden seems to be beautiful every month of the year. Enjoyed visiting here.

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    1. Thank you Yvonne. I am so glad you enjoyed the visit, as I enjoyed the beautiful photos of your garden,

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  11. The echibeckia looks stunning, and it came up in my feed next to your light blue hydrangea. A very nice color combination, I must say. Orange and blue are complementary colors, right?

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Thank you for visiting. I love reading your comments and knowing you have been here, and will try to reciprocate on your blog. If you have any questions I will try my very best to answer them. As always...HAPPY GARDENING!