Bloom Day - June 2014

It's Garden Blogger's Bloom Day.  Hosted by Carol of May Dreams Gardens, it's a time to take stake of what's blooming in one own's garden and an opportunity to have a look at what's flowering in gardens across the US and in other parts of the world.

My May garden was dominated by Agapanthus and, although some blooms are now looking a bit bedraggled, the flowers still dominate my garden in mid-June.

Agapanthus in the backyard border

Agapanthus in the front yard

Most of the daylilies finished blooming last month but a few are still putting on a show, most notably Hemerocallis 'Indian Giver,' which is new to me this year.

This clump of Hemerocallis 'Indian Giver' has pumped out an impressive number of bright purple blooms this month

In contrast, this clump of H. 'Indian Giver,' obtained from the same grower at the same time and planted only several feet away from the clump featured above, hardly looks like the same plant

Hemerocallis 'Persian Market' got a late start but is still putting on a nice show

And Hemerocallis 'Spanish Harlem' is still producing blooms in the front yard border (against a backdrop of mostly dead grass) 

Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum), a short-lived perennial generally grown as an annual here, has added a bolt of purplish blue to my backyard border.

Eustoma grandiflorum 'Borealis Blue' stands out next to Achillea 'Moonshine'

Borage (Borago officinalis), another annual, is filling in some of the empty spaces in the border we added early this spring as an extension to the bed surrounding our backyard fountain.

Borage, planted among Salvia 'Mystic Spires, lobelia, and red-orange daylilies

The first of the Echinacea have returned.

Echinacea 'PowWow White' alongside Erysimum linifolium 'Variegatum'

Shrubs making a splash in the backyard include:

Hebe 'Wiri Blush'

Lupinus chasmissonis

Leonotis leonurus

While none of the common foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) I planted last fall have done well this year, the perennial Digitalis x mertonensis and the hybrid Digiplexis 'Illumination Flame' have fared better.

My Digitalis purpurea, if they bloomed at all, produced only short, stumpy bloom spikes like this one

Digitalis x mertonensis 'Polka Dot Pippa' was attacked by aphids but seems relatively unfazed and isn't the color pretty next to Yucca 'Bright Star'?

Only a few weeks after I cut the central bloom spike of this Digiplexis 'Illumination Flame', the plant has produced almost a dozen new bloom spikes

On the southeast side of the house, an area seemed to suffer most from our May heatwaves, Verbena bonariensis and Ageratum houstonianum 'Blue Horizon' have added a welcome touch of color.

On the outskirts of this section of the garden, two plants less known for their flowers than their foliage are providing an unexpected floral display.

I usually cut the flowers off this Helichrysum petiolare 'White Licorice' in the belief that they detract from the foliage but I let them do their thing this year

Crassula radicans 'Small Red' has produced a mass of flowers this year (despite very little water)

On the largely unattended back slope, crossvine (Bignonia capreolata) and Yucca elephantipes are demonstrating their ability to take care of themselves.

I inherited this Bignonia, a plant I'd intended to avoid after it swallowed a fence at our former house

Yucca Elephantipes continues to produce one giant bloom after another despite my husband's battle to cut the plant back to a more manageable size

And last, but not least, a Phalaenopsis sitting in a pot in an area along the street I largely ignore, is proving that orchids don't deserve their reputation as difficult or demanding plants.

I water this unidentified Phalaenopis when I happen to pass by it, which isn't often - nevertheless, it somehow it made it through 2 horrible heatwaves outside in partial shade

That's it for my June bloom highlights.  Please visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens to discover what's blooming in her garden and to find links to posts from gardeners far and wide.