Zone 7 Gardeners What is in Full Bloom Now?

15 years ago

Hello, it is only early-mid July and my garden is looking tired. I am a newbie so maybe this is normal for this time of year in this zone but most of my plants have stopped or are about to stop their flower show. It looks sad out there! I am curious to know what is still going strong in your gardens (besides Rudbekia and Echinacea I have those and the petals along with my Shastas are being eaten to the core) and what will continue into August. Suggestions for perennials and interesting foliage plants would be much appreciated. Most of the garden gets full sun, all day, facing south and the soil is somewhat amended red clay. I don't have a very large space so most of my plants are single specimens. Many thanks for your suggestions.

Here is my inventory. (I realize that the bloom times are normal for most of these plants). All plants were planted last year or this spring so maybe some bloom times are slightly off:

Hardy Hibiscus - blooming

Moonbeam Coreopsis - blooming

Limerock Ruby Coreopsis (overwintered, yea!) - ending its bloom

Delphinium Blue Mirror (I think) - just ended its bloom

Sweet Dreams Coreopsis (also overwintered!) - ending its bloom

Scabiosa, Butterfly Blue - blooming

Joystick Armeria - long since stopped blooming

Coconut Lime Echinacea - blooming

Sunrise Echinacea (distorted petals - going to be pulled- ending its bloom)

Dahlia - 2 plants - 1 in good bloom, 1 in intermittent bloom

Shasta Daisy - Ice Star - long since stopped blooming

Shasta Crazy Daisy - about to end its bloom

Geum, Chilean Avens - stopped blooming

Rudbekia, Prairie Sun - In bloom

Blanketflower - a huge disappointment, in bloom, but barely

Gaura - a monster which has taken over the garden with a good show in the early spring but only a flower here and there sice then

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Comments (8)

Happy2BeeME
15 years ago
Hi,
I'm not in your zone but my garden is taking a rest right now too. The daylilies, dasies, bee balm, a few lupine, few roses, crains bill, mallow are still going. then the fall ones will start in.

I drive around and look to see what is blooming I don't have and add it to the list for the fall sales. :)

Hope it helps

Karyn
DYH
15 years ago
Agastache Blue Fortune
Agastache Salmon and Pink
Agastache Coronado
Echinacea Ruby Star
Monarda Blue Stockings is fading and ready to deadhead
Phlox Robert Poore
Perennial heliotrope
tall verbena
hypericum x hidcote
hypericum (unknown name)
buddliea Royal Red, Honeycomb, Pink Delight, Adonis Blue
Delosperma cooperi
creeping thyme
nepeta is starting 2nd bloom
lavender is starting 2nd bloom
crocosmia Lucifer
tithonia (annual)
leucanthemum Broadway Lights
daylily Happy Returns and Stella d'Oro (multiple times)
vitex
rudbeckia Goldsturm
ageratum c. wayside (perennial hardy)
salvia black & blue, luna, ulignosia, Navajo Red
oriental lily Starfighter (similar to stargazer)
skullcaps
petunias (volunteers)
stachys hummelo 2nd bloom

bronze fennel is about to bloom
chives in 2nd bloom
spirea Neon Flash is about to start 2nd bloom
KO roses are trying to come back from JB damage

echinacea Sundown are fading, I need to deadhead
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Sue, I hate to bring this up - I always enjoy discusions about what plants to add to existing plants and I don't want to rain on your enthusiasm - but where are you planning to add these new flowers? Is there more to this bed that's empty or emptier than the bed in your picture. I ask because my Alchemillas are currently as tall as your 3 Endless Summer Hydrangeas and wider. My Endless Summers are nearly as tall as my 4 ft tall fence and 3 ft plus wide. My guess is that in 2 or 3 seasons you'll need to move things out of the current bed. From your pix I'd think that adding a few annuals here and there would add the late color that you're missing. Here's a few old views from my garden - I thought about posting them in the "What is your stupidest garden mistake" post, except I couldn't decide what area to show everyone! LOL 2003 Stone Bench bed. Same stone bench with alchemillas in bloom 2005. Can you find the bench? the mugo pines? the stone path? Alchemillas long gone from bench area. Picture is from 2007. The Lady's Mantle was moved to back side of the 3 trees in this long skinny bed. Alchemillas were replaced by Caramel Heucheras and Strutter's Ball daylily in the center section edged by the stone path. Since the above picture was taken, an alchemilla seedling has seeded itself into the second heuchera and is nearly as large as the heuchera! I haven't figured out how to separate the two - heuchera are really touchy in my garden - and I'm afraid if I pull it and tear the two roots apart (if I can tell which are which) then replant the heuchera - it will promptly die on me. :))
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crosscut
15 years ago
Most of these started blooming 2 weeks ago, but are in full glory right now: red bee balm (Jacob Cline), salvia (May Night), coneflower (Magnus), shasta daisy (Becky), canna (Wyoming), apricot colored daylily (unknown name), coreopsis (Moonbeam), orange california poppy, and annual red salvia. I'm zone 6b/7a near Washington, D.C
agardenstateof_mind
15 years ago
Some of these are just past their glory, but still looking good, others just hitting peak now:

various hostas, hydrangeas, daylilies
glossy abelia
canna 'longwood red'
aster 'ghengis khan'
achillea 'cerise queen'
achillea 'the pearl'
heucheras
coreopsis 'moonbeam' and 'zagreb'
indigofera
pansies
campion (rose and white)
centranthus
nepeta
penstemon 'huskers red'
phlox 'franz schubert'
salvia 'caradonna sage' (2nd bloom)
salvia 'may night' (2nd bloom)
monarda
daisy
Easter lily
speedwell
echinacea
rudbeckia
lavenders
sweet william
agastache 'honey bee white'

just coming into bloom or more bloom:
jasmine (2nd)
clethra
roses: ballerina, comte de chambord, pilgrim, tamora, tradescant, unknown red, unknown red & white mini, gourmet popcorn
hosta 'gold standard'
great blue lobelia
various daylilies
phlox 'david'(probably so late b/c I pruned it by mistake earlier this season, oops).

Not ready to bloom yet, but I appreciate their later bloom: chelone 'hot lips', montauk daisy, hydrangea 'limelight', cimicifuga, anemone. The dicentras will put out another flush of bloom as soon as the weather begins to cool, and the roses should have a significant second flush of bloom. The russian sage looks like it's going to be late this year, but was transplanted in the fall, so maybe is sulking a bit.
erasmus_gw
15 years ago
Tall phlox are just starting to bloom and will bloom for a long time
Catnip
These roses are blooming now but some others will probably bloom in a bit:
Anisley Dickson
Country Dancer
Felicia
Clotilde Soupert
Blush Noisette
Lavender Lassie
Sharifa Asma
Outta the Blue
Julia Child
Not many roses blooming out of my 300 but we've been in a drought till recently.

Moonbeam coreopsis
PLUMBAGO This is a great one. I have the taller light blue tender kind which blooms till frost, and the short electric blue hardy kind. The light blue one is pretty easy from cuttings. Also, I bought a big potbound 10" plant from Home Depot in spring and divided it in three.

Crocosmia
Verbena bonariensis
coneflowers
hollyhocks, starting to peter out
Roxanne geranium, still blooming
lantanas in pots
lilies
rose campion, about done though
salvia guarnitica always in bloom till frost
Four O'clocks
hydrangeas
ANNUALS!
a few daylilies
Diamond frost euphorbia a perennial in warmer climates that zone 7
Linda
DYH
15 years ago
Oh, CREPE MYRTLES! Who says you can't grow anything underneath them? :-)

Cameron

{{gwi:656643}}
PRO
Nell Jean
15 years ago
Crape myrtles are good companions. Until I pulled it, I had a Black eyed Susan snuggling right up to one and climbing; nicotiana does the same.

This time of year I focus on blooming plants for butterflies. The biggest show is trailing lantana, both yellow and lavender. Mine are planted in front of long beds where they can spread over the lawn toward the open road to coax the butterflies in.

Butterflies are swarming crocosmia, pentas, stachytarpheta (porterweed), tithonia and verbena bonairensis as well as lantana.
Pentas and porterweed are not hardy in your zone, but cuttings can be kept over winter in a warm place. I root extras in case some of mine fail to return.

I counted at least 7 foliage plants: Caladiums, chartreuse alternanthera and red; Purple Heart, striped Cannas, Persian Shield, Castor Beans and variegated Ginger. Some of these will bloom later.

Nell
kimnc7
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you all for your suggestions! I have quite a bit to look over and think about. And thank you for the inspirational photo Cameron. I really enjoy Crepe Myrtles but have a teeny-tiny yard. We are trying to figure out a way of fitting one of the smaller varieties into our space.

Zone 7 Gardeners What is in Full Bloom Now?

Comments (8)

Happy2BeeME

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Zone 7 Gardeners What is in Full Bloom Now?

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Happy2BeeME

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