So pretty Sherry! Here's some of the summertime color in my gardens.

My "sky blue" aster among the annuals. There are several brand new Asclepias in there too, sleeping for now.

Here are some of mine!

Very nice, Faith, you’ve got the color riot for sure!

Sherry

Yes, I know! I have almost an acre and I’m not patient, so I took anything that anyone would give me, plus anything that would grow if you throw seeds on the ground. I think it’s turning out pretty well!

You guys are killing me, I'm envious - those color combos are gorgeous, especially rich red roses with the pure white shastas!

Wow look at those colors...Beautiful!!

Sure is a sight to see after looking at my depressing gardens.

Thanks for sharing.

does this count?..I'm working on a "tropical paradise" on the deck..too shady here for what you guys can grow..wish it was May instead of July..

Those look great...so nice and healthy!

Thankfully you have shade...those would have been toast here!

Nicholsworth, I like your pots. I see you have some caladium,I’ve got a pot with some. You could add some with more pink and red in the leaves to add more color next season, just a thought if you are looking for more color here.

Sherry

Sherry..thanks!..hard to tell in that pic (surprised that you noticed) but I have 6 pots of caladiums from the last 2 years and I just bought 4 new ones..love them..

I'm really enjoying these photos because none of the gardens have visible mulch. So many folks in my area have a few small, rounded plants adrift in a sea of mulch. You guys have plants elbowing each other and weaving together/more is better/color color color. Love it!

I love seeing riots of color, so much more interesting than lumps of one color in a sea of mulch!

Mine's not really a riot, but the party is at least getting started, and the daylilies and coneflowers next door sure help.

Finding it difficult to get pictures in the bright sunlight, so 6 a.m. today.

Good golly I am envious of these gardens and perfect photos. Here are a few:

Growgirl, love all your daylilies! I have many.

Lovely daylily blooms, growgirl. I'm wondering whether you deadhead dead daylily blooms. Everything looks so tidy.

Have a number of double-flowered daylilies here. As a relative Johnny-come-lately to daylilies, I find the dead blooms of the doubles more unsightly (close-up) than those of singles.

Love that red garden phlox too. Have several reds here. Do you have a cultivar name for your's?

Thanks Sherrygirl and Sunnyborders. They always put a smile on my face. I throw in other perennials for good measure lol. I do deadhead. I am a tad ocd and like the flowers to be cleaned up and only produce seed pods on the ones I cross. Gives me something to do out in the garden every day too:) The phlox is Flame Coral. I love it (and Flame Purple too). It radiates that color so well!

Thanks, growgirl. I'm definitely on the ocd-side myself. I too like neat and (for me) usually no reseeding at all.

Can see the close similarity between the colour and height of your Flame Coral and our own. It's done well here too. Am always trying to add garden phlox colours beyond pink and white.

Brown , brown and grey..... sigh.

Yesterday.

Beautiful:)

Thanks growgirl. Yesterday. Currently, best face of the whole garden (small tree recently taken out, etc.); plus a bit more detail.

Lovely mixed borders, sunnyborder!

Thanks, sherrygirl.

Needless to note, I didn't emphasize the parts which aren't currently working.

Am sure many gardeners feel that mixed perennial gardening is a bit of a juggling act. Maybe rather like trying to construct something when the parts (notably flower colour for me) can't always be relied on to be there.

Love love love. I have goals to have my mixed beds look that good. I have the urge to start digging out all of my dead and sub par plants so I can visualize what open spaces I have to work with. I have gobs of potted plants to get in, and some things need dividing. I got 4 new dalilies last week that need to go in tomorrow and I dug a massive sized LA iris out to make room for one. I potted 2 big chunks of the iris to plant in my new bed, which I plan on really taking the time to visualize how I want it to look. I will be using all these lovely photos for inspiration!

BTW Sunnyborders, do you have in ground irrigation to water your beds? Or have you had ample amount of rain this season? The beds look pristine! We have been so dry that I have been watering my daylilies every other day just to keep them happy enough to not abort too many buds...and it is getting old. I hope to put in irrigation next spring. Ugh.

My little bit of riot lol...the rain sure helped.

GardenHo..looks good!..jealous of your macrophylla hydrangea..

Growgirl, that garden is only "mine" in the sense that I planted it in 2000 and am the only person who's maintained it since that time. It currently takes me 55 hours a year (a growing season). There is a sprinkler system on the property which is a great help with the perennial beds. I haven't needed to do any supplemental watering to a few drier parts so far this year. Much of July and August can be quite dry here and this year there were problems even in June.

As indicated, I did take pictures that hide a couple of current problem spots; namely, one replanted to fill in after a small tree was taken out this year and another resulting from leaving too large an area of perennial poppy last fall.

Appreciate your comments. Happy to hear of your own perennial gardening endeavours.

Nicholsworth that hydrangea was one of my clearance finds. It seems to be happy now as it was really sad looking when purchased.

I have to say I've been wildly disappointed my my gardening outcomes this year. My first year HT roses didn't survive winter well even though they'd been prolific bloomers the year before, so their spark is missing. The rest of my garden is brand-spanking new so its still developing, plus I've been working CRAZY hours at work and I'm lucky if I spend 2 hours a week in my garden. -sigh-

But I AM extremely appreciatative of all the brain so I haven't had to water in like two weeks!

Currently the closest I have to a riot of color lol

(Will add back garden and fence garden picswhen I get home)

I inagine next year it will explode but I'm trying to be patient for now

Sunnyborders - is that goatsbeard in your third photo? What a beautiful combination.

Skibby, know I haven't planted goatsbeard in that garden, but not sure what it (between the two areas of phlox 'Laura') is. Extreme right: is something like a dracaena in one of my customer's planters on a stone column behind. Last visit, cut the Kashmiri tree mallow back (pink flower above the liatris) to expose the phlox behind. Thinking it's too early for that height from other tall perennials planted in that location. You've got me wondering. Going to check on visit tomorrow.

Thanks re combination. I plant and tend to it all, but there's always an element of chance that hopefully is corrected (e.g. pulling out wild running goldenrod and asters, inside the beds, before they've really got going).

Kali_c, am very fond of that size of dahlia in areas too small for a perennial bed. Your's currently look much better than mine. For the first time in ten or so years of using medium-sized dahlias, I'm trying to deal with mildew on the leaves.

Sunnyborders - thank you! I bought a dozen gogo dahlias and noid medium dahlias on a whim and shoved them in places I knew would be bare until my roses filled out, it seems to be working well! Ah sorry to hear about the troubles you're having with yours that's terrible!

Photos on frotn garden and fence garden specimens

GardenHo..I'm glad you gave a "sad looking" hydrangea a happy home and brought it back to good health..I hate thinking about all of the plants in the world that are just wasted..

Kali_c, hard to see but it's a tall Helenium.

Well, mine is not exactly a riot (not enough contrasting colors) but it’s the best I have:

Cathy..great pics..your plants are just beautiful..

Finally have some color despite a month aomid of rain! Lol

Allium Millennium now in bloom

Here’s my “mini riot” from this morning, not bad for mid August. Two coreopsis, a fading coneflower, an evening primrose, and in the back a Bobo hydrangea and Rozanne geranium.