Sunday, August 5, 2018

What's blooming in my July Garden?

Join me for a stroll in my July garden. The agapanthus are blooming and I am so glad they have multiplied more this year. Agapanthus will grow in the sun or shade.The feathery plant around the bird bath is white yarrow that will soon bloom.
 I planted this limelight three years ago. It gets some afternoon sun and filtered morning light. For a number of years I hesitated planting one because I have so much shade. Many of my neighbors have beautiful ones in the sun that I pass everyday. 
It has been hard to wait to have enough blooms that I didn't mind cutting them. This variety gets very large growing to about 8 feet tall and 6 feet wide. This year I was blessed with a lot of blooms. My last post showed an arrangement I made from the blossoms.
I love having fresh flowers to arrange.
The limelight is encircled by my four season topiaries that are are tucked among the hydrangeas and azaleas. 


This time of year there are many phases of blooms on the bushes. There are new blossoms, a little older ones and those that have turned green with pink tips. I cut the very brown ones off and that encourages new blooms.
This is a close up of the fall season. One of the blooms feels papery just the right texture for drying. 
I was surprised to capture this very tiny baby chameleon !
This year I have been plagued with insects eating my hostas, scale on boxwoods, azaleas and phlox. Also, white flies and a bug and a fly I can't identify on my hydrangeas. 

This bug seems to be everywhere. Does anyone know what it is? I found one "bug app" but there is a charge. Has anyone had success with a bug app? I've heard good things about the plant identification app. 

The white flies were very bad in late May and early June. They were very heavy on my gardenias and phlox. I haven't wanted to spray for insects with anything strong because I want to encourage pollinators. 
I haven't had as many butterflies this year and I don't understand why. They usually enjoy my phlox and pentas. For some reason my pentas haven't taken off this year. They are usually so much bigger. 

 I do know why my phlox is sparse. My sweet yard man that comes a few times a year does not know a weed from a flower... bless his heart! I turned my back for a minute and he had whacked down my phlox with a weed eater. They had multiplied this year and I was so pleased. They were almost ready to bloom, so needless to say I was disappointed, but he is so sweet to me I could not be upset with him. They would grow back. I fertilized them and they have grown. Maybe I'll have blossoms soon.
 I intend to plant more phlox in another part of my garden so I will have blooms to enjoy in my view from the house and more blooms elsewhere to cut for arrangements. They will grow in the shade or sun which is great for me. 

So with all the white flies, mystery bugs and scale, I thought I should learn more about beneficial bugs. I knew that lady bugs and praying mantis were good bugs.  For several years, I have been curious about lady bugs and  finally got around to ordering a batch of them.  You can see one on the pic above close to the bottom. I released a portion of them for three days because there were so many in the order. However, I think they died. I only saw a few the following day. I plan to try this again and will release them immediately when the package arrives. The instructions say to release at dawn and dusk and that was a little inconvenient so I waited a few days and they were in the refrigerator. They were still alive when I released them but next time I won't wait and see it that helps.
Beneficial bugs sound like the answer to my problem so I have more studying to do.
Instead of thinking about bug solutions, it is more fun to show you several arrangements I did in different containers, with the fruit of my labors from my garden.

I put this on Instagram. Please join me there if you do not already.
For some reason after I finished this arrangement this old cotton doily my great grandmother made came to mind. I treasure this amazing art form that might  already be a thing of the past.

This is the same limelights in a different vase.
And... still another vase with the same flowers.
 I enjoyed you joining me for a stroll through my July garden and viewing some of the arrangements I made from the flowers growing. 
What's blooming in my garden? Since I have been gone for a week on a family vacation I fear weeds are the main thing growing since we have had so much rain!!! Have a great week friends. Happy gardening!🦋🐝👒🐞


Joining:
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23 comments:

  1. Beautiful!! You live in garden heaven!

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  2. Oh, Bonnie, your garden is a delight! I do love your limelight hydrangea and it looks very happy. I have one that takes the entire back corner of the garden. I love them because they are so pretty when everything else is beginning to fade. That little white bug is a dreadful thing. They also attack irises. It is hard to know what to do regarding spraying. I have often thought of my grandmother in Mississippi who would throw her dish water on her roses every evening. They were beautiful - maybe we should give her method a try. I also always have trouble with something getting after my hosta. I finally gave up and got rid of all of them but one, for that very reason.

    Love your hydrangeas in the cobalt vase and your four season topiaries are so lovely. Joining you this morning was a lovely way to begin my day! Have a beautiful week.

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  3. Your hydrangeas totally knock my socks off! And I especially love seeing them not only in your garden but in your home and in such elegant and beautifully done arrangements!

    Thanks for your great email. I'll be replying shortly!

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  4. Oh my goodness Bonnie! What a beautiful July Garden. The heat has truly taken a toll on my little veggies as well as well as a few flowers. The rain has been rough too. Never a happy medium I don't guess. Love strolling through your garden this morning. Hugs and blessings, Cindy

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  5. Your summer garden is lovely and I have a bit of hydrangea envy.

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  6. Bonnie, jaw dropping beauty. Your hydrangeas are so amazing. I love that you have done several arrangements. The table is just over the top. Beautiful Bonnie. Thank you for this special blessing.

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  7. Gorgeous photos and information. Thanks so much for sharing! Sandi

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  8. Bonnie, your gardens are outstanding! For being so far south, I would have expected a more tired appearance, but that just goes to show what all this rain has done. So sorry for the bug woes and the accidental weedeating. I hate when either of those things happen! Is that bug on the hydrangea leaf a soldier beetle? I'm not sure.....I usually just start typing in description on google, "bug on hydrangeas reddish head, yellow stripe, black wings...." and see what comes up!
    And could the hostas be host to slugs? When we've had a lot of rain in the past, I've seen holes much like those on my hostas. Look for the shiny trails.
    I almost missed the tiny chameleon! How fun to capture him!
    I'm in love with limelights, they're so pretty in the garden as as cut flowers! Your white yarrow looks very pretty too. Oh, to have any shade at all......

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  9. Bonnie,
    Your yard is just beautiful. so southern and so much like you..graceful and elegant. I know this year has been a real doozy in my yard with too much rain, to many bugs, way too many diseases and now the mosquitoes are about to tote me off. LOL Sorry but the language of old timers is just all that will describe this gardening year.. oh yes, all my tomatoes up and died from the wilt.
    Loved looking at your beauty..
    Love,
    Mona

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  10. Bonnie, I always enjoy my virtual stroll through your gardens. The bugs are really bad in my zone 4 gardens this year too. I choose to ignore them and just look at what they aren't eating. It is very frustrating through. Don't ever let them rob you of the joy of gardening!

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  11. Bonnie, I enjoyed my stroll in your garden and so envy your shade. So sorry to hear about the accidental weedeating! I love your pretty capture of the swallowtail. I'm usually dashing out and back in the early morning hours to avoid the heat so I don't see as many butterflies unless I'm out in mid or late afternoon. I never ordered ladybugs but would still like to. The sites where I found them, the shipping costs were prohibitive. I’ve already seen aphids on the milkweed which will prevent the Monarchs from laying eggs. I just read: “Release them in the evening, when cooler temperatures prevail. And provide them moist conditions; a light watering just ahead of release is a good idea. If they arrive to dry conditions, they’ll leave in search of water right away.” I don’t know if that helps but I would love to know your source of the ladybugs.

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  12. Bonnie, your garden is always beautiful. I would love to send you some ladybugs, they are prolific here and I am not sure why. They are such a good bug to have in the garden. The feathery white yarrow is perfect around the bird bath. I have a real crush over agapanthus this year. Your hydrangeas are always a star in your garden. We planted endless summer two years ago in our front yard a little distance from the house. The deer found them and ate them to the ground. Limelights are a favorite in the garden and on the table. Your arrangements are stunning as always. Thanks for linking to Gardens Galore and have a wonderful Tuesday!

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  13. Your gardens are so lovely! I enjoy stopping by every time I come for a visit.

    I too am having problems with bugs. The horrible Japanese Beetles are horrendous this year! Coffee grounds kept something from eating my basil.

    Glad your Phlox is coming back.

    ~Nancy

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  14. I love strolling through your beautiful garden, Bonnie, and then seeing your most lovely flower arrangements from your bounty. I, too, love doilies, and appreciate their art. I have had to fight spider mites on some of my trees, and had to mix an insecticidal soap spray to fight them. Squirrels are another pest that I have to endure, as they have eaten so many things in my garden. I'm starting to feel that I'm buying plants and feeding them!!

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  15. Bonnie, I always enjoy touring your garde and it is always a delight. You most definitely know what you are doing to have created such a place of beatuty to be enjoyed everyday! It is always a special feeling to go out in your own garden and cut flowers to be enjoyed in an arrangement inside created by you. I hope you find the info you need to deal with the bugs. We have moved so many times by the time I had a pretty garden starting it off to another location for us. It makes me happy enjoying gardens tended by my friends.Hugs to you Bonnie.

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  16. Your garden is gorgeous, despite the little critters. It's been so hot here, mine is not quite as pretty as usual. My Limelight is a small tree. Just getting ready to bloom. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  17. Wow, I am blown away by your garden! My hydrangeas are barely blooming this year :(
    I especially love the arrangement in the blue pitcher.

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  18. Such a lovely garden with gorgeous flowers and foliage. I am so sorry to see what has happened to your hostas, one of my favorites that I miss from up North. The feathery yarrow foliage is the perfect complement to your bird bath!

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  19. Your garden is gorgeous!Love the crocheted doily too!Hugs!

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  20. Oh Bonnie, such a lovely garden and I am jealous. I love ladybugs and we do have a few here in Florida. I don't know the larger bug you are trying to identify but I think slugs are after your hostas. I had a bad infestation of scale a couple years ago...it was like a white coating was on the stems of my mandavilla vines and it turned out to be scale. Yuk! I envy your beautiful hydrangeas as mine are in posts and since cutting off the dying blooms...nothing has happened. :(
    Your garden is beautiful.
    Kari@meandmycaptain

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  21. طريقة اكتشاف وجود النمل الأبيض في المكان

    حاول البحث عن أي علامة فساد تدل علي وجود النمل الابيض وقد لا تراها مباشرة، لكن لابد ان تكون جاهز في أي وقت، ابحث عن التشققات في الأرضيات والثقوب في الخشب واي جزء به تجويف في الأساس، كل هذا واكثر يدل علي وجود النمل الابيض، واحيانا قد ترى النمل نفسه.
    اختبر وجود النمل بواسطة مفك، قم بالطرق علي الخشب واختبر صوت الطرق او ادخل المفك داخل أي تجويف في الخشب فإذا دخل بسهولة دل هذا علي وجود تجويف ناتج من النمل الأبيض.
    النمل الابيض يوجد منه نوعان، النوع الأول يعيش تحت الأرض في التربة ويوجد في الأماكن الساحلية الدافئة، وايضا يعيش في السماد وحول المنازل، والنوع الثاني يعيش في الخشب الجاف ويكون موجود في أي مكان.
    شركة مكافحة النمل الابيض بالاحساء
    شركة مكافحة النمل الابيض بخميس مشيط
    شركة مكافحة النمل الابيض بالدمام
    شركة مكافحة النمل الابيض بالخبر

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