Happy July Garden Bloggers Bloom Day!

Well, I'm back for another month, but I'll have to be honest...July is just not my favorite. It's hot, the bugs are out, the humidity is high, there are thunderstorms that blow up unexpectedly and the weeds need more attention than mom is willing to give them. The Battle of the Weeds begins in July at the farm and so far the weeds are winning.  Mom might even be surrendering, the jury is still out on that.

Luckily, she is pretty good at planting things that don't need much attention to bloom, and are stronger than weeds. Still, there's not a lot blooming in July (frankly, she just doesn't spend enough time outside in July to make July blooms a priority) but there are a few things.

The house gets a lot of shade, so hostas are the go to plant. Nothing fancy, medium to large leaf plants with purple flowers are planted in front of the house. They peaked about two weeks ago (sorry no pretty bloom photos) but you can sorta get the idea here...

Another shade survivor is Cimicifuga or Snake plant. The foliage survives in heavy shade, but filtered shade provides these lovely bottlebrush flowers.

There are also a couple of hydrangea (Mom needs to look up the species) that were planted last year and just don't want to bloom this year. If you move the foliage around and look carefully, there is one bloom - just one. Oh well, maybe next year will be better.

Heading out to the sun garden we have a few volunteer zinnias and rudbeckia next to the compost bin.

(Puppy Sis Emily gave us a few zinnia plants she started from seeds, but those are in a pot in the back yard - all in the sun garden are volunteers)

A clump Shasta daisies

And a tall stand of Pink garden flox

The butterfly bush is still blooming, but really - for July - that's all I've got. Enough to bring a bouquet or two into the house and a bit of color for a welcome home as you come up the driveway.  And that's good enough for me.

I spend most of my July days hanging out with Miss Lola and Remington in a shady corner or under the dog house porch, trying to stay cool and dry.

Thanks for stopping by

Puppy hugs,
Montgomery