Main garden in Midsummer Full Bloom. July 14th
Mid summer is here, and the mid summer flowers are in full bloom this week after our hot start to July, the recent cooler temperatures have really helped to preserved the color of the flowers not that they’ve opened. Flowers found blooming in my garden now include Dallies, Beebalm, which has just started. Oriental lilies, Sundrops, which are still going and purple belle flowers, which are actually wildflowers that have volunteered in my garden.
A great tip I can provide is it is always a good idea to have lots of different kinds of plants and flowers the bloom in different seasons so that blooms can be provided in all seasons. I’ve seen and heard of people who have planted mass plantings of the same kind of flower that gives them color while there blooming, but then they are left with green when they have stopped flowering. Don’t be afraid to try new plants, and Now is the time to check out gardens centers, as plants are going on sale! For information on what plants bloom when, Go back and check past posts on my blog for flowers that have bloomed at past seasons so far this year!
North side Hosta Garden.
Hosta are plants that actually look nice at all times of the year because of their interesting foliage. Common Hosta have light purple bell shaped flowers that come out on long thin stems in Mid July, but some bloom in August with white nice smelling flowers. I found I actually like the flowers, and humming birds really enjoy them, but some people prefer hosta with out the flowers, in either case It is beneficial to cut the flower stalk off once the flowers have faded.
Belle flowers & Daylilles in a naturalized setting July 13th
If you are re doing a daylilly bed, or or just thinning some out, you can always plant them along a grassy hillside where they can naturalize, they are quite pretty blooming in a woods setting or along driveways, and I’ve found them so hardy, that I didn’t even have to plant them in the soil I just set the plants on top of the ground and they take root!
Deadheading Tip-Cutting off the old flower stalks
Dead blooms on a Peony plant before deadheading
Most perennial flowers in Wisconsin have one bloom time in a certain time of the growing season, during the rest of the time they are either in the growing process, or they are maintaining leaves to provides nutrients for next years flowers.
Peony plant after deadheading.
After plants have finished blooming, it is a good idea, and is actually beneficial to the plant to take a snipers of scissors and cut off the bloom stalk right where the stalk ends and the foliage begins. This is beneficial to the plant because it allows the plant to focus on maintaining foliage for next years blooms instead of on a seed pod, which in most cases does not make a new plant anyway. Not only is it beneficial but it cleans blooming plants ups and brings out the color of foliage, this is especially true for Peonies and Hosta. Remember when deadheading to leaves the foliage because that provides the nutrients for the next years flowers!