Around the July Garden

Well, my garden is still quite new, so it's still working on filling out. Back in June the Salvia and Alliums bloomed and looked marvelous, but then petered out, so between that and the raggedy-looking spring bulb leaves, my garden looked quite sad.  But thankfully some plants have finally come to a summer garden rescue...

Purple Coneflowers!

'Magnus' Purple Coneflower

The Purple Coneflowers, Bachelor Buttons, Nicotiana, Alyssum, and 'The Fairy' Rose have all started blooming, making it look like there is, indeed, a deliberate garden in the front yard again.

The plantings in the whiskey barrels up by the driveway are doing quite well.  In fact, Mr. Red House thought that the Nicotiana in the barrels looked like weeds, they grew so big.

My 'weedy' flowers and my 'flowering' lawn

I had to explain that, yes, normally only weeds do grow that big in my garden, but these containers have a special magic quality called 'good dirt'.  

my other whiskey barrel with slightly smaller Nicotianas

On the side yard, the Daylilies are blooming.

I have a nice lot of Daylilies sprinkled around the edges of my yard, thanks to other gardeners who were more than happy to have me dig out some of their extras.

'Ditch Lilies' brightening up the edge of my patch of woods

The native Culver's Root I planted last fall is also starting to bloom.  I thought I had gotten a pink blooming variety... but apparently not.

Culver's Root
(Veronicastrum Virginicum)

In the same bed, I had a plant growing that I didn't remember planting. (Since it's a new garden, I actually still usually remember most of what I've planted.)  It kept growing and getting taller, and I kept racking my brain as to what it was.  Finally, these appeared:

Surprise, I planted Balloon Flower last year!

Of course, the big thing this year has been the new Veggie Garden.  We've been eating tons of Snow Peas, but I am eagerly awaiting the first Tomatoes.

unripe heirloom 'Chocolate Pear' Tomatoes

Tomatillos, carrots, leeks, eggplant, and zucchini are all doing their thing, albeit slowly for this impatient gardener and kitchen master (mistress?).  I'm hungry just thinking about it!

Zucchini blossoms

And that's what's going on in my new Red House Garden.  Not too shabby for a brand new baby garden, right?  It will grow..

sweet-smelling Scentsation Mix Nicotiana 

To see what else is growing in the gardens of garden bloggers around the world, visit Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day at May Dreams Gardens blog site.