That's a crazy wonderful picture @mazerolm_3a!

Blue Paradise Phlox (flopped with all the rain we got):

So many beautiful pictures! @rouge21, I love the beast Rooguchi and your Tie Dye clematis. Markay, your ‘Anastasia’ is gorgeous, and I love the tall Ageratum. @north53 Z2b MB So nice to still see a peony; your echium is very striking.

Mazerolm, what I wouldn’t give for a wide view of the western sky like you have!

July is the time for my favourite simple yellow daylilies.

A nameless one I got from a local greenhouse by following my nose. It is deliciously fragrant, tall and elegant in soft yellow. Possibly 'Tetrina's Daughter'

A form of citrina var. vespertina. Opens in the evening, stays open on cloudy days, half closes in sunlight. Fragrant.

‘Corky’. Needs a better spot with more sun, so the brown outside of the flower shows up better.

‘Penny’s Worth’. Cute miniature: whole plant no more than 12” usually.

Heruga, I just noticed that you said you grew your orange tiger lilies from bulbils? I was just thinking of that the other day, there are a lot of them on my tiger lilies and I wondered about starting them that way. Did you just pick them and sow them fresh? Outside or inside in the winter? You said year 5, is this the first year they’ve bloomed?

Yup I took them from the plants as soon as it felt loose enough and sowed them in pots. Kept them in my unattached garage for the winter and they germinated Spring 2019. This is the 3rd year they bloomed-planted in either 20 of fall or 21 spring, can't remember and bloomed first time 22.

Wow! Heruga, I'm surprised that they overwintered in an unattached garage, I have one of those and never attempt to overwinter, but maybe the seed is hardy there. I'm in zone 6b. I'll look it up. I'm surprised it bloomed so quickly after sowing. They're beautiful!

So you covered them over w a little soil, not left on the top of the soil? And did you have to remember to water them in the garage in the winter?

Do the bulbils loosen after the plant finishes blooming....just before a frost? I am definitely going to try that this year! Thanks.

Well the garage has a window and south facing so it can get pretty warm. I used to store all of my newly rooted cuttings in that same garage every winter with almost no fatalities.

I only covered it with like 1/2” of soil and yes I always kept an eye on all my potted plants and watered it when pretty dry. But I kept it on the drier side. Mine are already very loose and they come right off by just poking at it. Not sure about your area up in MA. You can even pick up freshly dropped ones on the ground too if you want. They grow pretty quick, usually the year after (or the following if planted in fall) you plant it in the ground they bloom.

Heruga, Do you think I could sow them now and plant them in the ground in October?

So you start shrubs from cuttings and Lilies from bulbils....have you done more?

After weeks of record heat and drought the only blooms here are on DH's zinnias and marigolds. He waters them along with the vegetable garden. The hummingbird feeder has been especially busy since the area's dried up and nothing's blooming.

I don’t grow them any more, but I have a weakness for little marigolds.

PM2, I would wait until at least Spring 2025. They may or may not germinate this year after sowing but I would check the bottom of the pot to see if roots are poking out, if it is then you can plant spring. In this scenario it may bloom in 2026. If roots aren't established yet by next spring let it grow the whole season and plant in fall next year and it will bloom not that following season but in 2027. I have a feeling the latter will be the case.

I did quite a bit with propagating perennials and trees(mostly conifers) from seed in the past years but slowed down on it due to all the caring and maintenance required for the highly vulnerable seedlings on top of all the existing garden projects/disasters and maintenance I have to deal with. I probably only propagate 1 new species a year now. Though I end up with so many that my potted stock increases by 10 or so every year, and that's just from 1 species. I have 40+ potted stock now and I don't see any signs of the numbers slowing down...

pm I have started bulbils over winter but mostly I just let them fall around the mother and you will end up with a stand of them over time.

rouge Becky has just this past week come into full bloom, such a beauty.

Stunning plants everyone!!

Astilbe Fanal is a favorite.

Delphinium 'Innocence'

Destined to See

Voodoo Dancer

Ikebana Star

Lavender 'Jean Davis'

'cecily', that is a gorgeous plot of Z and M!

That astilbe F and the delph...wow! (What a perfect spring and summer so far for astilbes eh?)

Yes I am a huge fan of Astilbe and have several that have either bloomed out or are still coming.

Very nice @gdinieontarioz5! I had a short reblooming lily that I got from Lost Horizons years back....but alas it is no more.

Thank you Heruga. It is a lot to take care of on top of all the other garden work that has to be done. But I think you must be having fun and getting satisfaction from the propagating. 😀 And you knew when to cut back, smart.

Thanks for sharing your experiences starting the Tiger Lilies. It will be a fun project!

Peren all - Thanks, that’s another way to do it.

Great photos and in that photo of the Delphinium, everything looks so green! My lawn started out nice and green this spring and stayed that way through the middle of June, but not enough rain since then so it's looking pretty burned up. I water the beds but not the lawn. It will come back fine in the spring, though.

Your Lavender looks very happy there.

Peren, such happy delphiniums!

Ashy Sunflower, Helianthus mollis

Tall Bellflower, Campanulastrum americanum. There seems to be a bit of confusion about the name. It's flower anatomy seperates it from all other Campanula species, thus the different genus Campanulastrum.

False Sunflower, Heliopsis helianthoides, Downy Scullcap, Scutellaria incana.

Stiff Vervain, Verbena stricta, Mexican Hat, Ratibida columnifera.

Rough Blazingstar, Liatris aspera, Partridge Pea, Chamaecrista fasciculata. Bumblebees love Partridge Peas.

Yellow Passionflower, Passiflora lutea.

Nettle Leaved Bellflower, Bats in the Belfrey, Campanula trachellia. It got the latter name because the flower buds look like bats huddled and hanging. A joyful reminder of Brittish gardening friends. It hasn't spread because it's closely surrounded by agressive competition, but I wouldn't mind of few more. What's with all the Ragwort hate in the UK? I think all our native ragworts are beautiful and deserve respect.😆

Monarda citriodora. A nice annual. Lemon Mint I think, not to be confused with Lemon Balm. I'm redoing several beds so saving the seeds of annual species like this is important. Moving plants when temps are in the 90s is very tricky.

The taller plant is Prairie Dock, Silphium terebinthinaceum, and next to it Rosenweed, Silphium integrifolium. I also grow Cup Plant, Silphium perfoliatum, and Compass Plant, Silphium laciniatum. I have a seedling Cut Leaved Prairie Dock, Silphium pinnatifidum to add, and the final Sulphium species I want to add is Silphium mohrii. It's one of the most beautiful Silphium species that has lighter, creamy yellow blooms on a well behaved plant. It's a southeastern species, but I hope it's hardy in northern Illinois. I have to deadhead my Silphium species, because there are vollunteer seedlings popping up everywhere, and they make deep roots quickly.

No flowers here but I'm so happy to have a nasturtium that's blooming size, and here we have 2 other species with same texture in leaf, Ipomoea batatus and Passiflora lutea.

Spikenard, Aralia racemosa. I think the berries are prettier than the flowers.

Royal Catchfly, Silene regia. This species takes years to establish. I just heard they like their roots shaded. I was doing the opposite and weeding around them. I mulched the ground below them and noticed an immediate improvement.

Black Eyed Susan, Rudbeckia hirta. These are all vollunteers in a very gravelly soil.

The photo doesn't do this Hibiscus cultivar justice. The flowers seem to glow like a neon lights. The weeds have been out of control with all the rain thats fallen. The Vinca spilled out of a pot into the side of the patio, and now it's trying to colonize the patio. The worst year for creeping Charlie ever. But it could be worse, like if there was bindweed too.🥺😂

From 2023. Standing Cypress, Ipomopsis rubra, Rattlesnake Master, Eryngium yuccifolium. I don't have Standing Cypress this year. Now is a good time to seed a couple pots with it, to get blooms for next year. I bet your's look beautiful rouge?

I see that slowly but surely this corner of the garden has been taken over by lutea

(It almost looks like LIBERTY hosta is 'drowning' ;))

Betony (in too little sun):

July 2nd

July 20th

Daisy Banana Cream 2 with astilbe Dark side of the moon

Echinacea Big Kahuna

clematis viticella purpurea plena elegans

@rouge21 Under this Japanese maple the Corydalis lutea also cheerfully and sneakily took over. This spring I cruelly removed a lot of them, replanted my suffering hostas and added Geranium maculatum. They still reign near the house and by the gate. I do have a fondness for them.

I love the combination of soft yellow daylily and Crocosmia ’Lucifer’.

But don’t get me started on the crocosmia and ’Munstead Wood’ combination. Problem is that I don’t know how to separate them. So when I look at the rose, I ignore the crocosmia, and vice versa ;-).

Self sown Thalictrum rochebrunianum. The plants I bought or sowed all died, this one lives. @rouge21 how is your ‘Splendide’ doing?

Veratrum nigrum. Slow grower.

Culver’s root.

A couple more pics. First is phlox ”Ultraviolet”. It’s a great performer and adds a lot to my mid summer garden. Second photo is just random garden pretties.

I just fainted after seeing these pics 'corgi' 🤪. The last one especially is tres gorgeous. (What is the "pinkish" hydrangea I see?)

Love that ultraviolet phlox Corgi! I have some that same shade but they are prone to PM sigh.

Love this time of the year when the phlox are in full bloom and the Hydrangeas are starting to color up while others are just starting to bloom.

Color for soooo long., Now and Spring are my favorites!

Side bed…

Another view but cant fit them all in…they continue up further to the left. Right ones were my Mothers, left ones my ex MILs. Very close in color…

Back fence line random phlox…

Hydrangeas out front…

More on the side…

and in the back…

Aw, thanks, rouge! The pinkish hydrangea is Firelight, starting to change from white to pink. I love it, I only wish the stems were stronger; the recent torrential rains have had me snipping off waterlogged blooms so the stems don’t snap and further ruin the tree form.

Corgi I was thinking it may be Berry white as they are very close. Like many lol.

Part of the driveway bed with various Phlox. Those monster Hostas are coming out next spring. Already removed two other monsters there as I’ve tired of them. They were one of my very first things planted and I think its time… I’ve divided my Hibiscus and planted to replace them…along with something else that I havent decided on yet.

My Word! I always said to myself if I won the lottery and retired I would love to take a roadtrip for days (weeks!!) just to visit everyone's gardens. The pictures on this thread are incredible.

My plant list does continue to get longer. I love seeing the beds/borders everyone has created. So well done!! Bravo All!

I would love to take a roadtrip for days (weeks!!) just to visit everyone's gardens

So very true@Thyme2dig NH Zone 5!

I do think of @Jay 6a Chicago when I walk by these plants :).

Here they are today:

I love these plants very much. But it is always hit and miss as to how many of the first year plants survive to second year to flower like above.

Sanguisorba officinalis

Oenanthae javanica ’flamingo’ in my bog garden-Very tasty herbs

Thalictrum rochebrunianum winter sown 3 years ago-One is over 9ft tall

My only lychnis miqueliana left now, grown from seed that is so far not dead from wilt. Thinking of taking seeds in case this one dies

To think…next week will be August already 😳

Limelight with large stand of Joe pye weed

Such gorgeous pics!

Crocosmia 'Lucifer'. I am weeding and mulching.

Kirengeshoma koreana in the same bed.

Lobelia cardinalis. The black garbage bag is full of the horsetail I am attempting to rid this bed of. Not only one but two species of Equisetum, E. arvense & hyemale. They are a nightmare to try and eradicate.

Liatris 'Floristan White'

@peren.all: I hear you on the horsetail. My beds are now completely overrun with it. My strategy is now to just keep pulling at it at the front border of the beds, and behind that, I try to add plants that will mostly hide it, like lupines or alchemilla. It’s not perfect, I will never be able to have manicured beds, but at least I feel less frustration!

'Peren' your Lucifer as always is spectacular...what red! And similarly with the Lobelia. (I take it you dont have a problem getting your Lobelia to return each season?)

(I dont think I am familiar with "Horsertail". It is just a weed that happens each year?)

mazerolm_3a I feel for both of us! I have two beds in particular that are full of it, hence the garbage bag. I will be starting a new bag. I am digging out all that I can but I know I will not be fully successful. Like you it is everywhere but not as intense as in these areas. Yes, I think "less frustrated" is the best either one of us can hope for, sigh...

Thank you rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a) No problem getting the Lobelia to return but I let it go to seed. I gather some and let others seed where they like. They really like growing in the stone dust walkways in this moist area. I love them so much I pretty much let them grow where they want, moving some.

You are so lucky to not be familiar with horsetail! It is an ancient perennial weed that spreads underground and by spores. (mazerolm do you watch for the fertile shoots in spring? I try to get them). The roots spread horizontally and go very deep, up to 4 ft. deep. The only way to help is to dig where possible or keep breaking off the tops to eventually starve them of light. They are an on going nightmare. I know of two people that got loads of fill that was full of it.

I forgot to mention 'Peren' that I don't think liatris get enough love. Thanks for including the picture.

(I know that Lobelia need a moist location. I wish I could accommodate but no such luck on our property :( )

Always a favourite for me this time of year (rabbits like it as well earlier on in the season :( )

"Little Goldstar"

And here is a self seeded annual Nicotiana winding its way up a 6 foot perennial Thalitctrum Splendide,

Oooh that Splendide is splendid! Considering how long I am under snow I do love white flowers.

This is the first year tha I have lupines and echinaceas blooming at the same time:

It's been a banner year for Agapanthus.

https://rustyblackhaw.substack.com/p/lily-of-the-nile-update

@rusty_blackhaw I enjoyed reading it.....lots of worthwhile pictures also.

I don't have enough phlox but here is one and even it doesnt get enough sun :(.

CLEOPATRA (recommended to me years back by @FrozeBudd_z3/4)

Heruga, you also have Th. rochebrunianum from seed! Mine is in my way, but I dare not move it. I like it with the lilac blooms of H. ’Krossa Regal’ in the background.

I love my (too) tall phlox now: the fence is 6’. Its fragrance wafts to the patio nearby.

And no, Tali, that was my chair, near the phlox! Oh, I can take the other one? Grrr, okay…

Peonies are a highlight this past week, thrips and all...

And I commiserate with the horsetail, it's a plague here in my gardens too

And I've enjoyed this veronicastrum, new last year and hoping it bulks up: (I can't find the tag, maybe it's 'fascination' ? I know I have a couple varieties and LOVE them!) I grew the native white ones from seed and have some good clumps, they're not blooming yet, so maybe in the August thread I can post those.

Agastache "Golden Jubilee":

Echinacea Rainbow Marcella

phlox Opalescence, achillea and echinacea Big Kahuna

Big Kahuna

I forgot to post the pictures of this July bloomer, and I don’t think I have seen it here yet: Deinanthe bifida. From Lost Horizons of course ;-). I almost lost it last year, it was quite overgrown. Doing much better this year. I hope to have a big clump like Larry had at some point. Maybe next year? As you can see, it has both fertile and infertile flowers.