Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – July 2018

I am really excited to participate in Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day this month. What is Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day you ask? Carol Michele is a garden blogger in Indiana who, for the past ELEVEN YEARS, has asked other garden bloggers to post what is blooming in their garden every month. From her site:

I invite everyone to join me and do the same on the 15th of each month. To participate in “Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day”, all you have to do is post your list of what is blooming in your garden on the 15th of the month, and then leave me a comment on my post with a link to your list, and then we’ll all be able to compare who has what blooming.

Simple as that! I wish I had found out about this sooner because I don’t have quite as many blooms as May and June did, but there are still a few good ones blooming now. This also gives me the chance to show off the results of my new Canon Rebel T6 as well as some hilarious attempts at using Adobe Lightroom (basically just moving the sliders at random). So, without further ado, bring on the blooms!

I am so excited that the Crape Myrtles are finally blooming! These pink ones have come a little later than the white ones, but they are worth the wait. So vibrant. These Crape Myrtles have really come a long way from when we first moved in. I’m not sure if they pruned them correctly, and one was looking a little sickly.

This next picture gives a close up of one of the white crape myrtles that frames our house.

Now, feast your eyes on this crape myrtle in all its glory. Every time I drive up to my house, I just smile seeing this tree.

If this isn’t proof that you shouldn’t prune your crape myrtle trees to death, I don’t know what would be. The blooms are well worth the wait! I was a little hesitant to post this picture because the front landscaping still isn’t quite where I want it yet, but that would be contrary to the whole point of my blog! Gardens are always a work in progress, and it takes time to figure out the sizes of different plants in maturity, what plants work in your zone and in your soil, how to design the landscape so it doesn’t feel like a hodgepodge of plants, and how to care for your plants so they look their best.

As you can see above, the Incrediball hydrangeas are also still in bloom, although turning green (part of their process). Hopefully next year they will be even larger. I got these from Wayside Gardens last year and they are doing pretty well. I have a few buds left on my dahlia; one gladiolus is in bloom; coreopsis and foxglove are kind of limping along; the lacecap hydrangeas and coneflowers are still blooming somewhat decently; the clematis has made an encore performance; and the black-eyed Susans are starting to bloom now!

Pretty or not, the pollinators love my garden, and I couldn’t be happier! That is one of my ongoing goals – to continue to plant pollinator-friendly flowers. Additionally, I am growing some shasta daisy and butterfly weed from seed. I have no idea if those will flower this year or not. I will keep you posted (all ten of you that read this). And, just when I thought my daylilies were done, two more bloomed out of nowhere yesterday!

All of these photos were edited in Adobe Lightroom on my phone, so I am curious to hear your thoughts on any of these photos (particularly the daylily). Are the colors realistic? Oversaturated? Just trying to improve my photography and editing skills going forward!

This monthly post already has me thinking about what will still be in bloom in August, September, and so on. Consequently, I am thinking more intentionally about what to plant so that something is in bloom (or has foliage interest) year round. Ideas for late blooming flowers? This has been really fun to take part in, and I’m glad I found some garden bloggers in the Instagram community.