July-August 2014: High Summer in Garden and Meadow: 4.August

The studio corner window, with Begonia 'San Miguel' and views to the fenced garden and hills

Another studio window

And another, looking out to the fenced garden

The window over our bathtub, with a Maudiae-type green slipper orchid (a paphiopedilum) and a view over the east garden steps

Purple coneflower, Echinacea purpurea, with Switchgrass, Panicum virgatum, in the meadow

Coreopsis 'Full Moon' with Scabiosa ochroleuca and Allium cernuum, the Nodding Onion, in our big island bed

Malva alcea 'Fastigiata' and Coreopsis 'Full Moon'

Goldfinch on Trumpetvine

Fledgling Bluejay

Purple Coneflower, Echinacea purpurea, in the west meadow

The five folly birdhouses seen through a bit of a tall grass, Andropogon gerardii, Turkeyfoot, that has wandered into the east, shortgrass meadow

                                                  
  
                              

A seedling daylily in the fenced garden, apparently from Hemerocallis 'Autumn Minaret' and H. 'Autumn King'. We like its tall (over five feet) stems, open, spidery flower form, and long, late-season bloom.

Pardancanda (Candylily) 'Bad Racing Stripes'

 

Eryngium yuccifolium, Rattlesnake Master, and Andropogon gerardii, Turkeyfoot, in the east, tallgrass meadow

The west, shortgrass meadow (with a bit of tall Andropogon gerardii, Turkeyfoot): Monarda fistulosa, Bergamot, and Pycnanthemum tenuifiolium, Narrow-leaved Mountain Mint

A late, red daylily, Hemerocallis 'August Adoration' in the fenced garden

Early Goldenrod, Solidago juncea with Little Bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium, in the west meadow

Gray Coneflower, Ratibida pinnata, with tall Turkeyfoot, Andropogon gerardii, at the top of the steeply sloping east, tallgrass meadow

Purple Coneflower, Echinacea purpurea, with the chartreuse buds of Early Goldenrod, Solidago juncea, and mauve Bergamot, Monarda fistulosa, make an August show in the west meadow

Brilliant magenta Ironweed, Vernonia fasciculata, yellow Early Goldenrod, Solidago juncea, mauve Bergamot, Monarda fistulosa, and white Narrow-leaved Mountain Mint, Pycnantheum tenuifolium, in the west meadow. The spires in the background are Prairie Blazingstar (Liatris pycnostachya) in bud.

Silvery bracts of Miss Wilmott's Ghost, Eryngium giganteum, in a corner of the fenced garden

Another eryngium, Eryngium yuccifolium, Rattlesnake Master, in the east meadow with the tall grass Andropogon gerardii,Turkeyfoot, and Monarda fistulosa, Bergamot

A self-sowing annual Himalayan impatiens, Impatiens balfourii, backed by white Euphorbia corollata, Flowering Spurge

Purple Coneflowers, Echinacea purpurea and a sprig of Switchgrass, Panicum virgatum, with the five folly birdhouses in the west meadow

We purchased this as a Chinese species of Joe Pye Weed, Eupatorium chinense, many years ago from the old Heronswood Nursery. (Those folks did know plants, but I've never worked out how or if it's different from our local Joe Pye Weeds.)

Clematis 'Roguchi' still going strong on August 4

Impatiens balfourii earns the common name Poor Man's Orchid

Allium cernuum, Nodding onion, on the east garden steps

Eryngium yuccifolium

Coreopsis 'Burnt Sienna' gives warm color bordering the east garden steps, with the silver foliage of a restrained hawkweed, Hieracium pilosella.

Looking across the east, tallgrass meadow to hilly borrowed scenery

The west steps, renovated in stone this spring, with Purple Coneflowers, Echinacea purpurea, in the meadow

Hemerocallis 'Cottage Garden Gift' was, in fact, a gift from its hybridizer, Darrell Apps.

Hemerocallis 'Cottage Garden Gift' has relatively small flowers and a graceful air that suits our country garden

A long-time favorite of ours here and back in the Wister Garden in Swarthmore, Hemerocallis 'Autumn Minaret'

Long-blooming Hemerocallis 'Princess Irene' in the fenced garden, with Agastache foeniculum, Anise Hyssop, behind

Allium carinatum ssp. pulchellum album forma album as a cut flower. Fireworks? Modern Dance? Calligraphy?

Clematis 'Gazelle' clambering within its cage. Pretty good for August, and for a plant in its first year.

Amaranthus 'Hot Biscuits' backed by the chartreuse foliage of a tansy cultivar, Tanacetum 'Isla Gold'. The big white clump out of focus farther back in the fenced garden is Phlox 'David'.

Our Tiger Lily, Lilium lancifolium (wild-collected in Siberia(!)) rising above even the tall stems of Hemerocallis 'Autumn Minaret'

Backlit Yellow foxtail, Setarea glauca, an annual grass that has found a bit of meadow thin enough to let it germinate and grow

Allium carinatum ssp. pulchellum forma album, by the east garden steps

Three Garden Phlox: an unnamed magenta seedling with pale eyes, lavender Phlox 'Katherine' with similar eyes, and white P. 'David. They enjoyed the rainy summer.

Euphorbia corollata, Flowering Spurge

Euphorbia corollata, Flowering Spurge, with mulleins and a rock that guards our entry courtyard

A granite basin with roadside mulleins, Verbascum thapsus, and burgundy-flowered Knautia macedonica in the gravel of the entry couryard

Agastache 'Bolero' was not hardy in the garden in 2013, even with good drainage, but we overwintered cuttings and shared them with the hummingbirds on our back deck this summer. The orange agastache behind is A. aurantiaca, also not hardy here, but usually self-sowing in a pot or two.

Downy Sunflower, Helianthus mollis, with Turkeyfoot, Andropogon gerardii, in the meadow beside the circle terrace

White Narrow-Leaved Mountain Mint, Pycnanthemum tenuifolium, with purple spikes of Meadow Blazingstar, Liatris pycnostachya in the shortgrass west meadow, August 11

More of the same meadow tapestry

Yellow False Sunflowers, Heliopsis helianthoides, ragged but still blooming with the tall purplish flower stems of Turkeyfoot, Andropogon gerardii

Heliopsis, Purple Coneflowers, and a little white annual self-sowing cleome look-a-like, Polanisia dodecandra, at the top of the west steps. That's mildew on the heliopsis foliage, usual as the meadow heliopsis tire late in their season.

A fledgling bluejay on the back deck railing flaps its wings, demanding to be fed.

Liatris pycnostachya, Prairie Blazing Star, in the west meadow. In a moist year such as this, the flower stems lend a strong vertical element to the meadow.

Blazing Star inflorescences are unusual in that their flowers open starting at the top and working down.

Impatiens balfourii, with a backdrop of chartreuse Spiraea thunbergii 'Ogon' foliage

Euphorbia corollata, Flowering Spurge

Indigofera heterantha, Himalayan Indigofera

Hemerocallis 'Late Embers'

Hemerocallis 'Oh Joy! Oh Rapture!' with phlox in the fenced garden

Angelica gigas with a pink veronicastrum seedling in the gravel of the entry courtyard

Hemerocallis 'Challenger'

Hemerocallis 'August Adoration' with a vigorous white-eyed magenta phlox seedling from Phlox 'Katherine', in the fenced garden

Indigofera 'Little Pinkie' with Browallia americana

Indigofera 'Little Pinkie' with Perilla frutescens 'Atropurpurea' foliage

Hemerocallis 'Challenger' in the fenced garden (purple spikes of Agastache foeniculum, Anise Hyssop, behind)

Hemerocallis 'Challenger', Agastache foeniculum

Hemerocallis 'Challenger', pale yellow hardy Gladiolus 'Carolina Primrose', Agastache foeniculum

Four August-blooming daylilies, the afternoon's slightly faded red of Hemerocallis 'August Adoration' clashing with a magenta seedling phlox; I'm so glad I did not weed out the phlox to favor the quieter color of its parent, Phlox 'Katherine'.

A little white from Wild Quinine, Parthenium integrifolium, picks up the pale eyes of the phlox seedling.

Liatris pycnostachya with white Narrow-leaved Mountain Mint, Pycnanthemum tenuiflolium, in the west meadow

Liatris pycnostachya (with a visitor), yellow Early Goldenrod, Solidago juncea, and white Narrow-leaved Mountain Mint, Pycnostachya tenuifolia

Hemerocallis 'Upland Gold'

Hemerocallis 'Oh Joy! Oh Rapture!'-- the extra petals on one flower are not typical; but good foliage and generous August flowering with semi-spider flowers are.

Pardancanda 'Pink Leopard'

Indigofera 'Little Pinkie'

Agastache 'Kudos Coral' with Perilla frutescens 'Atropurpurea' foliage in a well-drained patch of gravelly soil in the fenced garden. We're hoping the Kudos (TM) series of agastaches will deserve their Z5 hardiness rating.

Hemerocallis 'Late Embers', another tall, late-blooming daylily

Palest lavender Devil's Bit, Succisella pratensis 'Frosted Pearls', in front of Amaranthus cruentus 'Hot Biscuits' in the fenced garden

Liatris aspera, Rough Blazing Star, with Echinacea purpurea, Purple Coneflower, and Schizachyrium scoparium, Little Bluestem, in a favorite bit of sloping shortgrass meadow

Liatris aspera, the beige seedheads of Monarda fistulosa,, and Little Bluestem.

The meadow does its own flower arranging-- here with surprising formality.

Heuchera villosa var. atropurpurea has showy August flowers and tolerates sun and heat.

Devil's Bit, Succisella pratensis 'Frosted Pearls'

Heuchera villosa var. atropurpurea

In the fenced garden: heuchera, hemerocallis, and phlox flowers

Indigofera 'Little Pinkie'

Indigofera 'Little Pinkie'

Geranium 'Azure Rush', promoted as paler and more compact than G. 'Rozanne'. Paler it is. More compact? Maybe. (It's tall enough to reach through the slats of this garden bench.)

Self-sown Euphorbia dulcis 'Chameleon': dark foliage above the chartreuse of Sedum rupestre 'Angelina'

Our favorite seedling daylily, apparently from Hemerocallis 'Autumn Minaret' and H. 'Autumn King'. Late blooming, with gracefully slender flowers atop its tall stems.

Indigofera 'Little Pinkie'

Again, our favorite seedling daylily

A French marigold tall and loose enough to avoid stumpiness: Tagetes 'Villandry' (from Annie's Annuals)

                                                   

The gravelly beds of the east garden steps meet the tall grasses of the east meadow; with Turkeyfoot, Andropogon gerardii, and Gray Coneflower, Ratibida pinnata in the meadow. The narrow gravel path between garden and meadow is invisible here and, truth to tell, almost impassable as well.

A glimpse of the path, where it broadens into a landing at the base of the garden steps

These geraniums are intermediate between zonal and ivy types.

A bird (warbler?) shelters in the trumpetvine of the back deck pergola.

Adolescent hairy woodpecker with Cuphea cyanea, Pink Cigar Plant, on the back deck

Cuphea cyanea and agastaches

Agastache 'Bolero', listed as Zone 5 hardy, so far has wintered here only as indoor cuttings, summering on the back deck. We will try overwintering a pot in our unheated garage.

Liatris pycnostachya with pink vase and pink chair

Liatris pycnostachya

Downy Sunflower, Helianthus mollis, with Switchgrass, Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah'

Downy Sunflower, Helianthus mollis

Oenethera 'Greencourt Lemon', once available from the old Holbrook Farm Nursery, in our gravel courtyard

A brilliantly colored young frond of Dryopteris erythrosa, Autumn Fern (Geranium wvlassovianum flowers behind)

We hijacked pieces of stone we had bought for steps or edging to make this bench.

The circle terrace bench, backed by Hydrangea paniculata 'Pink Diamond'

Liatris aspera, Rough Blazing Star, in the shortgrass west meadow

Kalimeris incisa, Japanese Aster, in the fenced garden with Hemerocallis 'Cottage Garden Gift'

The stems of Tagetes 'Villandry', taller and more lax than usual for a French marigold-- thank goodness-- weave into pale yellow Coreopsis 'Full Moon'

Liatris subaspera, Rough Blazing Star, with Schizachyrium scoparium, Little Bluestem

Coreopsis tripteris, Tall Coreopsis

Scutellaria incana, Downy Scullcap

Tanacetum vulgare 'Isla Gold'. The dark foliage is Cryptotaenia japonica f. atropurpurea, Japanese Honeywort or Mitsuba, one of the few edibles remaining in the fenced garden.

Coreopsis tripteris, Tall Coreopsis

Helianthus mollis, Downy Sunflower in the meadow

Helianthus mollis, Downy Sunflower, with Andropogon gerardii, Turkeyfoot, in the meadow

Tall and willowy marigolds, Tagetes 'Villandry', above Coreopsis 'Full Moon' in the fenced garden

Angelica gigas rises above Eurybia divaricatus, which I still think of as Aster divaricatus, the White Wood Aster, along the driveway. Some forms of the white wood aster have dark, near-black stems, which would echo the dark angelica.

Liatris pynostachya, Prairie Blazingstar, in the west meadow

Late summer abundance in the fenced garden, with a coralberry cultivar,  Symphoricarpos 'Amethyst', in the foreground

Rudbeckia subtomentosa, Sweet Black-Eyed Susan, in a seasonally damp area of the east meadow

Late summer fenced garden view. The very tall red daylily is Hemerocallis 'Challenger'.

Looking across the fenced garden, with the bold foliage and downy buds of a Japanese anemone in the foreground

In the fenced garden, with Hemerocallis 'Autumn Embers' in the foreground

Kalimeris incisa, Japanese Aster, with Amaranthus 'Hot Biscuits' in the fenced garden

Amaranthus 'Hot Biscuits' in brown punctuates the soft blues of Browallia americana and Kalimeris incisa in the fenced garden.

One of the few edibles remaining in the fenced former vegetable garden is Chinese Chives, Allium tuberosum.

Anise Hyssop, Agastache foenciculum, with daylilies and nicotianas in the fenced garden

Liatris pycnostachya, Prairie Blazing Star, with Solidago juncea, Early Goldenrod, and Pycnanthemum tenuifolium, Narrow-leaved Mountain Mint, in the west meadow