The Delargo Gardens - July

Here we are me dears a little late but back on the garden path after our 'Walk on the wild side'.

It has been a rather rubbish July as far as the weather goes but the plants seem to have loved it.

Bulbs are not just for Spring as our Brodiaea laxa “Queen Fabiola” and Lilies show.

Above is Lilium “On Stage” showing off and Lilium orientalis “Stargazer” below.

“Stargazer” filled the gap nicely when “On Stage” finally went over. The scent from both was heavenly.

Hollyhocks:

We have sown so many Agastache foeniculum this year and have lots still in pots with no idea of where we are going to put them all. The bees don't mind, they love them whereever they are.

Salvia patens “Patio Deep Blue”. As you may remember this was grown from seed a few years ago:

It has now been divided so we have three plants giving us splashes of intense blue through the border.

Monarda didyma 'Red Colours' we love this plant and the leaves have a lovely scent.

We have been over the moon with Hemerocallis 'Crimson Pirate' It has done so well this year and has given loads of flowers:

Our seedling of Dahlia "Bishop's Children" has been a delight and a mainstay of the Gardens of Delargo Towers for many years now. This year it has been joined by Dahlia “Bishop of Llandaff”:

Tropaeolum peregrinum or Canary-Creeper is a fun plant. We let it scramble through and over plants that have finished flowering to give extended interest:

Big Bold and Brassy ! Begonia × tuberhybrida “Sangria” It does well in shade and certainly brightens up dark corners of a garden:

I love this plant but call it  perestroika  rather than Perovskia atriplicifolia “Blue Spire” (Russian Sage) which is a bit of a mouthful. In the past it has ended up a bit leggy and scruffy but this year it had a bit of a 'Chelsea Chop'. It now looks and has flowered much better.

It can be very difficult to capture the colour of some plants the deep rich burgundy colour of Lobelia speciosa “Fan Burgundy” is a case in point, but trust me it is luscious.

Picking which photos to post can also be a challenge. We have three large Phlox paniculata which have looked and smelt stunning all Summer. I am not sure I have ended up with the best pic to show it off though:

Salvia x jamensis “Nachtvlinder”...

...and the glorious Salvia 'Amistad' are in flower but we will have to wait till next month to see the rest of our Salvias in flower:

I love growing Fennel. The feathery leaves of Spring and early Summer followed by the flower and then the seed heads take us into High and then Late Summer.

So that was the highlights of July and now for a quick tour to see them in context.

The big news is that we have a new bench which is fab. The sad news is that next door are still refusing to fix their fence which looks awful.

The borders are very full -

But I still have enough space to fit into my 'wine time' corner

The ferns are doing well and our back passage is full of plants.

Now me dears as you know our garden is very small.We feel one of the most important things to do, is to add height. We do this mainly with annual climbers grown from seed and of course Verbena bonariensis:

Our faves, are Ipomoea lobata (Spanish Flag)

Here it is again with Ipomoea tricolor (Morning Glory) “Kniola's Black”. A lovely combination which I think we will try again next year but on a larger scale:

Ipomea × multifida (Cardinal creeper)

each flower is small but the effect of all the scarlet flowers is wonderful

Also never to be without is Thunbergia alata. It has done particularly well this year. We sowed a mix called  'African Sunset' again this year but although the colour range is better than last year I think we will go for ‘Superstar Orange’ next time.

Well that is about it me darlins. There is just time to mention how well the Fuchsias are doing this Summer. I tend not to post photos of them as there are so many it would take over the blog. There is just enough time how ever to show you one of our superstars -

'Bella Rosella' - Bred by Garrett Ted in United States its parentage is Quasar X Applause and is in the "California Dreamers" series

But don't worry I shall give the Fuchsias an entire post to themselves soon. In the meantime you could always have a look at last years By clicking here

Well there 'tiz me lovelies

Do pop back in next time

I will put the kettle on when I see you coming

ttfn