Mosaic Monday #188: Garden Gala 2

And there's more!  If you enjoyed last week's post, you will be drooling over this one!  July is the best month for the native plants, especially toward the end of it.  I wish I could distill July into a genie's lamp, and poof it into existence when people come to visit at other times of the year.  I want them to see the garden in all its July glory.  Perhaps I will just show them this post ... although in my heart I know it is not the same as seeing the real thing.

To the left is Rocky Mountain Penstemon, with Paintbrush in the background.

Keeping with the purple theme, below is Walker's Low Catmint and Salvia May Night.  Both have terrific symmetry and a compact nature that is pleasing to the eye.  I have several Catmint "volunteers" - I am just waiting for them to get big enough to move to other spots in the garden.  And I have been delighted this summer to find at least two Salvia "volunteers".  Isn't Nature just the best propagator of them all?

The collage below has a better view of the Salvia, with Aspen Fleabane in the foreground.  The other photo puts the Fleabane in the spotlight, with Paintbrush bringing up the rear.

Blanketflower.

The first year the native grass seed/flower seed blend sprouted, we had numerous orange and red poppies, plus some pink ones.  We have seen very few since, except this one that came up within the "formal" flower beds.  I will take it!  The groundsel occurs naturally, and I saw it on one of my many walks. 

In last week's post, I might have mentioned that I am obsessed with the blue of the Flax?

I am also enamored with the sea of Coreopsis that blankets the rock steps below our kitchen and dining room.  It doesn't look like much now, but in mid-July it is nothing short of glorious.

As July marches on, the Prairie Coneflower and Bee Balm come into their own.

Harebell can be found throughout our property, but usually I only find one bloom per stem.

We have two Mock Orange bushes.  One had barely bloomed until this year, and the one below had twice the blooms as previous years, which I attribute to the abundant spring rainfall.

Toward the end of July, the Goldenrod bursts into color.  I remember, as a child, thinking of Goldenrod as quite ordinary, a plant found on abandoned parking lots, among broken glass and discarded beer cans.  Now I know better.  Like many things, a plant needs the proper environment to be at its best!

Mexican Hat first appeared in the prairie in the summer of 2019, and it is propagating across our property quite nicely!

Black-eyed Susans also arrived as part of the native grass/flower blend, and the simplicity has its own beauty.

And sometimes you find an interesting blend - two species cross-pollinating?

White daisies, another gift from the prairie blend, have long-lasting blooms.

Aster and Russian Sage are the last plants to bloom, and they do put on a show!

Meanwhile, the grasshoppers seem to be more prolific this year, and one of their favorite hang-outs is the Russian Sage, nipping off the top three to four inches of the majestic flower spikes.  Another opportunity to remind myself that they, too, are part of the ecosystem!

*** I will be slow in commenting due to a backcountry camping trip!

Mosaic Monday

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