Help with August blooms

Does anyone have any long shot pictures of their beds in August. I have no problem keeping the color going from spring to about the end of July. After that, I need help! And what makes it a little harder is that the beds I have are already packed with other perennials, which makes it hard to add a ton of new August blooming perennials. I already have asters, but they bloom much later than August and they're not quite what I'm looking for in August.

I was thinking about some shasta daisys, but the ones I have in my gardens only bloom once and they are about finished now. I need help!!! ;o)

Sherry

See my post recently "What are your favorite ways to prolong color?" Well, or something like that. My first post suggests an August thing. I'll be very interested to see what others post here, as I have the same challenge.

I will try to find your post. Thanks! And hopefully we will get some more suggestions with photos here!

Come on peeps.....advice and suggestions welcome! Help us help ourselves! hahaha

Sherry

Well, I found your post but no replies to your question. Whaaaa! Come on ladies and gentlemen, help us! LOL
Sherry

Phlox paniculata (various colors) is the main think perking up my garden now. Begonia grandis will start blooming now (needs shade).

I have a new Oriental lily, Belgrado, that's just coming into bloom. Lilies vary widely as to bloom time, so I'm guessing there may be many others that don't bloom until now.

Here are my front and side beds in August.

I also grow things i pots that I shift to the ground, or simply put the pots in beds.

DonnaMack, is the purple at the bottom of the first photo re-growth salvia? May Night, perhaps?

Anyway, SherryGirl, I would add that to my suggestions. It needs to be cut back right after blooms are almost all gone in the early summer. That is, with still a bit of purple at the tips.

I'm not sure how much this will help, because my climate is milder. Here goes:
Echinops, Echinaceas of various flavors, Helenium, Heliopsis, Crocosmia, Aster 'Wonder of Staffa,' past its prime Hydrangea, Geranium 'Rosanne.' Solidago will bloom soon.

Also some Roses and Hydrangeas.

Shade plants: you hosta have Hostas, Actaea 'Black Negligee,' Astilbe chinensis.

It is salvia ssp. tesquicola, and it blooms repeatedly all season.

In the first pic, it's in bud with Rose Marie Pavie (which also blooms all season) and allium chrstophii.

It blooms - you cut it back. It blooms - you cut it back. Tough as nails. Looks great with peonies, roses, lilies, and on its own.

For sun, Asclepias tuberosa, Anemone 'Honorine Jobert,' Lavender with Echinaceas, Hydrangea + Echinacea 'White Swan' + Liatris 'Kobold' + Lilies, some Daylilies still blooming, Artemisia lactiflora.

And finally, sun: Phlox, Coreopsis verticillata, Potentilla (shrub), and Rudbeckia.

I almost forgot that Heather (Calluna vulgaris) blooms for me now.

My biggest perennial bloomers, right now, are black/blue salvia, border blue veronica, blanket flower, and black-eye susan.

This message was edited Aug 12, 2013 5:17 PM

Here's a few goodies....Gaura linheimeri, my shasta daisies (Becky, 48") bloom the whole season if deadheaded, Veronicastrums (white, blue or pink at 48", Veronica spicatas (white, blue or pink at 18-28"), I happen to have the taller variety V. s. 'Sight Seeing'; Veronia narbonensis at 48", Eupatorium (many to choose from) are just beginning here; Phlox maculata blooms a bit earlier than P. paniculata; my Physostegia is beginning it's bloom now, many of the Rudbeckias are in full bloom now til frost; Salvia nemerosa in white, blue or pink bloom from lt Mayish to frost if deadheaded; Scabiosa columbaria (white, blue, pink), caucasica ( white or blue) or ochroleuca (yellow); Limonium latifolium (statice, perennial); many of the Campanulas will bloom the whole season (carpatica, cochlearlifolia, and some are summer bloomers too (lactiflora, latifolia, glomerata); Catanche carulea in white and blue; Centaurea montana ( mine were cut back a week ago (to new growth at ground level and should be producing blooms before long)) blue or white at 24"; Achilea , many if deadheaded will continue to develop further blooms thru the season; Anthemis tinctoria; Delphinium grandiflora (pix 4 left side0, lt spring thru frost if deadheaded, white, blue, pink ; Echinacea paradoxa which is yellow at 24-48"; Osteospurmum barberiae (perennnial), 'Purple Mountain', 'Avalanche' or 'Lavender Mist' (pix 3), zones 5/6 ONLY; Knautia macedonica, 2-3', maroon til frost; hibiscus moscheutos, 'Lord or Lady Baltimore' or some of the newer varieties; Penstemon mexicale 'Pikes Peak Purple' or m. 'Redrocks' (pix 2), all summer til frost; Coreopsis grandiflora or C. verticilata or C. tripteris; Nepeta faassenii or nervosa the later is true catnip; Potentilla nepalensis 'Miss Wilmont' ; Origanum laevigatum 'Herrenhausen' (pix 4 right side), 24', cerise pink and red-purple bracts; Dill; Clematis integrifolia or heracleifolia (both are shrub forms and bloom in summer, 3-5ft); Monarda fistulosa ( native); origanum rotundifolium 'Kent's Beauty'; Verbena canadensis (pink) or V. c. 'Homestead Purple'; Dicentra formosa 'Luxuriant'; Dianthus x Loveliness (pix 1, the white), Centaurea phygria (pix #5); Armeria maritima is short at 4-6" and A. 'Bees Hybrids at 15-18"; and Geranium Rozanne (pix 1).

Hope this give you all a few new ideas.....heights from a few inches to 7ft....

This message was edited Aug 12, 2013 3:58 PM

Hi Kathy, nice to see your garden's growing!

All these pics were taken this weekend.

Pic 1: Phlox, Saponaria, Veronica Icicle, Echinacea White Swan, Casablanca and Tiger Lilies, Liatris, Nicotianas Fragrant Cloud and Langsdorfii

Pic 2: Daylilies, Allium, Echinacea Rubinstern, Creeping Thyme

Pic 3: PG Hydrangea, Ceratotheca Triloba, 4 O'Clocks, Shasta Daisy Becky (Thanks, Kathy), David's White Phlox in the foreground, Joe Pye Weed behind. There is a mature volunteer Lobelia Siphilitica just starting to bloom in the tall clump behind the PG. We had to replace our old tree this spring, and I was afraid it would get sunburn, but it's perfectly happy. Soon long blue spires will be flopping all over the place, one of my favorite things. This tree is 2 or 3' taller, so it will be easier to see the blue.

Pic 4: Hydrangea Endless Summer, Veronica incana Pure Silver (2nd bloom), Lavender, Nepeta Blue Fox, various sedums, silver foliage plants.

Pic 5: Geranium Rozanne, European Ginger, Coreopsis Verticillata Moonbeam, Platycodon Miss Tilly.

Edited to add:

Lots more stuff blooming, but no recent pics: Anemone Robustissima just starting, Potentilla nepalense Miss Willmott and Monarch's Velvet, Delphiniums, Coreopsis, Rudbeckia, Pennisetum Karly Rose, Dianthus Loveliness, Verbascums Wedding Candles and Chaixii Album.

This message was edited Aug 13, 2013 12:33 AM

Remember pam, that daisy will get to 48"... Pix look great!!! I need to deadhead most of my garden so i can get some more blooms, just been busy doing other things.... Kathy

Here's a few things that are in bloom now.

What are the blue flowers in your middle 3 photos?

Yes, what are they? Gorgeous!

happy_macomb,
I do have some phlox blooming and then some of my phlox are already finished for the most part. I'll have to pay attention to the ones blooming the latest.

LAS14,
I looked up the pretty Belgrado lily and would definitely add some of them if they for sure bloomed in August. Most of my orientals are finished around the end of July...maybe very early August. Maybe I'll have to try them. Thanks.

DonnaMack,
Is that a red lily in your 2nd photo on the far left? Do you know its name? Your gardens still have lots of color for August. I'm impressed, as I have a problem keeping the color going in August as I stated. ;O) And I love the salvia ssp. tesquicola. How tall does it get and how wide does it spread out?

momlady,
Wow, am I impressed! You have a lot of beautiful things still blooming in August! Is that a pretty white hydrangea in your 8th picture? Which one is it? Also, do you have an astilbe blooming in August? Wow! I have a shady area that could use some of those. All of my astilbes bloom in spring. And in picture number 15....WOWZER! Beautiful! Are the white flowers in that photo phlox? I think a lot of the things in your photo are further along in their bloom stage here. It gets soooo hot here and stays that way. But that photo is just gorgeous!


Carolinaflower8,
I have been thinking of adding some blanket flowers. I used to have a few and they bloomed and bloomed and bloomed! Maybe I'll have to try some different salvias. The ones I have bloom mostly in the spring/early summer, than they are not much to look at after that. Do the blue/black salvia bloom later?

warriorswisdomkathy,
Wow, thank you for all the suggestions! I will have to look up a few of them. What are the shaggy white flowers in your 1st photo. They are cool.

Pfg,
Wow, your gardens look fantastic ,especially for this time of year! Are a lot of the white flowers phlox? They look lovely

Thanks to everyone who posted. It gives me some ideas of what is blooming in August. I really need to work on this. I have to really pick and choose and make the right decisions because of the gardens already having so much in them. Need the least amount of area with the most amount of 'WOWZA'!!! LOL I think just some drifts of the same one or two things over and over might work. Now comes the hard part....all that money. LOL

Sherry

My black and blue salvia from last year has bern blooming nonstop since June 12ish. The hummingbirds love it. :);) It was sold at Lowes as an annual, but it survives winters around here. Check your Lowes clearance section. You might be able to grab one now for a few dollars to try. Also, do you have Dollar General? They have seeds in clearance now, which make them 5-15 cents. That would be a good way to try one new ones. They may have blanketflower seeds, too. :)

Everybody has such great stuff! Sherry, I'm glad you asked your question; there are tons of plants out there that I never thought about.

The fall Astilbe bloomer is Astilbe chinensis. The others, as far as I know, are all spring bloomers.
Anything in my pics who is white is either Phlox paniculata 'David' or Hydrangea paniculata (I think; this one was a gift a few years ago with a verbal mention of what it is, and with my memory....sheesh...I shoulda written it down...).

That lily is called Hiawatha. I had some VERY pastel beds and was looking for lilies that would brighten it. Hiawatha is an incredibly reliable asiatic that is a relative oldie, introduced in 1975. It is sold, but not every year, by B&D lilies, and it's inexpensive, at about $5.00. It bloomed in late July and hung in for several weeks, until a couple of days ago. This is in my new yard.

The second picture is in my previous garden, where it bloomed earlier because it was so hot. I like it because it is sort of outfacing, which is not that common. Talk about reliable - these are the same bulbs three years earlier, and I have moved them three times - into a pot, into a refrigerator, and into the ground!

In the third pic you can see what I was trying to do. Put some pop in all those pastels! I think that I am going to to try to duplicate some of this on my parkway, certaily with the nicotiana alata and campanula Bernice, which is one of the toughest perennials I have ever encountered.

Donna...oh yum!!!! That area must smell soooooo good!!!! Those Saponaria officinalis (Bouncing Bet) (the pink flower in front), have have such a wonderful fragrance (it's peppery sweet), I got some from my daughter's house and they are sitting in pots waiting to get into the ground...Do yours kinda flop around or is it the 1/2 day sun at my daughter's that causes that? Love the lilies, such a pretty color of red...

Sherry..those are Dianthus x Loveliness. They grow to 18"x16ish", and begin bloom (here in e. June) and bloom the whole season if deadheaded. I've not seen them offered anywhere other than seed which needs to be started indoors during the winter and they come in soooooo many colors; pink, dk. pink, red, white, white with a green inner ring, purple, and a light lavender. They are not long lived plants (3-4 years), as they are soooo very prolithic in blooms (Pix 3 is a mature plant and constantly deadheaded). I started a package of pink and a mix this seson as I've lost many of the other colors over the years.
Pix 1-4 are all the Dianthus x Loveliness, great in the vase, and the fragrance is equisite!.
Pix 5 is another blooming ths time of year, Limonium latifolium, perennial statice, great for filler in bouquets, 36-48" x 36-48".

Do I have any volunteers to come deadhead, my garden is in desperate need...lol. Been busy with the backyard and starting a whole new garden so my main border is looking a bit sad..lol.


If you need pix of any of the others let me know, or want me to describe any of the plants listed, am thinking I have pix of most of them and personal growing info. (ie,, great cut for the vase, fragrance, floppy, reseeders, whether they need to be started indoors). Most of the perennials in my garden were started from seed and it does take years for things to mature but there is such a vast variety available of wonderful flowers just waiting to see enjoyed. Kathy

Ooops, almost forgot the other flower that was asked about Pix 3 above is Catanche caerulea, (Cupids Dart), 24", comes in white also which has a purple ring at it's center, reseeds nicely making a patch and great in the vase.

Oooops, they rearranged the photos... Pix 3 is the Limonium latifolium.

Saponiaria bouncing bett stays upright in full sun. In semi-shade it tends to flop. I love it, but do bear in mind that it tends to want to spread. I controll it by periodically putting a shovel through the ground around it. And you peobebly want to keep it away from lawn, because it will come up in lawn. I loved it so much I got it in white, too.

Warriors: are your Osteospurmum barberiae perennial? I thought those were just annual?

No, O. barberiae is perenn., but only hardy in Zones 5 and 6, very limited... They are from the mountains in South Africa... They were brought to the U.S. and introduced at The Denver Botanic Gardens in Colorado, probably been about 10 + years now but not a widely available plant yet because of the limited zones I would surmise. They are drought tolerant once established. Will try to remember to post the purple one tomorrow. I love it cuz they bloom the whole season til frost. they make a mat, the one above is atleast 30" across now maybe wider. They close each night and the back side of the petals are a darker color of the front and almost luminecent (sp? sorry can't find the dictionary...lol) The perenn. does't reseed whereas the annual can, also come in many colors, pinks, purples yellow, and white, usually about 12"x12" and is a branching plant, where the perenn. is mat forming.

Ironweed is just coming into bloom around here.
It reseeds moderately, which is either good or bad,
but here's one which popped up right next to a late-summer blooming daylily
(hemerocallis altissima) which makes a nice (accidental) combination.

Cannas are blooming here. One of fave bloomers this time of year is Rudbeckia tomentosa 'Henry Eilers'. four o'clocks are in full bloom, butterfly bush, Russian sage, orange jewelweed, crepe myrtles.

I like that Ironweed Weerobin, I have one of those waiting to go in the ground this weekend. It's my first one.

Warriors: Where did you get your O. Barberiae?

Don't worry, Sequoia, you'll soon have enough to share...

That's the truth. :)

LOL...is it a good spreader? I figured it might be since 'weed' was in the name. Are the stems self supporting? That is do they fall over easy in a quick rain/wind burst?

You know, I believe it's actually on Endangered Lists in some places, but where it can be found, it's tough as iron (what else?). :)

I don't know it to flop easily.

Sequoi.... Got locally, since The Denver Botanic Gardens introduced them many of the larger nurseries sell them now... The only nursery that I was aware of that sells them for shipping is High Country Gardens (.com). I believe they went through a bit of a tough time and sold off parts of the nusery but I believe mailorder is still open.

Yikes....HCG, maybe after they stop getting all the negative reviews :)

Usually they sell them at the nurseries around here in the wee early spring but they are annuals I think. I really love daisy flowers and would like to have these for sure. I'll have to do some digging...no pun intended ;P

Cville, thanks for the info on the Iron Weed, I'm excited to plant it for sure.

I don't think you will be disappointed.