I had intended to do a post this week about the meadow and all its flowers, but there were too many photos so it will have to be an extra post during the coming week. This meant a quick dash round the garden to photograph what else was flowering at the moment and looking good enough to be included.
Clematis Prince Charles is now flowering over one of my shrubs in the front garden, maybe it ought to now change its name!
I think this is Clematis Margot Koster, but please let me know if you think otherwise. All I know is that I bought it many years ago when we first built the pergola, maybe 20 yrs at least, and I have lost the label! She is covered in buds so I’m sure you will see her again.
Always a welcome sight when I see this double Geranium is flowering for the summer, it is called Geranium pratense Summer Skies.
My first Day lily or Hemerocallis Stafford has started flowering. Another plant that is covered with buds so even though the flowers only last a day, it will be flowering for a long time. The day lilies were always considered July flowering plants here in the past, they are getting earlier each year now.
Evening Primrose or Oenothera are now flowering in various parts of the garden. This plant seeds gently about, but is never a nuisance. Good for wildlife as the insects love it at the moment and the goldfinches flock to the seedheads in the autumn.
It’s hydrangea time! all my shrubs are starting to flower, this one in the corner of the back garden is General Vicomtesse de Vibraye and has flowers in the most delightful pale blue.
Up by the pond is a plant that seeds gently around, so I think it must be damp up there in spite of the drought, it is Mimulus moschatus. The commom name is Monkey flower.
I find that I’m having to do my gardening at 6am if possible, yes, in my pyjamas! The weather is far too hot for me to be out in the sunshine, so I’m mostly working in my shady borders, but then everything stops in the afternoon anyway as the tennis then takes priority and will for the next few weeks! I’m sure Jim wouldn’t stop for tennis, you will find him at Garden Ruminations working hard, do pay him a visit to see more flowers in other gardens.
My mother-in-law used to stop everything for the tennis too!
My Evening Primroses are just starting to flower too.
It was worth it Rosie, such a good fortnight so far!
It is hot to garden. I felt most peculiar yesterday when I was working in the sun. It is fully light at 5 am now so that would be a good time to work, except I am not good at getting up early. I love all the flowers you enjoying at the moment. Lovely clematis and such a pretty geranium. The hydrangea does seem early.
The early mornings have been so cool Liz, it is a pleasure to garden before the humidity gets going. All the hydrangeas are now starting to flower, will soon be showing the rest of them.
Very pretty daylily in a colour I think it must be close to a new one I bought that will bloom soon.
When you talk about tennis, are you talking about watching Wimbledon?
The daylily Stafford is a very old variety Fred, I bought it such a long time ago because my parents lived at that time in a town called Stafford! Wimbledon starts in a week on June 30th, this last 2 weeks has been at Queen’s Club, London which all the big tennis players use to get used to playing on grass before Wimbledon. There were some excellent matches but now I must catch up on gardening before next week!
I know what you mean about it being too hot to garden! I was doing some work on Thursday and was quite light headed when I went inside – mindst you the temperature there was reading 25 degrees! Your daylily is a similar colour to mine which gets attacked every year by snails! They even climb inside the buds and eat them! I am thinking of just getting rid of it, but the flowers are lovely when unharmed. And my Prince Charles is also flowering, but none of the other clematis.
I like your pale blue Geranium pratense Summer Skies. Does it grow tall?
Yes Jude, the Geranium Summer Skies is taller than the usual geranium, about 2ft. I’m finding early morning really is the best time to garden at the moment, I think the heatwave is over now though thank goodness, at least the humidity has gone.
I was out in the garden at 6am today too! It was lovely and (relatively) cool with just the birds for company.
I have no clue about the name of your clematis, I’m afraid, I’m bad enough at remembering the names of my own. But you’ve got lots of gorgeous plants this week.
You’re another early bird Helen, I like it when I just have the birds for company too!
https://clematisontheweb.org/clemdetail/?dbkey=575 is the entry for ‘Margot Koster’ on Clematis on the Web, looks a good match. Sue brought to my attention earlier today a geranium in a pot which looks very like your Summer Skies and has a hand written label saying G. pratense ‘Cloud Nine’ (what happened to clouds one to eight incidentally?), so not a shop purchase. I need to find a suitable spot for it.
My G.Summer Skies grows to about 2 ft Jim, taller than other hardy geraniums so that has to be taken into account when placing it, don’t know if yours will be the same. Thanks for the clematis link, I think mine is Margot Koster, the name rings a bell.
A lovely selection as always. I love blue hydrangeas. We’ve just been out watering pots & pruning roses in our pjs. There’s a nice cool breeze – although it’s still too warm indoors.
Nice to know there is someone else out there in their pjs, just as well noone can see me, unless it is in an aeroplane! The humidity has gone thank goodness, much more pleasant weather now.
You certainly have some beauties there! Many things seem to bloom earlier here, too. We seem to have stretches of warm weather in late winter and early spring, and then back and forth with cooler and hotter than “normal” weather. The conditions are definitely more variable than they used to be. I used to have some Evening Primroses, too, but I haven’t seen them in a couple of years. They are lovely bloomers.
Thank you Beth. I think the weather is getting warmer and wetter and the plants are responding.Like the evening primroses, they are good plants for all the different moths.
Your whole selection is gorgeous, Pauline. I love the colour and shape of Clematis Margot Koster. I haven’t grown Day Lillies for years but I’d happily have H. ‘Stafford’ in my borders. The hydrangea is very pretty and way ahead of mine; they have small, tightly closed buds but their time will, no doubt, come!
Thanks Catherine. A few things seem to be a bit ahead of their time, I suppose it will be something we will have to get used to. The clematis on the pergola are all doing very well, but I seem to have bought too many purple ones!
Haha, as a habitual naked sleeper, I will always be getting dressed before I go out in the garden! 😀I had to belatedly string up tomatoes in the greenhouse yesterday and admittedly I was more than a little warm when I had finished, but generally I too try to keep to the cooler parts of the day, Margot Kostner is a vert reliable clematis here, but I have never managed to keep a G ‘Summer Skies’, for some reason
Too much information Cathy! G. Summer Skies must be well over 20 yrs old by now, maybe it likes my heavy clay, glad something does!