This is going to be a long post… so buckle up.

July and August are probably the height of the garden. While the spring flowers are done, the summer flowers are coming full force.

And the soil here is so much better than the heavy clay we had at the townhouse. The tickseed is just busting out all over the place.

As are these fancy black-eyed susans

At the townhouse, these plants were small little mounds, with maybe four or five blooms at a time. Here they are easily 2 feet tall and so thick they’ve almost taken over one end of the catio.

I am in absolute awe.

This fluffy beauty is another type of Susan (Rudbeckia Maya). Twice I tried to grow it at the townhouse, and twice I failed. When I saw it at the garden centre again this year, I thought, maybe third time was the charm. And as you can see, it was! It’s doing beautifully.

I bought this scarlet bee balm at the end of the season last year, so this is the first I’ve seen it in bloom. It’s just stunning. And I love how some of the flowers are doing a double decker thing,

In fact, so are the pink one I brought from the townhouse.

It’s always bloomed well, but this year, it’s just incredible. I really think it’s the change in soil.

I’m also thrilled with this Veronica. I have both pink and purple, and both plants were in part shade at the townhouse. They did ok, but I knew they could do so much better here. The pink one is just starting to bloom, and it’s covered in buds. It doesn’t look like the purple one will be very far behind.

The ground cover sedums in the driveway garden have stared to bloom. The flowers are very tiny, but oh so sweet.

My Asiatic lilies, however, have had a tough time here. They got hit really hard with Asian Lily Beetle, and I didn’t notice until they’d done a lot of damage. Still, a couple managed to keep their buds, and the first one has just bloomed. There are plans to add lots and lots more, because I love lilies. But I’m going to have to stay on top of those darn beetles.

And as much as I’m enjoying everything blooming now, part of gardening is about thinking ahead.

I’m back on the wagon with No Buy July, but I want to share some of the really good deals I got at the end of June, especially on shrubs.

I was thrilled to discover I can grow Azaleas here. I always thought they (and Rhododendrons in general) were too tender to grow this far north, so I was delighted when I found one hardy to Zone 4. (We are Zone 5). It’s called Golden Lights, and I won’t get to see flowers until next spring… but when I do, they should look something like this:

I can’t wait. It’s out front beside the newly chopped holly, and hopefully the morning sun, and dappled afternoon light will help it thrive.

I also picked up another Butterfly bush. This one is called Queen of Hearts.

It’s my fourth Butterfly Bush and will not be my last. I put this one out front. It’s already got some buds on it, so it shouldn’t be too long before it blooms.

I also got a Nine Bark.

Nine Bark is actually a native shrub which is always a bonus, and this one is called Tiny Wine. Like the Azalea, it won’t bloom until spring, but it’s got gorgeous dark purple foliage the rest of the year.

So for now, I’m just going to enjoy every petal out there.