July 2016 Blooms: Strike Up the Band

Just finished a breakfast that included blueberries, Door County strawberries and a Sugar River Scone from the Saturday Market, Capitol Square. Another beautiful Wisconsin summer day is unfolding,  With the Fourth of July weekend upon us I thought I would start the celebration by sharing what's blooming in the Prospect Gardens. Using the plural, signifies there are a variety of different flowers with mixture of prairie plants and perennials .  As you scroll though this entry you will meet 12 beauties. 

The first is the showy red Monarada, commonly known as Bee Balm because bees love the flowers. This large size patch began with about a half dozen plants, transplanted from a neighbor's garden.  As you come down the north steps to the path, the red patch immediately catches your eye. When I am in the Gardens, I am often asked "What's the name of that beautiful red flower?"  

Three flowers grace the picture to the left. The flowers with the purple blooms in the background are Poppy Mallow, a lovely ground cover that are only be 6 inches tall. These are at least a foot tall. They must love this environment.

The flower towards the middle of the picture is, as you can probably guess from the bloom, in the daisy family. To be exact, Gaillardia grand--- Arizona Sun Dwarf Blanket Flower. I love the color and the shape of the blooms.

Filling up the lower left hand corner of the picture is a Rudbeckia or Black Eye Susan. Unlike the Poppy Mallow, this type of Rudbeckia does not thrive in the Gardens. With each new season, we loose several and for unknown reasons. It's a lesson that gardens, from year-to-year, are impermanent,one must avoid becoming attached to any plant and that gardens constantly change.

Oh! Here are the startling cream colored Lilies that are at least four feet tall. This one and two other patches, so far, have always showed up at this time of the year.  The patch is so big that this fall I will dig and split up the large bulbs.

A former neighbor, Gene, gave me the bulbs several years ago. Gene and his wife are now living at Oakwood, a senior retirement complex. Gene belonged to the Wisconsin Day Lilly Society and his back yard was full of day lilies and different varieties of lilies like the one in the picture. I saw Gene a few months ago and was told that he has a small lily garden at Oakwood.  I must go see it because I bet the garden is as spectacular as the one he left behind in our neighborhood.   

This showy day lily is from some friends, Jane and Gary, from West Bend and I think this is it's third year. These friends are hosta lovers. Their large hosta gardens have received community awards. Both are members of the Wisconsin Hosta Society and regularly attend hosta conventions. How's that for being an avid gardener and lover of the hosta?  

The next two pictures show Queen of the Prairie. These stunning pink clusters of flowers give off a pleasing aroma. These plants are worthy of the title of "Queen." The original plants came from my backyard supplemented with some from a neighbor's yard.

Note the blue sky. Wisconsin weather at its best. Reports say this will continue throughout the holiday weekend.  Hooray!!! Strike up the band and let's have a John Phillip Sousa patriotic march. Maybe a classic Wisconsin barbecue?

A close up of the Queen. Doesn't Queen Elizabeth have a dress, hat and purse in this shade of pink? I bet she does.

Did you happen to notice the Queen's green lime outfit featured all over social media a few weeks ago?  Now that the UK is supposedly leaving the European Union and the pound has deep sixth-ed, I wonder if the Queen will be able to afford such luxuries? Maybe frocks from the English equivalent of Target or Kohls is in her future.

A cluster of cone flowers (Pale Purple) graces the picture to the right, as I suspect you guessed. These are more droopy or floppy than their cousins, the Purple Cones, in the next picture.  Until recently I did not know that cone flowers are members of the sun flower family. Thought that I would pass that tidbit of information on.









To the left are the Purple Cones; Echinacea Purpurea, if you please. We have many Purple Cones throughout the Gardens. They spread easily through seeds. These have adapted to the rocks that cover much of the Gardens; sprouting between the rocks when I didn't expect them to. Adaptable plus hardy and prolific; good characteristics for survival in the Prospect Gardens. Plus the birds love the seeds.

Our next bloomer is the Butterfly Weed ( Ascelepias Tuberosa). Don't assume that I know the Latin names. I just Googled while writing this entry. Practicing transparency and truth in blogging. Unlike the Purple Cones, the Butterfly Weed doesn't thrive in the Gardens. Maybe its the rocky environment or the rabbits that really love the early sprouts.

Surprising rabbits have not been a big problem at Prospect (yet?), unlike in my backyard garden. I have fencing all around the perimeter and still two bunnies took up residence in my fern bed and decimated six plants. I have not seen the two fussy creatures lately. They must have moved on to greener pastures or maybe met their doom. Although I have not seen the hawk that last year would circle overhead. 

Here's the Elephant Ear Hosta. What a giant! This one, along with others, were planted about three years ago. Joyce, a regular volunteer, donated them. Their ancestors were either from Joyce's gardens or from her neighbors; can't remember which. The ferns' ancestors are from my backyard and their ancestors were here when we purchase our house 30 years ago.

This concludes the sample of July bloomers. During this month the Gardens will be at their peak; once again adding beauty to our neighborhood and opportunities to work with and know one's neighbors. Without a core of stalwart volunteers, augmented by "drop-ins", these gardens would quickly be overgrown with weeds.  Thank you to all who have volunteered.

Okay, strike up the band!