Garden Blogger Bloom Day: June 2020

After an unseasonably cool May, June has turned up the heat and humidity. And brought on the mosquitos, chiggers and ticks. But despite these pests there is much to celebrate in the garden.

For this post I thought I would deviate from my usual macro shots and show wider angles so you can see how the plants look in our landscape. June is the month for many of the herbaceous perennials to shine.

At the front of the house, a variety of native plants embrace the front walk and are enjoyed by numerous pollinators.

Asclepias tuberosa

Piedmont Barbara's Button (Marshallia obovata)

Spiraea tomentosa and achillea millefolium

This view is from the driveway looking toward the front walk over one of the front flower bed. Blooming flowers shown here are penstemon digitalis, achillaea millefolium, and lavender. The Redbud 'Forest Pansy' and Myrica cerifera anchor the bed.

In the side garden at the head of the driveway, hypericum, stokesia and achillea have taken over. This dense assortment of plant material is enjoyed by songbirds (for cover and foraging), toads, and pollinators.

Another angle of the white and blue stokesia, pink yarrow and St. John's wort mix.

Sometimes if you get out early enough the bees are still resting.

This lovely ground cover is Mimosa strigillosa. It reproduces by seed and stolons. Over the past few years it has spread in two of our flower beds making a wonderful carpet.

Pollinators big and small visit the blooms and the little yellow sulphur butterfly lays eggs on the leaves.

Spiraea virginiana grows near our pond and benefits from moist conditions. The flowers attract a variety of insects from bees to butterflies, beetles and pollinating flies.

Hymenocallis pymaea is spreading nicely between the pond and the stone retaining wall. this dwarf lily is the perfect ground cover for this spot.

In the pocket meadow is more butterfly weed, yarrow and coreopsis. Soon the partridge pea and bee balm will bloom.

The yucca filamentosa is blooming for the first time. It is spectacular and I have been out taking photos of it daily.

The ever so discrete Ilex verticillata are blooming at the edge of the woods. The tiny bees and honeybees are often seen visiting, which the birds will appreciate in the fall when they gorge on the berries.

And of course hydrangea quercifolia with their bold white blooms brightens the shade garden.

What is blooming in your garden this June? Join our host Carol at May Dreams Gardens for a spectacular start to the summer flowering season.