It's Bloom Day in the garden blogger world. On the 15th of each month you can see what's blooming in gardens across the globe by visiting our host
May Dreams Gardens for links to participating blogs.
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Here at Southern Meadows, we kicked off June with periodic rain showers and cooler than normal temperatures. Seriously, you can't beat morning temps of 60 degrees (Fahrenheit) growing into 80 degrees by afternoon. That's perfect gardening weather and you better believe I was out getting dirt under my nails! Of course we knew it wouldn't last long, after all it's June and we live in Georgia. But the garden responded with glorious blooms. Many of the sun loving perennials are putting on a show of colorful flowers, which the butterflies, bees and hummingbirds are owning.
We grow Geranium maculatum 'Rozanne' in several areas in the garden, some in full shade and other in morning sun. Both situations do well. Our newest planting is above the rock wall along a path that leads to our back driveway. Here I can enjoy the blooms as I take the dogs out for their morning stroll but small bees and butterflies probably appreciate it even more.
Stokes Aster is a finicky plant in our garden and historically I haven't had a lot of luck getting them established. Our drought took all the blue blooming Stokes Asters last year but the white and yellow, which grew side by side endured. Since I didn't dead them, some seedlings are growing, expanding the little aster spread. Our native bees and butterflies enjoy the frilly petals that invite them in to forage on the bloom's nectar.
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| leafcutter bee covered in pollen |
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| Painted Lady Butterfly on Stokes Aster |
The sundrops (
Oenothera) are a yellow evening primrose, which I received as a pass-a-long plant a few years ago. The bees visit them constantly using the petal's nectar guide pattern, which is evident under ultraviolet light and visible to its pollinators, bees, butterflies and moths.
A new perennial shrub in our garden this year, Spirea tomentosa or Steeplebush, is popular with the bumblebees. They dance frantically around, circling the pink plumes.
We use Achillea millefolium or yarrow on our hillside gardens because it is very drought tolerant and thrives in challenging soils. The blooms support native bees and butterflies as well as attract parasitoid and predatory insects. We've pared the yellow yarrow with orange butterfly milkweed in one garden bed,
while creating a mass of pink in another, planting it with Echinacea purpurea. This is part of our garden we've named Pollinator Hill because of the concentration of pollinator friendly plants. You can visit this area of the garden and always find it filled with butterflies, bees, bettles and hummingbirds.
A favorite summer bloom is Gaillardia or blanket flower. It has reseeded in various areas in our garden and is covered in bees and butterflies during its long bloom season from spring to late fall.
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| butterfly resting on stem of Golden Alexander amid the Gaillardia blooms |
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| Gaillardia hybrid at edge of driveway garden bed |
A show stopper on Pollinator Hill is Rudbeckia Maxima with its tall stems and yellow brown-eyed blooms not to mention the unique bluish green foliage.
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| Rudbeckia maxima with rudbeckia laciniata |
Coreopsis verticillata is a favorite bloom of mine. The threaded leaves and welcoming blooms just make such a dainty yet bold statement. This is one of our newly planted areas where I am trying to get the coreopsis established around some small boulders.
Hydrangea arborescens or Smooth Hydrangea is the star of our June garden. Covered in a variety of pollinators, this shade loving shrub is an essential plant to have in a wildlife garden and demonstrates that you can support pollinators in a shade garden. Just look at the selection of visitors on the inflorescence.
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| Flower Beetle |
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| Long horned beetles |
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| Bumblebee | | | |
Our aquatic garden is also in full bloom with photogenic water lily flowers each day. This pond is home to lots of frogs and fish. Our nine goldfish have produced 10 baby fry this spring so our pond is growing!
Next week I will be touring gardens in the Washington, D.C. area with fellow garden bloggers. Follow me on
to see lots of garden goodness.
