Today I want to share some of the things we have blooming here in mid June. I’ll start in the Wild Garden, which is a sunny spot that includes many plants that attract butterflies, hummingbirds, bees and other pollinators. It is a riot of colors now, as quite a few of the plants are in full bloom.
the Wild Garden in June
The soapwort (Saponaria officianalis) is one of the plants in full bloom, and it anchors one corner of the Wild Garden. This plant is supposed to be attractive to butterflies, but they seem to prefer other blooms nearby. Regardless, it is an easy to grow plant that lights up every summer with its pinkish white, sweet smelling blooms. I grew our plant from seed, but it also spreads rather aggressively by rhizomes and I regularly thin it back to keep it from overtaking the neighboring plants.
soapwort aka bouncing bet
One nearby plant the butterflies and bees love is bee balm. This one has red flowers, though we also have the purple flowered one that was here when we moved to Happy Acres. That one has not started blooming just yet.
red bee balm
Another favorite for the bees is the hollyhock. This is a single flowered heirloom strain called Outhouse I grew from seed, and it has blooms in shades of white, pink and red. The bumblebees really enjoy these blossoms, and they wind up covered in pollen as they visit them.
Outhouse hollyhocks
I’m especially fond of the maroon colored flowers. The bumblebees were working the flowers yesterday but moving too quick for me to get their photo.
maroon hollyhocks
A less showy bloomer is the catnip. Like most members of the mint family, the blooms are very attractive to bees and other pollinators. Of course the leaves are attractive to cats, and I occasionally bring in a few for our two feline friends Puddin and Ace.
catnip blooming
The butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is a bit showier, and it’s aptly named as it is popular with butterflies, though none were visiting the morning I was out there.
butterfly weed
Always a favorite for bees and butterflies alike is the purple coneflower. We have several plants scattered around the Wild Garden and the Sun Garden, and they are just now starting to bloom. Many of these are volunteers that have self-sown, and we often move them into bare spots as needed.
purple coneflower
Just now beginning to bloom is the Lucifer crocosmia. This plant is attractive to hummingbirds, and I sometimes see butterflies checking them out too.
crocosmia Lucifer
We have a couple of coreopsis plants in the Wild Garden and one called Creme Brulee is blooming now. It’s a fairly short plant, and a nectar source for butterflies. This one is a bit better behaved than some of the coreopsis we have grown in the past, like Moonbeam or Zagreb which are more aggressive.
Creme Brulee coreopsis
Over in the kitchen garden, the bees and pollinators are loving the flowers on the bolting shallots. Of course I am more interested in the bulbs forming down lower, and the flowers are not really a good sign for this allium making nice sized shallots. Still, they are pretty to look at and the bees do love them.
shallots blooming
Not much is happening in the shade garden other than the hostas that are beginning to bloom. As the name implies, Big Daddy is a giant hosta with blue leaves and white flowers.
Big daddy hosta
In the Sun Garden, the lavender is the main attraction at the moment. The white flowered one is Melissa, a great lavender for culinary use.
Melissa lavender
Also giving us some color there are several pots of Wave petunias. The Snow Queen hydrangea is sneaking in the shot to the right, and a lavender is coming in from the lower left.
pots of Wave petunias
Out on the front porch we have two pots of the 2017 AAS winner Evening Scentsation growing. This one has more fragrance than most petunias, and a lovely blue color.
Evening Scentsation petunia
I hope you have enjoyed this look at some of the June bloomers here at Happy Acres. I’ll be back soon with more happenings!
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