July 2022 in the Northern Hemisphere

[Graham Catlow]

A couple of troughs -

[Maggi Young]

A couple of troughs -

You can grow almost anything in a trough - no wonder they are so popular!

[Robert]

I have been thinking about Ian Young’s remarks in the last Bulb Log about photography in the garden. Stepping back and getting a wider photographic perspective of the garden helps me understand if the garden is responding to my long term vision of how I want the garden function, look, and feel. I wish to transform our oasis garden into a paradise filled with flavorful fruit to eat, the sight of beautiful flowers, and wonderful scents. Food production is the core goal of our garden, however without flowers and scents the garden paradise is not complete.



It is amazing how quickly plants can adjust to adverse conditions. Various mosaic viruses can adversely impact many of the species I grow in our garden. I am saving seed from this Lebanese Light Green Squash, Curcubita pepo, which appeared in this season’s Summer Squash trials. This plant has many attributes that exceed those of even the commercial hybrid plants in this trial, such as productivity, disease and insect resistance.



Plant breeding is advancing on all fronts: fruits, vegetables, and ornamentals.



This new F1 Tomato hybrid, Solanum lycopersicum, is highly productive, however flavor, disease resistance, and other qualities need to be evaluated and considered.



Flavor King Pluots are delicious, however I have very compelling reasons to breed my own fruit varieties. This process is now advancing.

[Robert]

I start most of my seed in a very simple cold frame. I like simple - a tool or devise that anyone can make or use. New peach seedlings can be seen in the foreground. In small containers are new persimmons, citrus, and avocado plants. I am conducting a trial with 6 Salvia species, to see if any will work in my garden scheme. Germination tests are taking place with some of the Meso-American Salvias that we currently grow in our garden. There are also new Strawberry hybrids and the next generation of Dahlia hybrids. I do all of this in a tiny space and it works extremely well. Breeding is a numbers game, however quality; know-how and a bit more time can bring excellent results.



There are still pansies blooming in our garden, however my goal is to create more flowering diversity during the summer months.



Dahlias will bloom all summer into the autumn. I like tall, single-flowered Dahlias that produce a light canopy of foliage that can accept an understory of other flowering plants. I guess I could just buy Dahlias at the local nursery. They sell many different types, however they have nothing that fit my needs. So I create my own varieties to fit my needs.



I started my Dahlia breeding project back in the 1990’s, however I had to abandon the project shortly after I started it. I was able to resume the project about 3 years ago and excellent progress is now being made.



I end up with many Dahlias in the garden. To avoid clutter, eventually some will be replaced with better forms.

[Robert]

I wanted to acquire some Meso-American Salvia species that were missing from our garden and I knew would fit in well with our garden scheme. I found Salvia sinaloensis at a local nursery.



I started Salvia gesneriiflora from a cutting.



More Trumpet and Oriental Lilies will look good in our garden and will provide sweet scents. This is Lilium sargentiea. I do not want a collection or to clutter the garden with too many Lilies, so I will be very selective as to what I bring into the garden or keep as part of a breeding project.



Gladiolus, both species and hybrids, have potential to bring summer flowering into our garden. I have a few new hybrids coming along and will likely do more. I want versatile garden plants, not something bred for the cut flower trade.

[Jeffnz]

Hi Robert
We have, Dr Keith Hammett, a well known dahlia breeder located here in NZ. He has been responsible for the resurgence in popularity of single dahlias many with dark foliage.

 

[Robert]

Hi Jeff

It is good news to learn that there are talented and well-known breeders of single Dahlias in New Zealand. I am not surprised. New Zealand has so many highly talented Horticulturists and Gardeners. Your nation has an excellent reputation for horticultural excellence.

Here in California I feel like a complete failure. My intent on posting the results of my breeding work is to encourage independence and creativity for those gardeners that are interested in such things. Anybody can learn to breed excellent plant varieties. Absolutely no formal education is necessary, just the desire to breed new plants, creative ideas, and some determination. I have been strongly influenced by the agricultural philosophy of Masanobu Fukuoka. I like to use simple plants that are close-at-hand and turn them into useful plants for our garden. I have no need for exotic plants from faraway lands. If they come my way this is okay, however they are not necessary. I firmly believe that a beautiful and interesting garden can be created with simple plants and materials that are close at hand. I have no special skills or abilities, yet I feel that I am creating beauty and peace in our garden. A peaceful heart in these troubled times is an invaluable blessing. So much has changed for me in the past two years. Beginning about 6 months ago, when I go out to work all day in our garden I find myself, from time-to-time, in a peaceful state of “no mind”. I spend most of my time in our Sacramento garden, or in the garden in Placerville. These days I have very little contact with the outside world, however I do make an effort to share my gardening experiences on this Forum. If these efforts reach the heart and help just one soul out there then, I guess, I have achieved some success.



This posting below is the effort of my wife Jasmin.


For over a month I have intended to submit at least something.  I disagreed with my husband Robert about a June gap in the garden, but I was too busy with a sick canary.  Now that it is July, some of those June flowers are still around, with a few additions.

Spring is so abundant it is no wonder the garden seems barren after.  However, I appreciate the subtle changes after the explosions of color.  There are beige tones, as those spring blooms fade and transform into seedpods.  It is also a season when the newest generation of insect helpers are hatched, and grow larger.  I have enjoyed watching spider eggs transform and hatch out their spiderlings, and I saw this little mantid. 



I really appreciate it when Forumists provide temperature information, otherwise “hot” or “cold” become meaningless. June for us involved wild swings between 27ºC and 38 or 40ºC.  After a time, it settled into 38 or 40ºC.  There were never any intermediate temperatures, and it was difficult for the birds, plants, and us to adjust.  As for July, it has been quite pleasant, 26-28ºC, although it looks like another warmer period is coming soon.

This Castilleja and Lupine have been the happiest, regardless of the temperatures.



It is still very dry.  I am amazed that our hydrangeas remain happy.  Perhaps after so many years, they have become “drought tolerant”!  The one named “Angel Lace” probably gets a little more pampering from my husband, but the two in front are on their own, with once a week watering. 





Nearby, I have my newly planted Erythranthe bed, which does not look like much, even a month later:  As native plants, they are excellent food for the native insects!  The plants are well munched, yet somehow still thriving.  I have to keep the netting, because “Barge-o” the raccoon has no inhibitions marching over and digging up everything.  This one is rude enough to overturn large containers.

[Robert]

Summer is for lilies:  The West Coast hybrids are nearly done when the Liliums sargentiae, regale, and henryi begin their show.  In one area are a few Orientals.  These are the scents of summer I adore.



At one time, Hollyhocks were known as an “outhouse flower”, since they were frequently planted outside these buildings to prettify and hide the obvious.  In our area are a couple of other gardens where I have seen nice groupings of these flowers, and I want to transform the front yard a bit with their presence.



Summer is not complete without flavors, and squash and squash blossoms are certainly one of our delights.  Cucurbita maxima also has an incredibly intoxicating aroma.



I have enjoyed everyone’s excellent photographs, your gardens, troughs, and colors.

[shelagh]

Wonderful pictures everyone. It's so hot here things are coming into flower and going over very fast. Here are a few I spotted today.

Gypsophil muralis Teeny Deep Rose, impossible to count the flowers.

Inula ensifolia, this doesn't usually flower till August.

Lysimachia clethroides.

Scutellaria Texas Rose.

A Zinnia.

[Maggi Young]

From Anton Edwards : "In a world where too much ground disappears under concrete, how do we make paths that are not muddy in wet weather? Dig out the grass, lay a porous membrane and cover with 10 cm of wood chips. It just takes a lot of effort, but if you ever want to let Nature return, just lift the membrane. In the meantime, so many new beds, so much potential, so much mulching and weeding lie ahead. Why do we do such things? Keeps us off the streets, I suppose. "

[Maggi Young]

From Anton in Perthshire :
 July seems to be pinker than usual. A sedum (anglicum?) and Crepis (rubra?).

Susan Band suggests these are Sedum 'Coral Carpet' and Crepis incana


Sedum


Crepis

[Maggi Young]

From Anton  : " Last splashes of summer colour in a corner of the rock garden. Why is there always a yellow hosepipe in my carelessly composed pictures! "

[shelagh]

Well the end of July already and the good news is we have had a "little" rain.

In the raised bed the Anaphalis is just coming into flower.

Correopsis Zagreb and Bengal Tiger.

Rudbeckia Goldstrum and a large Sedum.

Finally Scutellaria Texas Rose with a lot more flowers.

[Akke]

Lovely pictures.

Just a short message as there’s been happening a lot here (not concerning gardening or flowers), taking time and a lot of energy.

Redmires

Late, but thanks for your answer.
It sounds like wild/ field flowers which grow abundantly here as well in June/July.

Robert

‘Common garden-centre’ Californians have helped filled the gap here, late sown Limnanthes, Nemophila Phacelia and Eschscholzia as well as Triteleia have been flowering past two months. Thanks for the inspiration on Eschscholzia. 


Grown from seed, first Lilium formosanum var. pricei has flowered.


Prospero autumnale is already starting to flower.


One of the flowering Alliums. Got the seeds as A. Macedonicum, but can’t find much info on them.


Reading so much news about disastrous weather, our situation is almost strange. After the dry spring, things have turned extremely not extreme. Temperatures (18-)20-22(-25), just a few hot (nearly 30C, once 35C) days and regular rains (not showers),just  a bit dry-ish. Only 100/150 km away the situation is, and has been, very different.