Spicebush Swallowtails

There are so many butterflies in the yard right now, I cannot resist photographing them. The blue colors on the wings of this swallowtail today matched the blue of the sky perfectly.

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Silver-spotted skipper

Silver-spotted Skippers are very common here, and I see dozens of these butterflies every day. The white butterfly bush is filled with them, and they love the zinnias as well. An interesting bit of info about these butterflies, according to this butterfly guide, they almost never visit yellow flowers, but favor blue, red, pink, purple, and sometimes white and cream-colored ones.

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Skipper and butterfly bush

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Skipper and zinnia

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Click to enlarge.

July flowers

I have tons of flowers blooming all over the yard right now. July seems to be when everything here reaches peak bloom, and there are colorful spots all over the place. It’s so much work keeping everything watered during the heat and drought, especially with temps in the 90s, and I spend a lot of time deadheading and clipping.. but it’s worth it to get to see all these beautiful blooms. As always, click on any of the photos to view a larger version.

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Pink Veronica

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I love these bright orange moss roses (Portulaca), and have them in many spots in the rock wall beds. They seem to thrive there and also in pots on my blazing hot, full-sun deck. I like these new hybrids that stay open even on cloudy days. The bee balm has more blooms this year than I remember them ever having. The clump in the photo is in a rock wall bed at the bottom of the yard, still blooming profusely. They’re so tall, of course I had to stake and tie them. I’ve kept the blue balloon flowers deadheaded and they have bloomed a long time this year.

    
Portulaca, bee balm, and balloon flowers

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The pink roses are growing along a fence at the edge of the yard next to the driveway. These roses were given to me by my grandmother, and I’ve had them for many years. The potted marigolds shown are much prettier than they are in the photo. Their true color is so light that they almost look white. The dependable coneflowers are still producing bloom after bloom. I have a few different varieties of these flowers, and I love them all. They attract so many bees and butterflies, and require so little maintenance.

    
Roses, marigolds, and coneflowers

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I have several rock wall flower beds, all filled with flowers right now. Two of these walls are more than 30 feet long, and I quite a few smaller ones as well. We built these stacked rock walls years ago, and they’ve held up well. We live in the mountains, and there isn’t much flat land here, everything is sloped, and these rock walls help to connect the levels in the yard, plus they give me lots of planting spaces. :) They get excellent drainage, a little too much drainage, actually, they dry out quickly this time of year — but I have soaker hoses installed in them so they’re not too much work to keep up.

    
Rock wall flower beds

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The hostas have finished blooming now and are definitely in need of deadheading. I love these plants, but I have far too many already and don’t need them to produce any more seed — they spread almost invasively here and I’m constantly pulling out small ones from all over my yard. I have them lining a path into the woods, a large clump on a slope at the edge of the yard, and various other clumps everywhere.

    
Closeup of a hosta flower, on a slope, and lining a path

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I find the moss, shade, and green plants soothing in the Secret Garden, so I don’t have a lot of color there… a couple pots of impatiens, a few clumps of caladiums along the path, and a pink begonia, along with the ferns and other mostly green plants. The New Guinea impatiens don’t bloom very well in the deep shade of this area, but I like their foliage so I use them anyway.

    
Impatiens, large fern, caladium along the path

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In addition to all the flower beds, I have many containers.. too many. It’s not easy keeping them all watered in July heat… but I can’t seem to help myself and keep adding more. Since most every spot in my yard already has something planted in it, if I want to add more flowers, it just about has to be in a container that I can stick somewhere on the porch or decks.. and along the edge of the patio and walkway, by the steps, by every door, even along the side of the carport. I just can’t help it. :)

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Click any photo to enlarge

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I’m not out of photos, but since this is already way too long, I think I’ll stop here and continue this post later. :)
What’s blooming in your yard this month?

Orange Fritillary

Orange Fritillary butterflies love my butterfly bush. I liked the way the sun sparkles show in the background of these photos.

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Beautiful day

It was a beautiful summer day here on the first day of July, with temperatures in the 80s, deep blue skies with rolling white clouds, and bright sunshine. I took these photos from my front yard. The pink and white coneflowers and red petunias looked very striking against the bright pretty sky. Don’t you just love summertime? :) I was happy with the way these photos captured the feel of the day. Click on any of them to view a larger version.

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Bright sunshine shining thru pink coneflowers

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White and pink coneflowers

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Flowers, clouds, and a jet trail

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Coneflowers, petunias, and sky