WHAT’S IN THE BLOOMING GARDEN?

The time of peonies and roses is past. Cue the lilies and delphiniums.

Perennials. Shasta daisies, white potentilla and the pink Grutendorst rose with its small carnation-style flowers, add lovely side notes. The monk’s hood will bloom in early August with the phlox. I have pulled all the rue which was loaded with seed. It would take over the garden given half a chance but I love its fluffy mauve blooms. I am still finding the odd forget-me-not plant tucked here and there. It gets pulled and composted too.

Lilies. First come the Asiatics, the hardiest of the lilies. My favourite is the early cream -coloured Roma. I also have some good strong yellow Connecticut Kings, reliable and brassy. I do not grow Oriental lilies because they are not hardy but I have a small collection of trumpets which bloom in August. A few years ago, when a neighbour moved, he gave me some lily plants. The blooms are orange with dark brush marks. I believe they are L.A. hybrids. I was a bit taken aback to have the colour orange in my garden, a bit of a clash - but the lilies are so gorgeous I kept them. Five years ago, I dug a clump of lilies near an abandoned farm field. As far as I can tell, they are Asiatics called Pirate. They are tough red guys. I have several other Asiatic cultivars scattered here and there. You can't have too many lilies.

The day lilies will arrive just as the Asiatics are dying down although the small yellow Stella D’oro has a few blooms already. The golden species day lily finished up two weeks ago.

Roses. The roses were marvelous this year. The Morden Snowberry with its flat floppy white flowers, blooms on. It was not attacked by black spot this year although the other Mordens suffered from this nasty leaf disease. Poor Adelaide Hoodless, a Parkland Rose, which barely grows in the dry conditions of my front yard, managed a few bright red blooms. If I could get this rose untangled from the roots of a nearby maple tree, it would do well. But I cannot dig in the rooty soil and so it struggles on. With Heritage, Parkland and Explorer Roses, location is everything. The Bugnet roses have finished a first flush of bloom and should send up repeat flowers later. The Hansa and The roserie de l'Hay will also put out magenta flowers from time to time. Usually I do not dead head roses. I like to leave the rose hips for the birds in the winter. Besides, it would take hours just to dead head the two big Explorers, Jens Munk and William Baffin.

Annuals. Most of the annuals that I grew in my basement last winter are in flower with the exception of the lavatera which is an August bloomer. Bachelor buttons, schizanthus, cosmos and pansies are all out. Strangely, the schizanthus is purple and not pink as in other times but I remember I bought the seeds from a rack because T&T nursery did not offer them this year.

The nicotania (old fashioned fragrant) which was supposed to grow five feet high has started to produce flowers on plants as short as 12 inches. The catalogue promised “an old fashioned fragrance” but I cannot smell a thing. Long ago the scent was bred out of nicotanias and even out of some varieties of sweet pea. I was hoping to discover the famous nicotania scent mentioned in various novels.

Pots. The lobelia (crystal palace) was doing poorly until I gave it good doses of fertilizer. I usually do not fertilize much with commercial fertilizer but rely on my compost and manure. The tiny yellow marigolds (lemon gem), the geraniums (maverick) and the dianthus (raspberry ripple) are crowding the pots.

Flops. The sweet pea is spindly. The nasturtiums, planted in a small window box, were eaten up by an unknown predator although the few seeds I tucked beside the patio grew into fine plants now creeping across the bricks. The godetia, usually a reliable plant, seems to have disappeared entirely.

Veggies. In the back corner, the few vegetables are doing well. The corn, if not as high as an elephant’s eye, is three feet tall and a good looking cucumber entwines it. Zucchini and squash flouish nearby. The tomatoes (early girl) could be bigger and I blame the cool weather and especially the cool nights.

In my dry front yard, the mullein has exceeded expectations by producing a five foot spire loaded with pure yellow flowers. The non-stop begonias are living up to their name. However I planted several bulbs labeled "white" and I am getting many red and a few yellow blooms but no white. Just another garden surprise like the purple schizanthus. The begonia like their window boxes. They are slower to bloom when planted on the ground.

The garden is thick and bushy this year and the warm weather brings out the laziness of the gardener who has a number of good books on hand as well as a good place to read. The weeds are out there, and I’ll get to them after a rain when they are easy to pull. But now, another cup of tea.

Tip. This is a good time to fertilize perennials. Also annuals in pots can be fertilized up to frost.