Garden Colours

July has been so hot and sunny so far. Great for me but bad for the garden. There has been amazing flowers in a myriad of colours. But also casualties of the hot dry summer. This pretty weed is growing in the Geum Box by the back door.

The Delosperma are a beautiful magenta colour with white centres, and yellow stamen.They are growing next to the Geums.

The Sweet Williams in the rectangular planter still flower away. For an annual it has flowered over three years now. They have a slight smell of Cloves.

Self Seeded Poppies flowered all around the Bamboo pots. I love this double flowering Poppy. They actually grew across the other side of the garden. The wind must have thrown the seeds thirty feet across. I have collected the seed pods ready for them to ripen.I will sow them all over the sunken border.New colours and shapes are already expressing themselves. The flowers are very short lived but lovely to look at.

The Butterfly Bush has grown really well in the summer weather. It is covered in these purple flowers. I am waiting to see the Butterflies though this year..

Growing under the conservatory windowsill is this Foxglove. I bought a selection of Foxgloves. This is the only one that has flowered. The others may flower later or next year. I hope these self seed as I love Foxgloves. They are so pretty and delicate. The Bees love these.

The last two photos show the flowers on the Bishop series of Dahlias. This is the pretty Bishop Of Oxford.

The other Dahlia flowering is the Bishop Of Dover. It has nice pink and white petals, growing above dark foliage.
 The Bishoop Of Llanduff plants rotted away (too much watering!). I have seen there are more Dahlias for me to collect.I have Cantebury, Oxford, and Dover.
  The hanging baskets have died off spectacularly. Only two remain in flower out of ten. I need more plants to fill the eight cremated ones.
  The Strawberry bed has collapsed too in the burning hot days. It is forecast for a few humid days before some much needed rain may fall. The pond is a whole six inches lower now than in the Spring. It needs rainwater to top it up.