A Midsummer Miscellany of Colour

 It's now beyond 'Half Past August' and I thought you might need some encouragement because this is the time of year that I hear "there's no colour in my garden" from some folks. Sure there is--and you can add more! I keep adding as I see things I want to change or acquire plants that I have been looking for.
You may remember I talked about plants that I purchase and treat as annuals, including this 'Cherry Brandy' rudbeckia. THIS is why I buy this plant every year if need be--look at that colour. Nothing else quite like it.

Amazingly, all the buddleia I had planted in my garden last year survived the winter, probably thanks to the six foot snowdrift on top of that garden. Thus encouraged, I bought two more this year, including this gorgeous 'Bicolour' which I found last week at Ouest-ville Perennials. As the clusters of flowers open, you can really see a difference in the individual florets--younger ones don't have as much gold-orange. It's striking and beautiful. 

Much more after the jump. 

 Not the best photo of my blackberry lily, which I understand is now reclassified from Belamcanda to Iris by taxonomists. Like Tricyrtis, blackberry lilies have small flowers, but they have a LOT of them, and they are tall and graceful plants, giving nice height to the garden.

 'Crown Princess Margareta', a David Austin rose, insisted she needed to come home with me this spring. Who was I to refuse her?

You may not see this plant very often, but you can grow it from seed. It's called flower of an hour, Hibiscus trionum. It has greenish-white petals with a deep burgundy, almost black, heart. I collected some seedheads last week and tossed some of the seed around the garden, saving the rest for next spring. I was so glad to find it. 

 This is a relative of the above plant, wild muskmallow, which I am encouraging to grow wherever it wants, in the garden or outside it, in honour of my friend Allan Lynch, whose Mum loved it and who also lets it grow around his yard. It's simple and beautiful. I need to get the white one to go with it, however.

This is a funny little rose developed by a guy down in Hants county. I am liking it very much because it flowers like gangbusters, and the flowers chance colour as they age. They're not huge flowers, but they're eyecatching, and it's a rebloomer to boot. 

 All of my coneflowers are doing well, but especially 'Milkshake', which is flowering like a wildflower!

 It took me a while to warm up to 'Invincibelle Spirit', an Annabelle-type hydrangea, but now I love its soft colour and the delicacy of each floret in its flower heads.

I mentioned 'Pistachio' hydrangea last time in my post on green flowers, but it bears showing off again because it is just so unique and healthy and lovely.

 Over in the side garden, 'Prairie Glow' rudbeckia is competing nicely with Sombrero Red and Double Scoop Raspberry coneflowers.

 The sweet peas are so well named, and although I didn't put them on a trellis, they are scrambling around and blooming their faces off.

 This is 'True Blue' gentian, a latesummer variety which is almost as spectacular as the spring Gentiana acaulis.

 I love the gomphrenas, with their strawflower-like blooms. I have this delightful white one, and in behind it is a deep red form that is just coming on after I cut it back and planted it a couple weeks ago.

And last but never least, a choice selection of foliage plants, including three different types of caladiums, a Rex begonia, and 'Sparks May Fly' begonia. Even without the delicate little flowers on the latter plant, there is a lot of colour happening here. Above them on the planter is a double callibrachoa and a heat resistat lobelia, adding to the colour display.

So that's just a very little of what caught my eye this morning. What's catching yours in your garden?