Blooming
Now
July Blooms
Daylilies are the big show stopper in July, plus plenty of hydrangeas, coneflowers, lotus, sea holly, verbena and other wildflowers. Here are a few of our favorites!
Love hydrangeas? Use our Garden Explorer Hydrangea Tour from your desktop or smartphone to plan your visit around these blooms. Link to this month’s Bright Spots (PDF) highlighting current blooms and interest.
Daylily 'Ed Murray'
Hemerocallis ‘Ed Murray’ features velvety burgundy petals with yellow highlights. True, each bloom only lasts a day, but tomorrow there is always another bud waiting to bloom. You’ll find this beauty in Flagler Garden along the main walk bordering Grace Arents Garden.
Hardy Water Lily
Nymphaea hybrida cv. or hardy water lily provides beautiful blooms and lush green lily pads too. If you look closely as you approach the Conservatory pools, you may see a turtle or frog sunning on one.
Big Leaf Hydrangea 'Nikko Blue'
You’ll find Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Nikko Blue’ at the shady southeastern edge of Flagler Garden, behind the Flagler Pavilion. Its blooms are lime to blue to pink, depending on the soil, and are long-lasting.
Falling Stars
Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ seems to bloom in time each year to provide botanical fireworks in July. The combination of the striking red bloom and artfully patterned buds make for a memorable show in Flagler Garden.
Large Coneflower
Rudbeckia maxima, or large coneflower, features yellow rays of petals around long cone-shaped centers. These blooms shoot into the sky like rockets, overhead. You can’t miss these beauties along the lake edge in the West Island Garden.
Sea Holly ‘Blue Glitter’
Sea holly, or Eryngium planum ‘Blue Glitter,’ is a coarse thistle-like, perennial clump-forming, steel blue flower heads on tall stems. Pollinators love it! You’ll find it all over the Garden, but you’ll likely see it first in Parking Lot A.
Double Tiger Lily 'Flore Pleno'
You may be tempted to think octopus when you see this remarkable specimen along the Main Garden Walk, and this double tiger lily does have alot of personality. Lilium lancifolium ‘Flore Pleno’ is just one of those blooms we overhear visitors talking about.
Dahlia ‘Knockout’ Mystic Illusion
Dahlia ‘Knockout’ Mystic Illusion, yellow single flowers, dark foliage. Look for it in the Children’s Garden.
Swamp Verbena
Verbena hastata or swamp verbena is a beautiful marsh-loving plant. You’ll find it as you walk through the boardwalk pathways in the West Island Garden.
Blackberry Lily
Some grow the blackberry lily for the bloom, others grow it for the fruit. Did you know that Iris domestica, when it’s done blooming, first creates a beautiful swirl of twisted petals with its spent bloom, then grows what looks like a blackberry? Don’t eat it though! Want to see a photo of the fruit too? Check out our blog post on the blackberry lily. Find it in the upper Asian Valley.
Coral Honeysuckle
Coral honeysuckle, or Lonicera sempervirens, is a native honeysuckle with beautiful circular leaves. The blooms are coral red, and unlike the more commonly found Japanese honeysuckle this species is not invasive. Lonicera sempervirens was named the the Wildflower of the Year by the Virginia Native Plant Society in 2014. You’ll find it at the start of the Woodland Walk, near the cement pillars marking the Garden’s former entrance.
Stokes’ Aster 'Omega Skyrocket'
It’s not just the name ‘Omega Skyrocket’ that we love about the Stokes’ Aster, Stokesia laevis. The purple fringed flowers soar upward for 3 feet or more, attracting skipper butterflies and pleasing the eye. Look for it in Flagler Garden to the right, just after you cross the Lotus Bridge.
Rose 'Earth Song'
Rosa ‘Earth Song’, is a rich pink modern shrub rose. It blooms in spring, it blooms in summer, and it blooms in fall! What’s not to love. You’ll find it in the Rose Garden.