Ask the Gardener: What and When Do I Plant to Bloom for a July Garden Wedding?

by Carina Langstraat, Landscape Designer

Thank you to our Ask the Gardener sponsor Bay Hay & Feed.

Greetings Carina!
It’s hard to think ahead to warm weather, but what can I plant soon that will be in bloom for a July 20 wedding in my garden?

Thank you!

Lynne

Hi Lynne.

Telling a plant to bloom on a specific date can be a dicey proposition, but by having your gathering at the end of July, you are setting yourself up for garden success. I suggest you start with a group of staple plants that will guarantee an excellent show no matter how capricious the summer of 2013 decides to be. Couple your staples with some tried and true workhorse perennials that rarely disappoint, and your guests will be oohing and ahhing. Of course, it wouldn’t be a special event unless one aristocrat came, so be generous by inviting her but disciplined about drawing the line at just one type—Oriental lilies.

You can do your planting anytime between now and March, but wait until March to plant those spring bulb lilies. They get mad if you plant them in January or February.

Flowering Staples

Cape Fuschia

Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer’: Blooming all summer long, Endless Summer is available in varying shades of white, blue, and pink. Given that it blooms on both new and old wood, you won’t miss out on its flowers if you forget to prune or prune too hard, making it fool-proof to the novice gardener. In order to deliver its prolific flowers, it needs at least 6 hours of sun a day in our mild Northwest climate.

Rosa ‘Knock Out’ or Rosa ‘Flower Carpet’: Both come in colors ranging from yellow, to blush, to pink, to red; are low maintenance; and bloom all summer long. The Knock Out’s mature size is 3 x 4 feet, and Flower Carpet’s is 2 x 3 feet. Both bloom vigorously from late spring into the early fall, guaranteeing you a good show. My favorite in the Flower Carpet series is Appleblossom, whose pink is so delicate that when massed together it reminds me of clouds of cotton candy.

Workhorse Perennials

Russian Sage with Calendula.

Perovskia atriplicifolia (Russian Sage): This plant gives you the look of classic lavender but withstands our wet Northwest winters with more aplomb. Grey foliage and stems support puffs of airy soft purple plumes.

Phygelius ‘Yellow Trumpet’ (Cape Fuschia): Spreading through underground runners, this phygelius blooms all summer. Its butter yellow fuchsia-shaped tubular flowers are breathtaking when coupled with soft pinks, chartreuses, and sky blues. It grows to 2-3 feet tall.

Leucanthemum spp. (Shasta Daisy): This lovely flower is invasive, but who cares? Shasta daisies are the garden members who always fill in the gaps and, in doing so, they unify a space.

Shasta daisies.

Alchemilla mollis (Ladies Mantle): Its matte, round foliage contrasts well with its own airy, chartreuse flower. At 8-12 inches, it can be appreciated most when placed in the foreground.

The Lone Aristocrat

Our aristocrat Oriental lily blooms for a good deal of the summer in a boastful but capricious sort of way (typical of an aristocrat). Oriental lily bulbs usually become available in March. Select one that is labeled for mid-summer bloom, scatter ii generously among the spaces left in between your foreground and mid-level plants, grab a glass of champagne, and wait for your garden to come to life!

Oriental lily.

Happy gardening!

Carina