We are entering the third full week of July and it certainly feels like summer. The heat is so oppressive when walking outside, the humidity hits us in the face and is almost breathtaking.

Summer phlox, Phlox paniculata, is growing like a weed, some is already starting to bloom. I cut mine back by about half a month ago but it has shot up quickly and is head high again. 

During summer rains and winds, it is often blown over which is why I whacked it back, thinking it would stay lower and not be subject to damage during thunderstorms.

Today, I noticed what appeared to be a small magnolia bloom in the lower branches of the magnolia tree. I went out to cut the bloom and bring it inside, as most are so high up in the tree I cannot reach them. It was not a magnolia bloom it was a tall Formosa lily bloom. The lily had grown up into the lower branches of the magnolia and it looked just like a small magnolia flower from a distance.

Formosa lilies are starting to bloom all around the neighborhood. They grow along the road sides and in fence rows between fields. Each flower puts out hundreds of seed and I think that is why they are so abundant.

We are also blessed with many wild gladiolus that bloom along the roadsides. They are the red and yellow combination that is considered an old-timey native. I do not know if they are a true native to this area or not.

Last week to my horror, a relative decided to clean the ivy off the north side of the house. I don’t like ivy and I sure don’t like it going up the side of the house, but in the process of removing ivy, she tromped down the bed of ground orchids, and my prized helleborus bed. 

I guess she must have had a heat stroke and not been in her right mind, she then took the shears and chopped down my most prized hydrangea, Aisha. It is a rare hydrangea and has very thick waxy pedals on a flat mophead, yes, mophead. She threw all the cuttings in the garbage cans and they were taken away by the garbage service before I realized what she had done, so I was not even able to try to root the branches. 

The bush was in full bloom and was covered with eight-inch flower clusters. Now it is about 18 inches tall. She also chopped another large blooming hydrangea, back to the ground almost, chopped the tops out of crinums, chopped the tops off of some zinnias and chopped two small hydrangeas down to about two feet. 

It will take me a while to recover from that. Her excuse was that she was removing any and all plants near the house due to insurance requirements! 

The abundant rain we have had over the last several weeks has many foliage plants looking lush and full. Boston fern is growing all around in the yard and is multiplying so fast I’m having to pull up handfuls of it and throw it on the trash pile as it is trying to take over borders and potted plants.

Ginger foliage is very healthy and green now also. Butterfly and pine cone ginger lilies have foliage that is about shoulder high and still growing. Butterfly gingers are blooming now with their beautiful white butterfly-shaped bloom at the top of the foliage. Spiral ginger foliage is not that attractive, although I yearned for it for several years before finally getting it to grow into a good-sized blooming clump.

Crepe myrtle trees are blooming all around town. The bright pink “Watermelon” is very popular. The white flowering “Natchez” is also popular. There are many colors available: lilac, purple, white, burgundy, red and light and dark pinks.

Later in the year the foliage on some crepe myrtles may develop mildew. The mildew is just unsightly and will not damage the tree. You can spray the trees with a fungicide and this will help to prevent mildew.

Recent cultivars of crepe myrtles have mildew resistance bred into them and are not as likely to develop the condition. Trees named after Native American tribes are usually the ones with the most mildew resistance.

Crepe myrtles are one of the few trees that gives three months of color and if their seed pods are cut off in late summer they often rebloom.

I am out of space, see you next week.

 

Susan Grooms lives and gardens in Lowndes County.