Summer Solstice cornucopia

 There are lots of photos today, especially of my extensive lily collection, so I'll just let the photos speak for themselves. Enjoy!

Lily 'Friso'

Lily 'Nymph'

Lily 'Elodie'

Salvia 'Mystic Spires' with Calibrachoa.

Glass art dish.

Roselily (pink).

Lily 'Giraffe'.

Pure orange hybrid lily.

Lily 'Rising Moon'.

Lily 'Hotel California'.

Lily 'Satisfaction'.

Aechmea variety.

Geranium harveyi.

My cat checking out something curious.

Lily 'Exotic Sun'.

Epilobium canum.

Lily 'Magic Star'.

Golden tiger lilies.

Lily 'Pearl Loraine'.

Aechmea fulgens.

Lily 'Fusion'.

Lily 'Soft Music'.

Lily 'Flavia'.

A Parade of Lilies

 Well, my collection of lilies are beginning to pop so I thought I'd share a few of them. They encompass the popular, widely colored Asiatic types, the fragrant Oriental kinds, the large Trumpet lilies, the new and exciting Orienpet types and an assortment of Tiger lilies. Enjoy!

Lily Montego Bay. Love the colors here on this Orienpet lily.

Lily Tribal Dance. One of the many Asiatic types I have in my garden.

Lily African Queen. My favorite Trumpet lily, it has the richest caramel-orange throat!

Tiger lily. Not all tiger lilies are orange. Here's a golden one with brown blotches, not the familiar spotting. It's part of a Tiger lily mix I added to my garden 5 years ago.

Here's another tiger lily in the above mentioned mix. This one is sort of an orange soda orange, with a generous amount of spots.

Lily Purple Marble. This Asiatic lily is a bit unusual as it features a solid color, with no splashes or solid throats. Just a vibrant burgundy color.

Here are two new lilies. The larger one in the center is L. Anastasia, an orienpet type. The lily on the left is normally more of a vibrant rd (newest flowers show that color) and is an Asiatic type called Pearl Loraine.

One of my favorite lilies has returned better than ever. This is L. Night Rider, an unusual specialty lily that is a cross between a Trumpet lily and an Asiatic. Such a rich color.

Here are a few more flowers from my garden, starting with the vigorous Snapdragon Double Azalea Apricot. A long and prolific bloomer, it's part of a series grown by Annie's Annuals.

Bronze fennel. I planted it to attract Anise Swallowtail butterflies, who lay their eggs on its foliage.

Teucrium aroanium. A low growing germander that always seems to be in bloom, it's a bee magnet!

Billbergia Casa Blanca. One of my favorite bromeliads.

Buddleja davidii variegated leaf. Love those rich purple flowers.

Here's a wide shot of my initial Japanese bed, featuring a host of dwarf conifers.

Surviving the heat

 Well, our 'hot' may not rival Chicago or Miami but damn, it was hot Friday and Saturday! I stayed indoors with the fan going 24/7. My garden didn't seem to mind, as I'd given it a good soak on Thursday. And lily season has begun in my garden. Here are photos of some of the early blooming varieties, plus a few other plants in bloom.

Evolvulus. This blue flowering wonder is back again, now in its sixth year.

Salvia patens. There's nothing like the extra large true blue flowers of this sage.

Cotnus Royal Purple. The aptly named Smoke bush features clouds of these wispy flowers.

My Tecoma x smithii has climbed up into this street tree and begun its exuberant flowering.

If at first you don't succeed ... My second try at growing this colorful Double Sensation lily has met with much greater success.

Salvia 'Black and Blue'. Inky black calyxes and vivid purple flowers are this salvia's calling card.

Magnolia grandiflora 'Little Gem'. Such a beautiful flower on this evergreen, summer-blooming Magnolia.

I've lost the tag on this new Daylily but I love its deep burgundy almost black flower color.

Here's one of my new this year lilies, called 'Lollypop'. Very simple but charming.

My Double Azalea Bronze snapdragon is just getting going in the blooming dept.

Echium 'Blue Bedder'. The annual form of Echium is a real bee magnet. 

Allium atropurpureum. One of the so-called Drumstick onions, these flowers also attracts loads of honeybees.

Two new Oriental lilies this year. They have huge, intensely fragrant flowers. 

Lily 'Lady Alice'. A charming new addition to my garden.

Lily 'Orange Ton'. Not sure what the meaning of this variety is but the flowers are large and have a bit of speckling at the throat.

Lily 'Purple Marble'. One of my favorite lilies from last year.

Lily 'Night Flyer'. Dark almost to the point of being black!

Lily 'White Twinkle.' This and the lovely Lily 'Corsage'get the gold star for being the most prolific of the lilies so far.

And here is the lovely 'Corsage'. The flowers are small but each bulb produced 10-12 flowers and they are pretty to boot.

Lily 'Elodie'. Not a semi-double like the grower claimed but lovely color nonetheless!