August is when things start to bake, but actually you can end up with a number of flowering plants. In fact, for a few weeks it is almost easier to have lots of flowers than mid July (which is very green).

One of our earliest, tall goldenrods has come into bloom.  You can’t get a good look at it because the bees are going mad (I’d love to know where the honey bees are coming in from)

The snakeroots are still tall, white bottle rockets. They are nicely balanced by the white and cinnamon clethras, much small white spires.

The shasta daisies, coneflowers, and black-eyed susans give a good mix of white/pink/golds

Pure red is added by the cardinal flowers, the earliest of the lobelias.

White/ivory is added by the wild yarrow which has happily colonized the tall grass lawns.

More pink and red comes from the Joe Pye weed, monarda (bee balm) and agastaches.  The hyssop continues with a pale blue.

The creeping wild mints and oreganos add some unexpected pink/rose down near the ground.

A bit of light periwinkle blue comes from the big globe thistles

A clear lemon yellow comes from the wild helianthus, a volunteer on the road sides around here.

The Oriental lilies are just about done this year, they really raced through the season, which is too bad.

The all time winner is probably the flowering raspberry.  It has been blooming non-stop since early June.

Clematis ‘Duchess of Albany’ is blooming nicely, having gotten ahead of the Japanese Beetles.

Coming up next: the asters (including heart leafed and wood) along with the goldenrods and a few Japanese anemones.

And of course the annuals: sunflowers, cosmos, and morning glories.

There is a reason you can’t move without tripping over a bee, other pollinator, or hummingbird around here…