We’re in Massachusetts today, visiting Tingshu Hu’s garden. Tingshu has been sharing scenes from her garden at different times of the year. Today we’ve moved into July and are looking at the summer scenes from her front garden.

The Canna ‘Striata’ (Zones 8–10 or as a tender bulb) started to bloom in early July. To its right is Rosa ‘America’, planted in early May. It was supposed to start blooming in June, but the first buds were killed by the hard freeze on May 19 and so the first blooms were delayed by several weeks. After these blooms, a new shoot emerged from the ground and grew to reach the top of the pergola.

Looking across the patio from the west side, beside the center post of the pergola Rosa ‘Iceberg’ also started to bloom with white flowers. It was planted at a wrong spot and stayed there for several years, sad and barely surviving. When the post for the new pergola was erected, we thought it must be a right spot for Rosa ‘Iceberg’ and moved it there. It really liked the new sunny waterfront spot very much and put forward lots of new growth and flowers. At the right-side flower bed, under the Yoshino cherry tree (Prunus × yeodoensis, Zones 5–8) are some houseplants enjoying a summer vacation. Clivia is blooming with orange flowers, and Hoya also bears some globe flowers. The pink flowers are rain lily (Zephyranthes sp.).

More houseplants are growing around the trunk of a Yoshino cherry. The Queen of the Night cactus’s (Epiphyllum oxypetalum) pink-white flower continued to bloom in the early morning. The small white flowers are those of a climbing jasmine (Jasminum sambac), and the pink-red flowers are crown of thorns (Euphorbia milii).

Pink rain lily flowers (Zephyranthes grandiflora, Zones 8–10) are my favorite (from childhood memory). I keep them in the greenhouse over the winter.

In the front are two pink Tigridia flowers (Zones 8–10) planted as an annual. The rose bush with clusters of pink flowers is ‘Pretty Polly Lavender’ (Zones 4–10). The dark-leaved dahlia with purple flowers (Dahlia hybrid, Zones 8–10 or as a tender bulb) is just starting to bloom. The white flowers of an Iceberg rose peek from the bars of the pergola. The sunflower (Helianthus annuus, annual) grew from self-seeding and found a perfect spot by herself.

This garden bed by the front door features these flowering plants: dahlia, phlox (Phlox paniculata, Zones 5–9), burning heart false sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides, Zones 3–9), ‘Gold Mound’ spirea (Spiraea japonica ‘Gold Mound’, Zones 5–8), roses, canna, zinnias (Zinnia × marylandica, annual), and lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis, Zones 3–8). The white alyssums (Lobularia maritima, Zones 9–11 or as an annual) grow from self-seeding.

Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera, Zones 5–11) is grown in a pot in front of the door. Two flowers are blooming in the morning sun.

Looking from across the drought-tolerant garden, the garden gate is at the back.

This dreamy color palette in the drought-tolerant garden includes catmint (Nepeta × faassenii, Zones 3–8), ‘Firefly Peach Sky’ yarrow (Achillea ‘Firefly Peach Sky’, Zones 3–8), coreopsis (Coreopsis verticillata, Zones 3–9), and the rose ‘Pretty Polly Lavender’ (Zones 4–10).

Low-growing plantings along the walkway include bright-colored nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus, Zones 9–11 or as an annual), ground-cover roses, and rose campion (Lychnis coronaria, Zones 4–8) flowers that joined the existing white flowers of alyssum from self-seeding. I had to pull out some alyssums to make room for other plants.

We’re going to see more of July in Tingshu’s back garden tomorrow.

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