Summer Alliums

I am very fond of alliums and am a great fan of the huge spring varieties especially Globemaster.
But the allium season isn't limited to spring, there are also varieties for summer and fall.
One of my favorites is allium tanguticum. The flowers are small but the blooms are abundant.
Unlike the spring blooms that grow from bulbs these alliums grow from tuberose roots and their foliage stays green and healthy all season so the plants are never an eyesore in the garden.
Here I have photographed them in soft focus to accent the airy, ethereal quality of the bloom.

Achillea Ptarmica

Achillea ptarmica or Pearl Achillea is a late summer favorite.
The little white blooms remind me of a baby's breath but a little more substantial. It is a great garden filler adding airiness to the border.
Plus it is very easy to grow, a good spreader but not invasive and drought tolerant.
What more can you ask?

Dahlias

Dahlias are the last great blooms of the summer, as beautiful as peonies and iris. I appreciate having these spectacular flowers as summer wanes.
Here is New Hampshire dahlias are not hardy. I start them in early may in trays of loose potting soil, just early enough to have a little sprout of foliage. I have had trouble starting them directly in our cold, wet spring soil.
To hold them over they have to be dug up in the autumn and stored over the winter. I use vermiculite which needs to be a little damp. I must admit I often lose my dahlias over the winter, they sometimes shrivel, sometimes rot. But they are beautiful so I keep buying new roots each spring.

Feverfew, a Summer Delight

I love all the white daisies of summer, the simple flowers of the fields.
Feverfew are one of my favorites with their tiny flowers and yellow centers. They self seed all over the garden but their airy blooms don't seem to interfere with other flowers.
A handful make a beautiful bouquet.

Even as the flowers bloom I am preparing for fall in my Beadedwire shop. I am very pleased with this mohair scarf with its big flower pin.
A froth of lace and flower.