What's Blooming in July?

Come along the winding garden path, where petals nod in the summer breeze and the air is sweet with bloom. July has arrived - and with it, the cottage garden comes alive in full colour.

Every garden is a little different, but these are some of the flowers bringing colour, fragrance, and quiet joy to many July gardens.

Delphiniums

Like royal wands raised to the sky, delphiniums bloom in shades of twilight blue and lavender. They stretch tall, asking only for a little support and a touch of admiration.

Shasta Daisies

A cluster of daisies beams back at the sun. With golden hearts and crisp white petals, they're the garden's joyful laugh - simple, steady, and full of cheer. They are a loyal garden friend, returning year after year with very little maintenance.

Bee Balm

Bee balm bursts into bloom like a summer firework, its frilled flowers alive with colour. Hummingbirds dart in like tiny messengers, while bees gather happily among the petals. It blooms in shades of red, pink and purple.

Last summer i discovered a patch growing along one of our favourite walking trails. I picked a single stem and spent the afternoon enjoying its spicy-sweet bergamot fragrance. If you love the scent of bergamot, bee balm is a lovely flower to welcome into the garden.

Day Lilies

The Day lilies send up buds for weeks, yet each individual flower blooms for just one day. Their blooms create a rhythm of colour - a quiet dance of fleeting joy. This hardy perennial has an extraordinary ability to survive long after the garden that planted it has vanished. You can read more about the Day Lily here.

Lavender

Lavender hums beneath the sun, offering calm to every pollinator that visits. Gather a handful and dry it in the shade - it will whisper summer to you all winter long. Lavender is perfect for edging pathways, where every passing step releases its calming fragrance.

Hollyhocks

The hollyhocks nod gently, tall as stories. Their blossoms come in many colours from soft pastels to deep, dramatic hues. Loved by bees, hollyhocks readily self-seed, returning to the garden year after year.

Coneflower

Coneflowers bloom boldly, unbothered by heat or time. They offer nectar to the butterflies, and later in the season, seeds to hungry birds. In July, they are steady and strong. If you would like to know more about why coneflowers belong in every cottage garden, you can read about them here.

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And so the cottage garden glows in July - buzzing, blooming, alive with gentle things. Take a slow walk, pick a stem, or simply sit among the blossoms. There's wonder waiting if you linger long enough to notice it.

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