What's in Flower - July

It was nice to have some sunshine today to see the flowers by!

Firstly, the violets (Viola odorata):

All blue colours in this post should be taken with a grain of salt. Violets are of course more purple than this photo appears.

Sasanqua camellia  "Showa No Sakae":

Fringe flower, Loropetalum chinense var rubrum:

Salvia "Indigo Spires":

In real life a darker blue than the photo. Although I didn't manage to snap many bees today, they were around. On days when it is warm enough to fly, bees can find a winter feed in my garden. This is one they love.

Bethel sage - Salvia involucrata 'Bethelii':

Bees also visit this salvia, but recently it has been attracting a group of about six New Holland honeyeaters. There's almost always a couple of them hopping from bloom to bloom. I hope to get some cuttings going from this, as I haven't seen it for sale anywhere recently. It could be very handy for attracting birds in my new garden, where it will have much more room to grow than it has here.

Lavender is another favourite with the bees:

This is the one which came up as a seedling last July.

Gazania:

Flowering again after a break last month.

Lavender:

A large clump of lavender which is covered in flowers at the moment. Lots of bees as well, but you will just have to take my word for it.

Mexican sage (Salvia leucantha):

Also quite popular with the honeyeaters.

Bergenia:

Was just a bud starting to open last month, but now there are several heads of flowers.

Rosemary:

Finally caught a bee in action!

Crassula ovata:

Another one that the bees enjoy.

Jonquils:

Callistemon:

Has just about finished flowering for now, but there are a handful of flowers way up at the top.

Grevillea "John Evans":

Tree dahlia (Dahlia imperialis):

Another plant that is just about finished flowering for the year.

Cymbidium orchid - Peter Pan X Snow Eagle "Malcolm":

Flowers are starting to fade, but I've enjoyed them for two months.

Vireya "Princess Alexandra":

She flowered for 10 months, took a one month break, and here she is again. There are lots of buds, too, so it could be another very good flowering season.

So that's it for July. There will only be two more monthly posts like this before this garden is no longer mine to photograph. Of course everything in pots will be going with me (such as the vireyas), and I'll be taking cuttings from lots of other plants.