Official website of the Bridge of Flowers

  It's July, and the Bridge of Flowers is covered in blooms! Color everywhere!

  Asclepias incarnata is a different variety of milkweed. The butterflies like this one, too. Corepsis steps out in bright yellow, as does Oenothera, also known as Evening Primrose or Sun Drops. Alchemilla/Lady's Mantle has another shade of yellow or chartreuse blooms. Daylilies in a few different colors. Shasta daisies, Dianthus, Stokes aster, Yarrow, Echinacea, and Verbena Little One all add to the color palette. Platycodon, or Balloon Flower, is aptly named- as the buds get enlarged, but are still closed. They puff out, looking like a balloon before they open. Veronica has blue flower spikes a few feet tall. And...can't forget Phlox!

  The main attraction at this time are the DELPHINIUMS!! A few different colors but the light blue one is the traffic-stopper now. They stand to maybe five feet tall, with one to two feet of bloom. Gently dramatic!

  ROSES are showing off at this time, too. Lots of different colors. And, this year we planted some in the very front of the beds, so that you can smell them. The ones in the back of the beds do not smell, so please don't step in the garden to find out. AND the LILIES are blooming. If you stick your nose in to smell, you might get pollinated - those stamen have a lot of yellow pollen that will easily stick to your nose.

  Lots of annuals add color and continuity along the front edge of the beds - Osteospermum, Gerbera daisy, Marguerite daisy, Yellow petunias, and Snapdragons about to bloom.

  There's even color in the shade! Lots of Impatiens, Double Impatiens, and New Guinea Impatiens, as well as Begonias. Euphorbia Diamond frost has delicate little white blossoms that brighten up darker areas. And Torenia is a great one! The Hostas are blooming now, and Astilbes, adding some blossoms a couple feet above ground.

  If you're having trouble with Powdery Mildew on your Phlox, here's a tip: We thin the phlox by about 1/3 and pull out or cut back stems all through the plant to allow for better air circulation. Powdery mildew likes humid conditions, and dense plantings can create that enviroment. When planting Phlox, choose a location that has airflow and leave space between plants.

  For more inforation, use your computer as a garden tool. Google Powdery Mildew, Phlox. Fine Gardening website has some good info that elaborates on the above - www.finegardening.com.

  Also, check out the University Cooperative Extension websites.

University Of MA is www.umassgreeninfo.org  Lots of information and fact sheets on pests, diseases and weeds.

Cornell has Plant Disease Diagnostics info: http://plantclinic.cornell.edu/

  A good way to learn about What's eating my Lilies? It looks like there are mini slugs covered in poop on my plants!

  Well, those are the larvae of the Lily leaf beetle - that bright red bug. And they cover themselves in their own poop. What bird would want to eat that?!

  We pick off the bugs and squish them, and the larvae, as well as check the undersides of the leaves for eggs, and we squish those, too...

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