August Delights.

This Monarda has been terrific this year. Its around 5' high, and flowers for months. Like all Monardas, it has an interesting scent. I think its called 'Apache'. We grow it because it doesn't suffer from mildew, which is a curse of Monardas - especially in a hot summer.

I like these Pineapple Plants. They're easy to grow and to propagate. The catalogues say they can be a bit tender, but its not our experience. The bulbs can be dug up in the autumn and replanted in the spring to be on the safe side - but there's no need. Its easy to forget they're there, because they don't appear until very, very late in the spring.

We've become keen on Eupatoriums. These are about 7' tall and stand upright no matter how hard the wind blows. They go well with the purple Loosestrife which grows to about 4'.

There are lots of Yuccas dotted through the white border, and the spikes have been very strong this year. The Hydrangea is also looking good. Most plants have benefited from the wet July, but some flowers, like those of the day lilies suffer badly. Surprisingly, these two whites seem to thrive no matter how wet it is.