Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - July 2011

Not only are the wintersown velvetleaf and wild carrot blooming on my balcony, but so are the ever-reliable marigold and bacopa.

Marigolds

Bacopa

The heat is causing the sacred and Thai basils to bolt. The cinnamon-candy smell of the Thai variety when you brush your hand over the plants is heavenly. I'm not sure, though, whether to let them bloom or to clip off the flowering stalk.

Sacred (Tulsi) basil

Thai basil

'Alaska' and 'Tom Thumb' (or is that 'Empress of India'?) nasturtiums are blooming for the first time this season.

Nasturtium 'Tom Thumb' or 'Empress of India'

Nasturtium 'Alaska'

The bumblebees love the lavender, but are a little camera-shy.

Bee and lavender

And this bug apparently likes chomping off the Shasta daisy buds :(

Bug on Shasta daisy

Shasta daisy with amputated flower bud. The guilty party lurks in the background.

All is not lost though, as some of the buds were spared, giving the first flowers of the season. What a pleasant surprise; I was told that Shasta daisies don't bloom until their second year.

Shasta daisy

And anyway, most of the bugs (even the wasps!) in the garden have been very friendly.

Ladybug

I think that the beefsteak and red pear tomatoes have more or less done flowering for the season and are busy setting fruit, but there's still sparse fruit on the White Queen plant, but it's determinedly playing catchup. No pun intended.

White Queen tomato

And finally, a promising sign for August's bloom day.

Morning glory