Gardening with Galligan: How do you spell July? B-L-O-O-M!

I’ll continue with what’s in bloom now, and it’s almost everything, but first is a favorite of mine among the full-summer perennials — coreopsis or “Moonbeam.” This is really a wonderful plant, easy to grow in full sun.

There are over 100 different species of coreopsis, many with larger and brighter flowers than Moonbeam, but none with that degree of profusion, and it’s the sense of profusion that is the species’ charm. The grandifloras hold their flowers on taller, upright stems, much like bright yellow daisies, and have an altogether different appearance. If you cut Moonbeam back carefully after its first bloom, you will get another. It also comes in pink, coreopsis rosea.

All the coreopsis varieties are low maintenance, long blooming and drought tolerant; they also don’t seem to mind the degree of humidity that characterizes most of our summers. According to some websites, if you let the plant go to seed, goldfinches will visit you during the winter. Apparently from a goldfinch’s point of view, coreopsis seeds are caviar.

Next on the list is another favorite of mine, Russian sage or Perovskia. If you want to see it blooming beautifully, check out that driveway on Baldwin Road! Russian sage is not actually from Russia, but is native to central Asia, an area that includes Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tibet. Its popularity has increased in the past several decades, although famous gardeners, Gertrude Jekyll for example, used it extensively.

The plant grows on upright stems, 3 to 4 feet tall, although in my garden it seems always to sprawl. The leaves are a silvery color and that indeed is part of the plant’s attractiveness. Both the stems and the leaves give off a very distinctive odor when crushed. Perovskia is classified as a sub-shrub because of its size, so if you want to use it, plan accordingly. It requires full sun and is both heat and cold resistant — all in all, a hardy type. On some websites, it’s billed as deer-resistant, but Islanders know what that means.

And now, the last of the lilies, the Orientals, are in bloom. They are almost all fragrant, very tall and consequently belong either in the back of the border or in a cutting garden. One of my favorites is Muscadet, bright white but with wonderful markings of pale rose midveins and spots of bright raspberry. It has a narrow green starburst in the center. Auratum Gold Band is another good choice. It’s bright white and the recurved petals are speckled with red; the center of each petal is marked with a bright gold band. The stamens are a light lime green.

When next we meet, it will actually be August, a sobering thought. It won’t be long before we’re dealing with the bulb orders. Good grief!

Must See of the Week: Be sure to notice the tall, red perennials blooming in Wilson’s Circle — That’s crocosmia, “Lucifer,” and how wonderful it looks. It’s the Garden Club we have to thank and I do. (Someone correct me if I’m mistaken, but I think this variety blooms somewhat later. Perhaps these were bought as plants, nursery-grown and therefore in bloom earlier?)