Here are some of the plants that have been looking good in my yard this time of year:

So, starting from the top left, we have:

• A big clump of annual Rudbeckia, one of my favorite annuals
• Dianthus ‘Brilliancy’ which I grew from seed this year
• A wave petunia that I waited too long to put in the flowerbed, so it’s struggling to grow in the heat
• An Asiatic hybrid lily, ‘Sugar Jewel’ the bulbs for which I planted late this spring; I also had some ‘Stargazer’ Oriental lily bulbs, but none of them grew

• My favorite perennial, Lavatera tauricensis — it just keeps blooming all season, even when creating seeds
• A small cluster of roses on my Ruby Meidiland hedge by my front walkway; these aren’t in full bloom anymore, but they were really colorful around the first of July
• My ‘Pink Simplicity’ roses, which have bloomed pretty well this summer after I started giving extra water and Miracle Gro once a week
• And finally, my row of Blue Oat Grass leading up the hill to the patio from the lower yard