Summer is in full swing in the mountain region, and blooms that love the heat are leading the way.
At the West Virginia Botanic Garden on Tyrone Road in Morgantown sunflowers, dahlias, sea holly and much more are in full bloom. Highlights this week include poppies, daylilies and foxglove.
Blooming now at the WVBG is a collection of poppies. This year, we started Ladybird and Pepperbox poppies, genus Papaver, and many are currently in bloom.
Poppies are beloved for their range of colors — red, orange, purple and even blue. They all have four to six large crepe-like leaves surrounding the reproductive structures and produce seeds that can be used in cooking and baking. Our poppy collection can be found in the Yagle Garden.
July is a great time to see members of our daylily collection, genus Hemerocallis, as they come into bloom throughout the month. Daylilies are special to gardeners. Depending on the source, there are now over 35,000 daylily cultivars available, with hybridizers creating new ones each year. Native to Asia, daylilies can tolerate a wide range of conditions, from dry to wet and shade to full sun, and flowering time varies across cultivars.
At the WVBG we have daylilies planted in a number of locations, including the lower parking area, the Yagle Garden and near the host kiosk. Those blooming now present a full array of colors, including yellow, peach, red and orange. Petal-type includes those with recurved edges, spider form, singles and doubles. With so many traits to combine, a great array of outcomes can be created (learn more at daylilies.org from the American Daylilies Society).
A new addition to the WVBG is a special variety of bee balm, Monarda X Raspberry Wine. This lovely purple bee balm has spiked blooms standing three to four feet tall. It graces the refreshed Butterfly Garden alongside other native herbaceous perennials that pollinators love, like butterfly milkweed (genus Asclepius). Bee balm is a favorite wildflower in Appalachia, the wild-type red blooms can be found wherever moist soils and sun provide the right conditions.
Another newer addition is wooly foxglove, Digitalis lanata, now blooming around our event lawn. This unique foxglove has a long stalk with multiple bell-shaped yellow blooms, each with a wooly lower lip. Pollinators do like this plant, but as a native to Eurasia, it can be considered an invasive plant. It may be best to observe at the WVBG, and not plant in your own garden.
Come see these blooms and more at the garden, and become a member today at WVBG.org.
