Versatile Ruckbeckia

 Bright yellow Rudbeckia is a useful plant in the garden. I wouldn't think of yellow as a neutral colour and yet, in the garden, it seems to go with just about anything. Here it looks fine with pink coneflower with the plus that they have similar flower shape.

The red beebalm is past its peak but it will keep blooming sporadically for a while yet.  The rudbeckia freshens up the space and helps to support the beebalm and keep it from flopping. Both these plants can be bullies if planted in good soil with adequate moisture but put them in a space with leaner soil where they have room to spread or can be contained with mowing, and they are a super cheeful, easy care combo. They are the same colour value so they balance each other.

Hostas are great filler plants for me but it's nice to have some colour near them. Rudbeckia has a long gloom time from late July to September and the birds will eat their seeds.

 Yellow , of course, goes well with purple as they are oppposite on the colour wheel.

Even blue looks good with the yellow of rudbeckia.

We   had very little rain in June and early July, but the rudbeckia was just fine anyway. I didn't water it. Rudbeckia, one of my all time favourites.

Some Bits of Colour

 The garden is not as colourful as usual as I am primarily relying on perennials this year. This tiger lily is fun with all its spots.  We had a very dry spell in June and early July but lilies manage well even in dry conditions.

 I have a couple of containers of zinnias on the deck and they have just started blooming. The plants are a little above waist height so it's easy to get a good look at them.  I like to start zinnias inside in the spring as I find they have a hard time establishing from a direct seeding in the garden. They make very good cut flowers.

The red beebalm and red daylilies are giving the backyard a nice punch of colour. The hummingbirds also like the beebalm and pink phlox. The beebalm wilted a bit in the dry spell but it bounced right back after the rain.

 This is a sweet little pink echinacea.  It has stayed shorter this year because of the dryness but that is a plus.  Other years it has gotten a bit floppy. They are also a very good cut flower.

 Very few summer flowers are a true blue but this Chinese delphinium is one of them. It has proved to be  very winter hardy but it is a floppy plant.

Zucchini flowers are a happy yellow and I have been enjoying them as well as the squash.

I saw a bright orange eft of the Eastern newt in my backyard the other day. I had Pepper, my horse, with me eating grass so I wasn't able to dash in the house  and get my camera. No sign of it later. Fun to see though.  It was only about an inch and a half  long. The adult newts live in water so I'm not sure how the little eft got to our place.  The closest water is a quarter of a kilometer away. The green treefrog is back on the back deck after a two week absence. Such a cute little guy.

Veggies

We are having lots of hot sunny weather which is good for the garden.  I water it regularly. I tried a new fertilizer this year and am very happy with it.  It's Miracle Grow 24-8-16. I noticed that the tomato plants on the right of the photo have really thick strong stems and the plants are staying shorter while still blooming. The zucchinis on the left are busting out all over. Even the beets and carrots in the middle are looking healthier than usual.

Some Swiss chard that is sprouting big leaves even though it is crowded.

Five romaine lettuce squashed together in a planter pot. They are full size. I've been picking from them but they still look full although now they are starting to bolt.

Last year I used Miracle Grow pelleted fertilizer also high in nitrogen and had amazing cabbages. I wanted to get it again but  wasn't able to buy it in the spring as stock at the store was spotty due to Covid. I used to use - well, still use sometimes- Plant Prod as it has lots of micronutrients as well as the N-P-K because, until recently, Miracle Grow didn't have many micronutrients and didn't work very well. Their new formulation now has lots of micronutrients and works really well.