Hot, humid, and floriferous

For July Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, you need to get out early to take the photos - well, today I had to anyway, because I was headed off to the Derwood Demo Garden to work all morning in the sweltering heat (no, the polar vortex or whatever it is hasn't reached us yet). I took photos there for GBBD as well.

Here's what I have blooming in my garden on July 15:

Lots of lovely platycodon or balloon flower - all facing my neighbors' yard, as everything in that bed does, oh well.

Lots of daylilies - I'm particularly fond of pinks and dark reds, but I've lost track of cultivar names if I ever knew them.

A pretty, delicate pink astilbe.

Hostas! This is a particularly dramatic one.

The black cohosh I planted a couple of years ago to rise above the collapsing hedge of bleeding hearts - finally flowering. More than one of them would be nice…

Red zinnia closeup.

My cat Hotspurr, who knows he goes well with coreopsis 'Creme Caramel' and orange cosmos.

Somewhat blurry but bright cosmos closeup.

My photo of 'Bergamo' monarda (storm-battered and on its way out) was too blurry to post, but boy, it's nice to have a bee balm that doesn't get all mildewed in this weather.