Mid July is high summer in the backyard, but climate conditions can be challenging. Hot spells and drought may make it more challenging to keep the garden looking vibrant. With the right choice of perennial plants, however, July can be bright and colorful on your own garden. Some one time bloomers, such as lilies, flower at that time. Other plants, such as coreopsis, create repeated flushes of bloom throughout the growing season, with among those flushes occurring in mid July.
Daisies
Plants from the daisy (Compositae or Asteraceae) family come into their own in mid July. Among the best known is the Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum), sturdy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 5 through 9. There are many varieties, including the large-flowered “Becky” and the briefer “Polaris.” The other July-blooming member of the family, fragrant pale purple coneflower (Echinacea pallida), is hardy in USDA zones 3 through 10, featuring narrow, pale purple petals and coppery brown core cones.
Lilies
The classic Easter or Bermuda lily (Lilium longiflorum), growing in USDA zones 7 through 9, blossoms in mid July under good conditions. It has big, fragrant trumpet-shaped flowers atop 36-inch stems. Although not a member of the lily family, gloriosa lily (Gloriosa superba), has lily-like red and yellow blooms and a vining habit. It thrives in USDA zones 8 through 10. Most mid to late flowering daylily varieties (Hemerocallis) at USDA zones 3 through 10 can also be in bloom at mid July.
Coreopsis
Members of this tickseed family are dependable summer bloomers, producing flushes of flowers in mid July. One of them are threadleaf tickseed (Coreopsis verticillata), hardy in USDA zones 3 through 9. The “Moonbeam” variety grows about 12 inches tall and contains pale yellow daisy-like blossoms. The taller hybrid tickseed, “Jethro Tull” (Coreopsis “Jethro Tull”) grows 18 inches tall, producing golden yellow flowers with fluted, tubular petals. Low-growing tickseed “Sweet Dreams” (Coreopsis rosea “Sweet Dreams”) comprises white flowers with deep pink eye zones. It blossoms in mid July, growing in USDA zones 4 through 9.
Crocosmia
Montbretia (Crocosmia), hardy in USDA zones 5 or 6 through 9, looks somewhat like a gladiolus, but blooms earlier, in mid July. Most of the available varieties are hybrids, including the popular “Lucifer,” which grows to 3 feet tall, with characteristic sword-like leaves and funnel-shape flowers in bright red. “George Davison” features yellow blossoms with a hint of orange. Montbretia is a clump-forming plant and will increase in size if it’s suitably sited at a well-drained, sunlit space.