As long as the weather is going to be really steamy, you might as well have some hot colors to go with the flow! July Flowers are stunning. The first rose that comes to mind in my garden is ‘Tuscan Sun.’ This is a floribunda that grows tall in my garden, and it is orange and gold and pink and just glows in the summer sun. It blooms in big clusters and it makes me happy just to look at it! It really makes a statement, whether in the front of the border or standing on its own. It’s one of those roses that changes color every day as the flowers age in the sun, and it is a show-stopper.

I am fortunate that I have enough sun in my yard to grow roses in the front and in the back of the house, as well. I call my front garden near the street my ‘Neighborhood Garden.’ There is quite a lot of traffic that goes by, not only on the road, but also on the sidewalk, and my neighbors just love the roses.

If I am home doing summer chores, folks driving by will beep their horns when they see me, and more often than not I will have unexpected company as they pull into the driveway for a quick summer garden tour. Sometimes, passers-by will blow me a kiss on their way through!! So, especially when planning that particular garden, it was important to me that I planted roses that had a quick repeat and were eye-popping colors. Here’s a little garden tour for you to introduce you to some of my beauties.

July Flowers: Hot Colors

Along the border are some bright stars in the Neighborhood Garden, some mini and mini-flora roses that are almost always in bloom. These roses are like perfect little hybrid teas, but the actual plants are usually anything but miniature! The colors are really striking. I have a gorgeous yellow called ‘Pacific Serenade’ and another called ‘Sweet Amy.’ They are separated by a tall and wide lavender mini called, ‘Scentimental.’ Yup, that spelling is exactly right! The form of this rose is absolutely perfect and the fragrance is anything but small!

To the right of ‘Pacific Serenade’ is a pure white large-flowered mini rose called ‘Constellation’ that actually looks like glistening stars against the dark green foliage. To her right is a kaliedescope of color in constant bloom: ‘Fireworks.’ Very fitting for July flowers. ‘Amy Grant’ is a lovely, shy pink miniflora on the inside corner. Her blooms and stems are a bit larger than her miniature cousins. Down the row a bit is another gorgeous white-kissed-with-pink miniflora called ‘Leading Lady.’ Give this beauty a lot of space! She is almost as tall as my hybrid teas!! There are more minis and minifloras in my gardens, but now it’s time to introduce you to some of my floribundas.

Rose Varieties

Talk about eye-popping color!!! You will love ‘Hot Cocoa’ in your own garden if you love orange roses as I do! This rose sports really glossy, dark green foliage which sets off the orange-brushed-with-lavender huge clusters of bloom. Often times these clusters are as big as a bridal bouquet! To the left is ‘Habitat for Humanity 2003’. This is also an orangey rose, but it has a peachy softness to it. The clusters of bloom have longer stems and the form is more like small hybrid teas…just lovely!

Down the row a bit reside a couple of ‘Blueberry Hill’ floribundas. They are a lovely soft purple, and though they don’t have a lot of petals, their fragrance really packs a punch!! Right in the middle of the garden is a floribunda that wants to take over the earth, and maybe she should. This rose also has gorgeous, shiny foliage, and is the first rose of the year to bloom and the last to fade. Her blooms are on the small side, but there are so many of them in huge clusters all at once that the individual size doesn’t matter. They are a really hot pink and contrast nicely with the medium-green foliage and the bronzy new growth. This rose’s name is ‘Passionate Kisses,’ and all of us need some of those in our lives!

July Flowers: Tea Roses!

Now, I’d like to introduce you to some of my tall, stately, classic hybrid tea roses. Brilliantly orange with a creamy reverse is ‘Cary Grant,’ and if you’ve read my blogs before, you know how much I love luscious Cary! Close by is the first-ever orange rose, and it has been in every rose garden I have ever had…timeless ‘Tropicana.’ It’s just as lovely as when I first saw it as a child. Softly blended pinks make up sweetly fragrant ‘April in Paris.’

‘Summer Love’ is a brilliant, sunshiny beacon in the center of the garden which stands rather close to an older grandiflora called ‘Sundowner,’ a sunset-multi-colored, multi-bloomed wonder! Nearby is the moonlight yellow of stately ‘Aperitif,’ which snuggles up to the pure white, sparkling ‘Sugar Moon.’ On the front corner, facing the street, are the 6″ pure rose-pink blooms on 5′ canes of ‘Bewitched’…she looks like she is waving to the travelers when the summer breeze gently moves her blossoms.

I hope you liked this little tour…there are many more roses to meet in my gardens! Take some time to breathe in your roses’ fragrances this summer. You will be amazed to find out that each one is different from the last! This is the hottest time in the year for us, so be sure to water your roses a lot, and keep yourself well-hydrated, too. And, please, come for a visit again, soon!