It’s been a cooler spring than usual, and the East Bay is experiencing its annual June gloom. While the weather may not be as warm as I would like, there are still flowers blooming and many more are on the way.

Here’s a peek at what’s blooming this month.

Garden roses

I have several different varieties of roses, but this one has been the top bloomer by far. I love the pale pink lining of the petals.

Bupleurum

This is a type of spurge that makes for a handy piece of filler greenery in a bouquet.

Campanula

I think I have multiple colors of campanula growing this year. I received a bunch of plant starts as a gift from a friend, so I put as many in the ground as I could fit. Some (like this one) have really short stems. Others have grown taller. I’m going to see how they do and if any of them decide to come back next year.

Lavender

One of my favorite summer flowers! It will come into full bloom towards the end of June and the beginning of July. This type of lavender works great as a fresh bouquet or in a dried lavender sachet.

Dahlias

An orange dahlia I’ve had since 2020! Note the burgundy outline of the petals.

I’ve had this dahlia in a pot for years and it hasn’t done that great. This year I put it in the ground and it seems to be a lot happier!

I have a few more dahlia varieties that haven’t bloomed yet, but they should be ready in another few weeks.

Purple sage

I’m a little obsessed with this gorgeous California native salvia! Not only are the leaves edible (and delicious in a stir fry!), but the flowers last for over a week in a vase. The multiple layers of purple disks are popular with the bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies.

Sticky monkey flower

Sporting one of the more amusing flower names, this California native shrub has a sticky texture and flowers that (supposedly) resemble a monkey’s face. The sticky texture is a result of a resin the plant produces to protect itself from insects. The soft orange blossoms emerge most profusely in spring and fall.

Sticky monkey flower hybrid: “Changeling”

“Changeling,” a cultivar of sticky monkey flower

The Changeling hybrid variety of sticky monkey flower still has the characteristic sticky stems and leaves along with the monkey-shaped blossoms, but these blooms are larger and have multiple colors, moving from tan to deep russet.

Both varieties of stick monkey flower have a great vase life, lasting more than a week.

Chantilly snapdragons

The Chantilly variety of snapdragons is one of the earliest-blooming varieties with large, open-cup blossoms.

This was my first time growing this variety of snapdragon. It’s a very different shape from the traditional snaps, but still very pretty.

Snapdragons are both phototropic (growing toward the light) and geotropic (growing against gravity). This means that if you forget to support your snapdragons like I did and they flop over (oops), the stem will bend upwards against gravity and incline towards the light. This results in a curvy, twisty stem that’s not as useful for floral design, unless you want that wild, reaching energy.

I hope you enjoyed the garden tour! Recording what’s blooming is also helpful for me, as it helps me keep track of annual weather patterns and create a more accurate prediction of next year’s bloom times.

There’s so much more to come! I can’t wait to show you what blooms next month. Until then, it’s nice to meditate on the current flowers and the beauty they bring.

Garden tour: June 2025