Geranium and peonies. Yes, the peonies flopped, but it’s nothing a little twine can’t remedy.
I can’t remember a cooler or wetter June than the one we are having right now. But, the garden loves it. Ok, so the hostas are suffering from edema. Yes, hostas can suffer from water retention. But everything else seems to enjoy this prelude into summer.
I just got back from England a few days ago, 24 hours before a local garden club visited my gardens. So, the day that I should have been recovering from jet lag, I was in the gardens getting everything ready. There were still annuals to plant and dog evidence to remove. This will be my first summer sharing the gardens with two standard poodles. I’m so grateful for my garden guy, Richard. He worked in the gardens twice when I was away and on the day the garden club visited. If it weren’t for him, the gardens would have not looked nearly so tidy. Note the new fence that challenged me to rethink some of the beds, and I’m quite pleased with that challenge.
So, what’s blooming? Scroll down.
The clematis is having a great time, but the bleeding heart is starting to topple over and will need shearing in a week or so. I’m not sure how this bed will turn out. The Gomphrema that I planted is getting trampled by the dogs, so who knows whether I will get anything that can go into winter bouquets. By next month the State Fair zinnias will be tall and blooming. This is part of the rethinking that I have to do because of the fence. Note the purple petunias. There will always be a space for these because of their fragrance. They smell like vanilla. Petunias are more fragrant in the evening and so I like to walk past them at night. My back door is my main entrance and this is what greets me when I come home. I almost always have a bag of something hanging from a nail under the light. And this little cement planter that I got from a neighbor is just the right size for a collection of plants. I decided to make my own potted arrangements this year. This one isn’t really finished yet, but I didn’t have time to put anything more in it. Of course the peonies want to flop over. But a few carefully positioned tomato cages help keep them upright. The darker peonies were here when I bought the house, and I was sure I had banished them. Apparently not. But I’m glad they survived. I like to fill in blank spaces with annuals. The marigolds peeking out will provide that color when the perennials finish doing their thing. Notice the stones. When I first created these beds in the lower garden, I used stones from a patio that had all but disappeared behind the picket fence in the background. I placed them flat. This spring I decided to dig them up so they wouldn’t get buried again by time and grass. And then I wondered what things would look like if I stood them up on their edges. I’m still thinking about that, but so far, so good. The blue in the background is Walker’s Low catmint. I love it, but this picture makes them look a little bluer than they are. But I’ve gone completely catmint crazy over the years and I don’t see any end to that brand of crazy. The catmint is at its peak right now, but it will give out a limited bloom throughout the summer if I cut it back. The native solitary bees love it. The pot to the right is one I made. Gosh, but it’s so much cheaper to do them myself rather than buy them already put together. Why didn’t I think of this earlier? It’s only the pots of annuals that are giving off color, but don’t these hostas look gorgeous anyway? They and the ferns are loving the cool wet May and June. Orange poppies, Alchemella, Lady’s Mantle, and, in the back, Amsonia provide nice early color in the Secret Garden. And the geraniums and pots of annuals pick up the slack when the perennials call it quits for the season. But day lilies, echinacea, and coreopsis will enter in a few weeks. The box in the pathway? It’s herbs and two tomato plants. They are destined for pots. More Lady’s Mantle, and, somewhere in there is lupine and delphinium. They aren’t quite ready to bloom. I think. I hope. Kousa Dogwood. What a glorious show this year. Last year it got nipped by a late frost. It’s making up for that now. I love how this tree is maturing. The mock orange is looking better now that the lilacs have been cut back. Not the Amsonia. I love that blue. I’m not a huge fan of coral bells, and I’ve lost track of what variety this is, but, it’s blooming. I think the star of the month is the Giant Allium. I planted these last fall and was hoping for a dramatic showing in June. And that’s what I have. I wonder if I should plant more this fall. I seem to have a blue/purple theme going, but I like the allium and the Walker’s Low catmint that are blooming in the entrance garden. And, there’s always room for red.
I haven’t always been a gardener, but I have always loved gardens. It has taken 16 years to get my gardens into the shape they are today. And, I’ve had help. I’m 74 years old, have rheumatoid arthritis, and had a late stage cancer six years ago. I am, though, intrepid. I’m the kind of person who plods along, tailoring my goals as I go. Last November I had a long overdue knee replacement surgery and I’m hoping this spring, summer, and fall will be able to maintain and find even more joy working in all of my garden beds. Full disclosure, though. I have a garden guy who comes once a week to work in my gardens.
Garden 337 