…since I even visited my site. There is some dusting to do.

But, the gardens are doing well and are gradually getting buttoned up for the approaching cold weather. Fortunately I have pictures.

See more images on my Flickr page.

I have always been into photography. When my father got his fancy 35 mm Zeiss Icon film camera in the early , early 60’s, he gave me his old Kodak. I had great fun. When I became an adult and could afford my own 33mm, I bought an Olympus. I loved that camera. But, something went wonky on it and stopped using it. And, of course, I had to get the pictures developed. Perhaps 10 years ago I bought a Nikon D3000. I still have that camera and use it.I discovered the joys of instant photography gratification. Once I thought I had learned enough to get a more sophisticated camera, I bought a Nikon D750. I love that camera, though, I think it might be smarter than I am. These days most of my picture taking adventures happen in my gardens. My dog dozes under the Japanese maple and I gather bouquets and snap close ups, pull weeds and deadhead spent flowers. Below are some samples taken with a new super macro lens, a Loawan 60 mm super macro f 2.8 lens.

And we are still coping with Covid and I am weary of the worry.

But, the sun shines, the flowers bloom, and the in-ground watering system kicks on at the right time. Here’s what’s blooming in my garden today.

Many thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for creating Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day.

Perhaps it is because there is only one dog tromping through the gardens. Or, we’ve had the right amount of rain. Or the Garden Lady is working her magic. But I don’t think the gardens have ever been this lush. I did buy seven big clumps of day lilies last summer, all without name tags, and they are thriving. And, I filled in some blank spots with annuals, but I always do that. I could also say that I have spent more time at home because of Covid, but I’m retired. I have a lot of free time these days. But it could also be that my garden guy, Richard, has worked his magic. We make a good team. I’m bossy and he takes direction well.

Thank you to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day each month. This is what is blooming in my gardens today.

There are various echinaceas planted here and I’ve lost track of who’s who. But the white ones are White Pow Wow.

I got a bit of a late start planting annuals and pots because the shredded bark had to go in first. But, the bark went in and so did most of the annuals. I’ve also planted more containers to add color and interest. We are having a wonderful June with moderate temps and enough rain. Best of all, the gardens don’t know there is a pandemic.

Many thanks to May Dreams Gardens for hosting Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day.

I confess that the longest periods spent in the gardens these past couple of weeks have been devoted to misguided attempts to remove hair from my dogs. They are both standard poodles, and they need regular haircuts. I bought a decent battery operated clipper. Once charged, I led Lucy, my two year old poodle, to the Secret Garden, sat down, and began cutting. Shaving would be a better word, though. I worked on her no more than 10 minutes and decided to stop. I would tackle more later. Because the weather turned cold, later came a few days, um, later. Honestly, she looks like an escapee from a horror movie. Over the course of a week, I was able to shave the parts of her that were likely to mat.

The more difficult task was Bridget. I confess, I’ve barely begun. She only has three legs, so her stamina isn’t all that great. My goal is to keep her from getting matted, and to shave off the dingy white hair. I’m looking at her right now and she’s still really dingy, even in the places that I ran the clippers. I don’t think I have the patience to groom my dogs. I am going to always generously tip my dog groomer.

All of this Covid-19 sheltering in place has been depressing. The private dog park where I take my two year old standard poodle closed down for about a month.

Anyway, it’s hard to celebrate my gardens. But, I just called the irrigation company and made an appointment for them to turn on the system. And, I called the landscaping company to order the shredded bark that goes on all the beds. And, my garden guy has been in the gardens twice and will be returning for more prep, transplanting, and general sprucing. There are things happening in the gardens and I decided that my best approach for documenting would be close ups. So, I dusted off the closest macro lens and started searching for beauty. Odd, that picked up my spirits.

Thank you to Carol who dreamed up Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day as a way to showcase each month what is happening in our gardens.

I read an article that discussed the “medical” end of an epidemic and the “social” end. The author noted that we were now in the social ending of Covid. I knew we were there last week when there was a rapid increase in traffic. I travel daily to the dog park and, masked and gloved, stop mostly at groceries stores on the way back. Today it will be corn tortillas.

I do know that the medical end of this pandemic will not end for a long time.

It’s Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day thanks to May Dreams Gardens!

The first set of pictures are of the Lower Garden. Most of the color comes from the annuals, but a the hydrangeas provide food for pollinators and graceful blooms. Or, rather, Limelight provides blooms. The Endless Summer hydrangea gave me one pink bloom. I suspect it was pruned too vigorously this past spring. The Rose of Sharon is turning out its usual lovely blossoms that will turn to seed pods that will turn into a zillion little sprouts that will have to pulled out. Or not pulled out until they form little trees. Oy. The little brush footed butterfly (I think it is a “staff sergeant”) finds some of the zinnias quite appetizing.

In the Secret Garden the echinacea are in full bloom. I seem to have lost Fragrant Angel to our hard winter, but Pow Wow White is doing well, as are the pink phlox. The daylilies are finished, but the Tardiva hydrangea is providing lots of nectar for the many pollinators that rely on it. Monarchs, swallowtails, bumble and carpenter, mason and leaf cutter bees, as well as several varieties of wasps are regular visitors. In the little bed by the garage a family of house sparrows are busily feeding their latest brood. The daisies are just about finished, but the anemones are getting ready to pop open. And the little hibiscus that I planted a year ago is showing off its saucer sized dark pink flowers. The Rainbow’s End hosta under the Kousa dogwood is blooming. Most hosta blooms are a bit boring, but a few varieties like this one have lovely flowers. The pots of annuals light up some of the more sparse spots in the Secret Garden.

The Entrance Garden greets passersby with an explosion of rudbeckia. The Walkers’ Low catmint was cut way back and is now forming lovely mounds that, I hope, will send out lots of blossoms to feed native bees. In the meantime, they dine on the rudbeckia and the Blackberry Lily. The pots of annuals are starting to show their age.

And that’s it. GBBD, August 2019.