Starting over.

Not completely, of course, but starting over is sometimes necessary in my garden. Plants don't always perform the way I read in books and online. My soil is not consistent. Rain doesn't always fall. I don't head outside to water things when the heat index is over 100. You've got to be tough to make it in my yard.

With that in mind, I've spent some time over the past couple of weeks moving and rearranging plants that were under threat of dying. I started concentrating on pulling things from the Crape Myrtle Bed and the Shrub Island. Coneflowers, salvias, and speedwell made their moves this morning. They're sad looking things right now. So close to the house, and in the shade during the hottest parts of the day, I'll be able to keep an eye on them and water, when absolutely necessary.

Coneflower and ox eye daisy.



Either a white, pink, or blue salvia. I don't really care what colors since this bed has always had a blue/pink scheme in the spring when the salvias bloom.



Last week, I divided and moved some columbines from the Circle Bed. They've put out new leaves. As long as I keep them watered, they should settle in just fine.



Along the street, the blooms are heaviest. In other parts of the Perennial Bed, this is the typical scene. One or two blooms with the promise of more as fall approaches.



I think I'll like what grows in this space next year. I'll be sowing Queen Anne's Lace seeds with the next rainfall. They combine nicely with the coneflowers. Foxgloves and salvias are still in this bed for spring blooms. Daffodil bulbs are scattered here and there.



In the Circle Bed, R. triloba, hibiscus, coneflowers, grasses, and a Crape Myrtle will take center stage. Cosmos from two years ago are still springing up every time I water. Such a pest in an unwanted area, they didn't germinate that well in the meadow this year.



Throughout the fall, I'll be moving everything from the Shrub Island. I might leave the fig tree. I ate three ripe ones this morning. They were the first from a tree I rooted myself. They were delicious. The other plants here, including the butterfly bushes, camellias, forsythia, and althea, will all be moved around the edges of the backyard. I'm hoping to finally enclose it with color that shifts depending on the season. Once the shrubs are gone, the rocks will come up, and the area will be returned to service as grass. I'll be sowing Annual Rye for sure this fall.



It's 84 degrees. 60% chance of no rain today. The heat index is already at 97.