From Sunday afternoon.

I took a quick stroll around the yard when I returned home Sunday. My nap lasted until morning.

Foxglove. The yellow turned purple.



Dianthus planted in the window boxes last fall, planted in the garden in late February.



Confederate Jasmine on the chimney trellis.



Wintersown in 2008, Blue eyed grass (Sisyrinchium montanum) is blooming this year.



Clearance plants. I started a new bed. Castor beans have been sown behind. Euphorbia "Blackbird", Yucca "Yellow Stripe", and eventually a few sedums will be used here. These are drought tolerant plants for an area that stays dry most of the year. It's hot and sunny all afternoon.



Self-sown Pineapple sage. I checked a leaf for the fragrance. Three of my plants from last year have returned nearby at the end of the driveway.



It's 73 degrees and humid. There's rain in the forecast today after 8am. Scattered thunderstorms are possible. I'm hoping it rains all day.

Morning Light

Red Valerian. The blooming stalks have grown a lot in the past week. I really like this plant. I hope it spreads into chaos.



It has a home with other pink and red blooms. I didn't plan it that way. I like the outcome. The transition into summer should be interesting in this bed. Self-sown datura seedlings are up. Great Blue Lobelia has been planted in hunks. Perilla is present. White Four O'clocks have reseeded heavily. Echinacea and Black and Blue salvia will turn this bed into a cool oasis from the hotter reds and yellows near the street.



At the other end of that space, the foxgloves are beginning to bloom. They are shaded until about 6pm when the hot afternoon sun hits them.



These are a creamy yellow. I was hoping the purple one survived the move late in the winter. I think it was too wet.



Yvonne's salvia seedlings, I hope. If not, they are S. subrotunda. I'm okay with that. It's a nice plant. The goldfinches love the seeds. The hummingbirds love the nectar.



A stray larkspur seed has grown into a 2' tall specimen. I avoid it every time I mow.



This poppy found a home in between the stones I use for edging.



Pulling back a bit, the garden glows in the early morning light. It's my favorite time of day to take photos.



I did find time yesterday to mow the paths and the front lawn. It's 45 degrees. The high today will be 84.

The circle bed.

It's part of the perennial bed along the driveway. I finished the path a month or more ago giving me a view from all sides.



It was my intention this morning to head out and completely revamp this bed. I've got some perennials that I want to divide and move, but once in the yard, it was impossible to decide what to keep and what to toss.

There are wintersown Columbine that haven't bloomed yet.



Self-sown Mountain Bluet and diathus that are blooming again after being wintersown in December.



Seedlings of larkspur are popping up all over. I scattered a lot of these back in October from a package sent to me by Janie, the obsessive/compulsive plant collector.



Tiny cleome are also popping up. Will they survive the winter? I'm not sure.



Wintersown sea hollies are putting out new basal growth too. One plant bloomed, but it wasn't in this bed.



Wintersown irises and daylilies probably wouldn't survive the move at this point either.



The July blooming foxglove seems happy where it is in partial shade.



A mum, bloody dock, red spider lilies, and Golden Jubilee seedlings. Could I really move these with winter coming soon? I can't take the chance.



There's also tons of spring bulbs in this bed. Daffodils, hyacinths, muscari, and irises would probably be destroyed in the process. I've got Stargazer lilies in there, too. I would be heartbroken to dig one of those up. Crimson clover has germinated and should create a sea of red blooms in the spring. And who can blame me for not redoing this bed today? It's starting to drizzle and the bees are still asleep.



Instead, I potted a couple of really cheap clearance plants into the coleus container from the front porch. I amended the soil, removed all the summer plants, and brought it inside.



It's not what I had planned to do this morning, but I'll survive. More importantly, so will my plants. I'm still going to head out and divide a clump of Full Moon Coreopsis and Dame's rocket for the circle bed. It's 55 degrees, dark, dreary, and trying to rain.

Deceit

Just before 8am, it's cool and comfortable at 70 degrees. The mosquitoes are out in full force. The cat followed me wherever I went in the yard this morning. I finally left her perched on the edge of the retaining wall near the chimney. I've got bites that need scratching.

There's no indication in the garden or the air of what's to come today.



Another foxglove is blooming.



It's been a strange summer. Forecast today calls for 99. The heat index will be into the triple digits by lunch time. When the sun sets, the concrete will begin to radiate the stored heat back into the air. Before all that, I've got plans to spend 2 hours in the yard pulling plants, collecting seeds, and hopefully planting a couple of things that I've been watering twice a day in their pots. But first, another cup of coffee.