Goodness.

These things I appreciate.

The long view down the driveway. Still no zucchini.



Tassels.



On a 7' tall Miscanthus.



Coreopsis Full Moon. Been blooming constantly since June.



The Amaranthus that echoes the color of my shutters and doors.



A pink pampas grass that I planted in early spring. I hadn't paid it much attention until now.



More butterflies on the Tithonia.



Hummingbirds are half a dozen strong in the mornings near the street. It's 82 degrees. I'm ready for fall. Mother Nature is not. Another week in the mid 90s in store. No rain.

Muggy.

It must have rained last night. The grass is wet. A small puddle of water was seen on the neighbor's stone patio across the street. The weather guy says it was less than .03". I'll take what I can get. The humidity stands at 94%. It's just 73 degrees.

As I walked the yard this morning, I realized that I've been neglecting the gardens for several weeks now. It's too hot in the afternoon to do much. I thought I saw a hummingbird yesterday, but it turned out to be a mosquito. They swarm me whenever I walk outside. My welts have bites. The yard will just have to manage on its own. The grass will be mowed eventually. Maybe.

Photos taken this morning show the moisture that hangs in the air.









The forecast calls for more afternoon or evening showers with a high of 93. Tomorrow will be awful at 97 degrees. Summer is really here.

Growth

The fragrant border - May 16.



June 7.



The upper potager - May 18.



June 7.



The Perennial Bed - April 30.



June 7.



A container of sedums and sago palms by the basement door - May 18.



June 7.



I love to watch the gardens grow. I no longer take a picture a week of any area in the yard. The backyard is not filling in the way I expected. There was no huge flush of flowers once the crimson clover went to seed. The meadow bed does have tiny seedlings, probably weeds. A few cosmos have popped up here and there. I'll be working on that in the fall and next spring, moving, dividing, sowing more seeds. It's a work in progress.

More rain last night as thunderstorms rolled through the area. Within an hour, 1/4" of rain fell. Lightning flashed and the thunder rolled. Sleep came easy. It's 64 degrees this morning. 84 is the expected high.

*sniff* *sniff* *sniff* AHHHHHH!!!

Datura





Two new unusual rudbeckia are blooming.



This one is the returning Cherry Brandy grown from seed last year.



The perennial bed has filled in. Yellow flowers poke up here and there among the green foliage. We've had plenty of rain lately, now we just need some more sun.



It's 72 degrees, humid, and cloudy. Upper 80s is the forecast for today. 30% chance of isolated thunderstorms after 1pm.

Not all those who wander are lost.

I opted for a glass of tea this morning instead of coffee as I wandered around the yard. I had planned to post about the progress in the backyard, but it's not very pretty from a distance. There's a lot of green. It's at the same stage the perennial bed was last year at this time. Plants will grow and mature as the spring turns to summer, provided we receive enough rain. I can't keep dragging the hose all over the yard.

From yesterday, this is a closer view of the perennial bed arbor and beds. I'm very happy with the way it's turned out this year. It should only get better with each passing season.



Wintersown in 2008/9, Rose Campion has found a home in several spots. I've already planted out seedlings in the backyard from seeds sown this year. The scabiosa bloomed a little last year. There are lots of nice buds on the plants this time around. Stargazers will be the next plants to bloom in this area.



Rose Campion with Red Hot Pokers.



Another Rose Campion. I'll let these reseed and pull the unwanted ones later.



On the backside of the arbor, the Pink Maiden dianthus are really showing off this year.



They'll continue to bloom on and off all summer with another flush in the fall as the temperatures cool down. I'll be checking for seeds and probably take cuttings soon.



Self-sown petunias are blooming. I love the variations in color.



Someone sent me seeds of Cornus kousa. I sowed them all in a clump in the garden last fall when they arrived. I think they like the spot. Brugmansia from cuttings (pink and yellow) are in the background. Beyond that, two clearance hydrangeas have found a shady home behind the camellia.



Near the mailbox, in some of the driest, hardest soil in the yard, the first breadseed poppy has opened. More to come. No idea what other colors may arrive. There were some peony poppy seeds sown as well. I guess it will be a surprise. These too will be left to reseed with a little help from me.



Gold Flame Spirea in the Shady Corner is happy. The two small plants I picked up last year for cheap have not returned. I will take cuttings of this one once the blooms have faded. I'd like to scatter them in the crape myrtle bed for some foliage contrasts and the pink blooms work well with my color scheme there.



Salvia subrotunda seedlings were pulled from the perennial bed yesterday. I'll be setting these out in the upper meadow once we've gotten some rain. It's very likely over the next few days that something will fall. The other containers hold cuttings of Autumn Joy sedum and Montauk Daisy. The Montauks will be planted around the backyard for some late fall blooms. More cuttings will be made as soon as the S. subrotunda is planted out. The containers hold in humidity which helps the cuttings retain moisture. I leave these in the shade on the side porch. The sedums should root in a couple weeks.



From the photos I was planning to show, this is the driveway border I started last winter. There's rosemary, a couple Rosa chinensis, peonies, a yucca, the one surviving Honeycomb butterfly bush, a lilac, and weigela. I'm sure I am forgetting some things.



And what it used to look like on February 17, 2008. I like the way it's matured.



It's 72 degrees and mostly sunny. There's a haze in the sky as the humidity is up. Rain possible this evening after 8pm. The best chances seem to be Sunday and Monday at 50-60%. I wouldn't care if it rained 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.

Fourteen Degrees

It's April Fools Day. We're forecast to be 14 degrees above normal today at 85 degrees. Time to bring out the sunscreen.

I've got two tasks in mind today. Weeding and planting. The first area that needs attention is along the gully side of the perennial bed. I've pretty much ignored this area over the past year and a half. Today, I plan to weed and plant this space. It's shaded for most of the day receiving only late day sun. I'll have to sort through my new seedlings for things that can tolerate hot evening heat. For now, the privet will stay. Eventually, I'd like to remove this and plant camellias, tea olives, and azaleas along this border.



The second area is in the perennial bed itself. The circular portion around the birdbath has some serious weed growth. There's also a great deal of red clover that needs to be removed. I made the mistake of sowing those seeds in the fall as a cover crop. Their usefulness is now over, so I'll till the greenery into the upper potager bed hoping to increase the decomposition and add nitrogen to the "soil". Other areas of the perennial bed also need attention. I started a small section on Tuesday before work. I hope I can avoid the larkspur that should bloom soon.



It's 43 degrees this morning. It's going to be a warm one. No rain in the forecast for the next 5 days with temperatures in the mid 80s.

10:47am - 70 degrees.

A lot of green.

If it weren't for clover and broadleaf weeds, I wouldn't have any "lawn". It's really greening up out there right now. The perennial bed is growing by leaps and bounds.



We've got rain in the forecast for this evening. At 69 degrees, that's going to make things pop. Three of 200 have bloomed with almost all the others showing buds.



It's 43 degrees, but it feels warmer.

Blurry Sunday.

I make no apologies.

The perennial bed.



The backyard is full of green and brown. I need more winter interest in the form of color.



The birdbath still has ice in it. The one I made a couple weeks ago cracked when I removed it from the "form". I'll try again this spring, casting it in place in a bed in the backyard. I might scatter a few around the meadow garden.



Mr. Lincoln, after several nights in the low 20s and many heavy frosts.



Nandinas along the back of the house. The dead ivy is dead.



It's 34 degrees, drizzly and foggy. Last night I saw the first snowflakes of the year. I was on the way home from the family gathering just over an hour south of here. When I arrived home, it was just beginning to rain here. My mom gave me her electric blanket. The cat is very appreciative.

Today, I've already swept and mopped the floors twice. Dust from sanding the kitchen has permeated every room and surface in the house. I'll be mopping dusty floors for weeks. The seed swap will be finished as more rain moves in this afternoon. It's supposed to warm up a bit to the mid-40s. We'll see.