It must be June.

A visitor on one of the butterfly bushes in the shrub island.



Black and Blue Salvia has really exploded this week.



Queen Anne's Lace snuck up on me this year.



Self sown petunias still look good. They get lots of shade until late in the afternoon.



The first Rose of Sharon. Purple will be along shortly.



It's 88 degrees and sunny. It's freaking hot.

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.

Mother's Day and I am working.

My sister and I had portraits made for mom this year. She received them early this morning before I called. She loved them. My sister bought the pictures, I framed them. We had to be a little sneaky to get them done.

In the garden, the first Stella D'Oro has bloomed.



Red Hot Pokers by the street are growing straight and tall this year. I started this from seed two years ago. It was just tiny little grass like seedlings for a few months. I expected blooms last year, but none arrived. The one in part shade is growing crooked again. I might have to move it this fall.



Self sown petunias are blooming. The colors range from light pink to this nice magenta.



More magenta in the rose campion. I have clumps scattered through the perennial bed. Seeds will be tossed as they ripen in the crape myrtle bed.



Various larkspur plants are in bloom.



An unknown hybrid tea rose. It's not fragrant, but the color is nice. It fades to a pinkish orange as it ages.



It's cool and 66 degrees at 2:37pm. The power went out last night due to a tree crashing into a transformer a couple streets over. Still no rain. Maybe next week. I'll spot water after work again this evening. The newly planted seedlings have to be nursed a bit to survive what is quickly turning into a drought. Only 1" of rain has fallen in the past 4 weeks.

Seed Collecting

I spent some time today collecting seeds. At work, the gaillaria needed to be deadheaded. No problem. The petunias could use a pinch too. I'm on it. The gazania had lots of white puffy stuff, but nothing I could identify as seed, so I trashed it.

In my own yard, I separated Golden Jubilee from the chaff. Using my stainless steel bowl, I collected seeds from white and pink four o'clocks. I'm keeping them separate for no real reason.

I collected from several melampodium.



I tossed the heads from a couple zinnias into the same pile. Maybe the goldfinches left me something.





A few more purple cleome pods split when I touched them.



Of course there were cosmos, including a very few yellow.



The outline of the next bed is taking shape thanks to RoundUp. I sprayed it a couple days ago. I'm sure the heat and sun are helping.



And when you stop paying attention, something else blooms.

Helpful gardeners.

The goldfinches are dispersing seed all over my perennial bed. Their favorites seem to be the zinnias, hyssop, and salvias. They've got a helper from the chipmunk that lives near the "orange" rose bush. For the past few weeks I've noticed sprigs of grass and other items popping up as if planted in a clump. This morning, I saw the culprit. The chipmunk is raiding the birdfeeder, "hiding" the stash under the soil, and is probably unaware that the grass is germinating. Someone's gonna be hungry this winter. Bye bye crocuses.



The goldfinches have found the black eyed susans too.



I spent a couple hours this morning doing a few chores. The new Golden Showers climbing rose was planted next to the arbor. The one I purchased in the spring turned out to be a red rootstock.



I planted out two Calycanthus florida seedlings that were wintersown. They went into the shrub island I built last month. Four more butterfly bushes were installed too.



I collected more seed this morning from the Golden Jubilee. The brown in the right side of the container are the seeds that fell out while snipping the flowers off the plant. I expect lots of reseeds next spring.



Other happenings:

The white hyacinth bean has reached the top of the wire trellis on the back of the house. The moonvine hasn't even reached the bottom rung yet.



Rudbeckia fulgida is looking great with purple petunias.



Gaillardia has three blooms. More buds are forming.



Coreopsis "Full Moon" is awakening.



Squash and/or cucumbers are doing well. We need rain.



This is my petunia seed store for next year. I like the variation in colors.



Seems I've already missed a couple seed pods.



The Kongmansia I moved earlier in the week is putting out new leaves.



The brugs in the perennial bed have buds. They will be yellow or orange. All have at least one bud, one has 8.



The spirea in the shrub island is putting out new growth. I chopped it back when I moved it to reduce stress. It should reach 6-8' at maturity.



A gardenia cutting that was rooted last fall is growing nicely under the dining room window. I moved three others to bed opposite the front steps earlier in the week.



I'm starting to like this combination of color.



Finally, I have a new visitor.



It's muggy and 75 degrees. 50% chance of afternoon rain in the forecast with more on Friday and Sunday. I've got my fingers crossed.

Surprises

I worked late yesterday and didn't get to spend any time wandering around the yard. This morning, I found several surprises.

Purple nicotiana. It's not scented like I was told, not even at night.


Morning Glory. knola black.


In the white bed, a purple petunia is blooming. It was supposed to be gomphrena, white.


Another wintersown petunia is blooming.


This one has purple stems.


Ditch lilies by the front steps are about to bloom.


Coreopsis "Early Sunrise". Blooms early and all summer if deadheaded. Tends to flop with rain.


I'm off today. As soon as it warms up to 60, I'll get dressed, mow the yard, do some edging, weed the potager a bit, and set up my outdoor propagation chamber. There will be pictures.

It's currently 58 on the window and 52 on the web. Another cup of coffee should be had. Been up for 3 hours. Can't sleep late even on my day off. I listen to NPR in the truck. It's not uncommon to find me mumbling to myself in the yard wondering where I left my trowel. It sucks getting older.