July has been hot and humid here in Massachusetts, reaching 100 degrees at times. The gardens have seemed to burst forth like fireworks, weeds and all.
Some weeds still remain since I saw the wild rabbits and our free ranging hens enjoying them. I like a more *wild* garden anyway, or perhaps that's just my excuse :)
Today is Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day so come talk a walk with me.
The Rose of Sharon have bloomed.
The Butterfly Bushes are going strong and new shoots have sprouted up everywhere. Want any?
Four different varieties of Rudbeckia are still in bloom. The smaller petal kind is blooming near the Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus).
The medium size is growing and spreading along the dry creek.
The larger size with the glorious dark brown centers, the rounded ones look bright and cheery along the garden path
and the cone-shaped ones stand tall and regal within the garden fence .
The Hollyhocks (Alcea) are a beautiful shade of pink and we look forward to making our Hollyhock dolls .
My favorite sunflower, the Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia rotundiflora), has shown its first flower.
The monarda, both pinks and reds have had delightful hummingbirds visit them.
The False Sunflowers did not have a very good year and some were ravaged by aphids and then susceptible to powdery mildew. I don't know why I didn't order those ladybugs as planned, or at least try to be rid of them with a soap solution.
But there are still plants that are doing well. They had some of these visitors yesterday .
Some of the Echinacea had a hard time with the heat and the edges of the petals dried out.
The bees didn't seem to mind though.
Others did fine, although they were a bit shaded by taller plants.
The Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is flourishing . . .
and it never ceases to amaze me how Mother Nature has put together her flowers, many made up of thousands and thousands of tiny petals.
A few Lavender flowers remain after I harvested most of them. How delicate and yet how pungent.
The Russina Sage (Perovskia) has begun to flower. The silvery green foliage looks good on its own but I love its purple hue when in bloom..
I love the lilies, so natural and bright, with their carefree "attitude".
Queen Ann's Lace (Daucus Carota) makes a delicate appearance.
Many of the Hosta are in bloom, or just about ready to blossom. We have multitudes!
Most everything else is still blooming, or getting ready to bloom, as it was two weeks ago.
The vegetables in the raised beds are growing well. It is the last of the peas until fall.
There's all shapes and sizes of tomatoes, albeit still green.
We can pick our first cucumber tomorrow. hooray!
The bush beans ( at the top of the picture) are getting ready to flower.
There is always one or two mystery vegetables each year. I'm thinking a pumpkin or a gourd.
We have a few things we still need to plant in the garden, as well as taking the rest of the Wisteria out of the long raised bed. We are planning to make a sturdy shade structure on the grass and have already moved some of the vine, but there is plenty more to go. I need the room for more vegetables so I need to get to this task very soon.
And lest I forget, I am totally in love with this perennial. I thought it was a perennial sunflower but I'm not too sure. It was given to us last year. This is the second year and it is huge! It can be used as a summer hedge. It is much taller then me and I am five nine.
I am partial to yellow anyway. It excites me and make me happy.
Isn't it just glorious?
Now I'm trying to think where I might plant a hedge :)
"In my garden there is a large place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful. "
~Abram L. Urban
