It seems impossible that June is almost over.
Each day hotter than the last. Many afternoons brought threatening dark clouds, distant thunder boomed, a lightning flash zigzagged across the sky, but hardly a raindrop fell on my garden. It has been such a struggle to keep plants from giving up and keeling over, let alone produce blooms that can survive these boiling hot days.
But bloom they do, in all their glory, thanks perhaps to water from the garden hoses. We drag them around, moaning and groaning in the heat while slapping at mosquitoes and other biting intruders...........early morning, afternoon, early evening, no matter the time, it's never cool. Yes, the lush green grass of May has turned to golden hay, but the flowers are opening and stunning us with their beauty...........so our efforts are worthwhile.
Sharing some of the flowers now putting on a show in my garden.....
Those Stargazer lilies again - with their pollen laden anthers!
Unexpected.............the angel trumpets blooming this early. This plant usually doesn't get this tall or bloom until late Summer, even early Fall. This one is already 5 feet high, loaded with buds which are now unfurling. I always cut this plant down to ground level and mulch heavily for winter survival.
The golden coneflower (Big Sky - Harvest Moon Coneflower), a change from the pink echinacea. This one is new this year and is still in it's pot which is tucked into a sturdy concrete urn..........too hot to dig a healthy planting hole, but I will when a cool day arrives!
Roses, lovers of heat..........and their blooms keep coming. Their lower leaves are not so happy, humidity brings black spot causing them to turn yellow and unsightly. Above, new buds linked together by a delicate spider's thread......
....and when they open, the lovely rose, Peace.
I so enjoyed your comments on the Stargazer lilies. They are eye catchers and, with several buds on each stem, you soon have enough to fill a vase. Wish I could send each of you a bouquet from my garden.
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Just splendid, dear Mary. I know I would enjoy a walk around your home and garden.
ReplyDeleteI hate the hot weather, but july means summer vacations so....I guess I have to change my mind and just love it!
ReplyDeleteI sympathize with your lack of rain. My plants and flowers which I had so much fun playing with all spring have pretty much given up in spite of my constant watering. You have such lovely blooms despite the lack of rain!
ReplyDeleteI hate to mention the word rain, but we have had more than our share. It is has been like living in a rain forest at times and everything is green and lush, but.....there is such a thing as too much rain and chilly air. New plants grow so slowly, but give them a day of sun and you can almost watch them grow. I am not complaining because we have July coming and July here, can be hot beyond belief with the high humidity and then we have no rain and everything gets parched and our water bill goes sky high! lol!
ReplyDeleteYour blossoms are gorgeous rain or no!
Happy 4th of July
Jil
i so much enjoy to see your garden photographs! i think my parents have that lily on their garden, for some reason some of the lilies has lost their buds, so it means less flowers to see. but my mothers Paeonias are AMAZING this year, i counted fifteen fuchsia colored flowers in one bush and there will be more of them...
ReplyDeletei bought some Echinacea 'White swan' seeds from England and planted few for pots.
We have an Angel's Trumpet that is 12 feet tall. Here in our San Diego climate by the ocean, it blooms all year long. Your flowers are beautiful. We spent two months in the summer in North Carolina when our daughter lived there. I remember it well!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful flowers. The Peace rose has always been one of my favorites. There is also one called Chicago Peace that is a little pinker on the outer petals. I used to have both when I grew roses.
ReplyDeleteHugs
fredaB
Very 'hot' here in Iowa today and for the rest of the weekend...sure glad the roses love the heat...as I love the air conditioning...smile..
ReplyDeleteHave a blessed weekend!
xoxo Gert
In the US it seems to have been one extreme or the other so far this summer, half my blogging friends are talking about the endless rain while the other half don't seem to have any at all. Happily the weather has got itself a bit better organized here after a dry spring and we are getting both rain and some nice sunny days. What my garden is lacking is some attention from me - good job it's a cottage-y type garden full of perennials and shrubs so the neglect isn't too obvious from a distance:)
ReplyDeleteI often come to your blog for a moment of peace and serenity... thank you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your garden. I love seeing the flowers in other places around the country. My stargazers are almost ready to bloom. Peace rose is one of my favorites. Our roses are in full bloom and I am loving them. I always love coneflowers, but for some reason don't have any in the garden this year. Happy gardening and I hope your garden is surviving hot days.
ReplyDeleteYour Angel Trumpet is gorgeous! So many of my flowers have been affected by the heat too. I bought a new rose, Eden or known in France as Pierre De Rosanard (I believe), so as it is just a little one I have been babying it in this heat. I'll put it in a bigger pot soon, and then into the ground later on perhaps when this heat cools off!
ReplyDeleteTake Care,
Ulrike