I promised that I would not focus only on our trip so I thought it would be fun to take a look at my garden as it evolves this month.
As lovely as spring is in our garden, June happens fast and furious. The weather in VA turns hot quickly. We are now experiencing 90 degree days coupled with humidity. It's a challenge to garden in this weather. So I must do what I can in the early morning hours.
When we returned home I was happy to see everything alive and well. Even though I missed Pinkie rose blooming on the trellis, I see that it bloomed its heart out. The back perennial garden was quite over grown. I had to remove plenty of Bishop's weed and more rudbeckia that reseeds itself with abandon. Cutting back the columbine and saving the seeds is a major task. Unfortunately upon our return we have been suffering with colds and generally not feeling well. Still, there is much to do. Right now all that I'm able to do is water pots of annuals. Samuel did a great job of that while we were gone.
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| Pinkie rose trellis and side garden |
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| Overgrown perennial garden |
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| Oakleaf hydrangea and Pink astilbe |
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| St John's Wort and bee |
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| Stella d'ora lily and potted begonia, coleus and geranium |
I was so surprised to see a green pepper already in the raised bed! The tomato plant is growing like a weed! This is the extent of our vegetable garden other than a few herbs here and there. We have mostly shade and therefore not many vegetables grow under those conditions. The sunniest spot in the yard has these raised beds that Grayden built for me.
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| Green pepper and tomato plant and basil |
Because many of my perennials are spring flowers, I like to plant annuals in pots to give color. I usually buy the smaller annuals and watch them grow during the summer. Here are a few that I have in the front of our home. They are already much larger than when first planted.
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| Notice the potato plant in the black pot on the left-a gift from compost! |
We've had quite a bit of rain in the last month. Mushrooms are really beginning to emerge in our lawn. We need to add lime to our lawn this fall. Mushrooms to me are beautiful in their own way. Of course, I would never eat them as I am not an expert on mushroom safety. Did you know that Beatrix Potter loved to paint mushrooms? She was fascinated with them!
"Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul." Luther Burbank
