It’s our second 90+ degree day with the hottest day expected tomorrow. I was just looking out of my bathroom window at my nice green lawn thinking, “Thank goodness for our irrigation system!” I was getting exhausted just thinking about watering everything by hand/sprinkler like I did the first summer we lived here and it was a LOT of work. Of course, I had a lot less garden, but still, there was enough. I feel bad for home owners without irrigation systems. Our HOA mandates green lawns which I agree look nice, but sure are a waste of water as I would be perfectly happy to let my lawn go dormant. Either way, at least I don’t have to worry about anything other than paying the water bill these days. My irrigation system is currently set to run through my 7 zones in 60 minutes which seems to do the trick. Though, even with irrigation, I still had to provide some supplemental water in the evening last night to some of the drier areas though I am taking the night off tonight. Then of course, the kids had a blast jumping through the sprinkler last night after dinner. Talk about killing two birds with one stone! The dry patch of grass got watered and the kids were entertained. This afternoon the kiddie pool watered a different dry patch as a 1 and 2 year old enjoy making sure water gets out of the pool as quickly as possible, though all in good fun.
Newly blooming:
- Japanese anemone/windflower, Anemone x hybrida
- Balloon flower/ Chinese Bellflower, Platycodon grandiflorus
This is a picture of one of the flowerbeds in my backyard. As you can see there are many plants in bloom and much to be maintained and I enjoy every minute of it! Mostly I enjoy the view from all the windows at the rear of my home. Washing dishes isn’t such a chore when it means I get to spend the time enjoying this view.
This weekend saw me spending about 2 hours pulling weeds and planting 2 leftover petunias, the sunflower plants my daughter started from seed, a baby’s breath and fringed daisy. I also pruned back a couple plants and watered the new plantings along with the new-this-year slope flowerbed. All is looking good. I just have to start a list of plants I want to move in the autumn when they go dormant. As with any garden, there are always plants that need a more suitable location. These days I’m not adding plants as much as relocating them. The garden can always be improved this way and the plants usually end up happier.
Oh, and we finally had some drizzle last night after about a month without a single drop of rain.
With the help of my Dad, we pruned most of my trees and shrubs. While not the perfect time for pruning, it helps to have an expert along to get it right. The garden looks much more spacious now.
The weather has been overcast and quite cool, upper 60’s and low 70’s and everything is growing great.
I may have already mentioned some of these bloomers previously, but here’s what sticks out in my mind as to what’s new:
- Day lillies
- diarama
- daisy
- dahlia
- monarda
- yucca
- liatris
- astilbe
- scented geraniums
About a week and a half ago I spread some beauty bark in a few key areas in preparation for Independence Day guests. Some weeding was finished up and some slugs were killed. Other than that, the garden has been on auto-pilot. It’s that time of the year and I have had house guests for a week as well. It’s been nice just enjoying the garden with the only chore being occasionally adding water to the fountain. Oh, I have also been keeping an eye out on some dry areas of the garden and reactivated some sprinkler heads I had turned off last year for fear of over watering some shadier areas.
Over the past couple of days my guests harvested the red currants, black currants and sour cherries. The red currants are already jelly as of this morning. 5, 8 ounce jars to be exact! My daughters have eaten any ripe raspberries and strawberries though there are more raspberries to come. I think next year will be my first big raspberry year though as the plants are just two years old as of this summer. The other berry bushes are closer to 5 years old.
The weather has been super dry, sunny, and in the 70’s and 80’s with a record low set at night two nights ago of just 51 degrees. No problem cooling off at night around here! I just wish we would have a good soaking rain one night, but until then, the sprinkler system and mulch will have to do.
Here’s what’s blooming:
- Dahlias- finally!
- Random yellow wildflowers
- Sedum
- Monarda
- Pitcher plants
- Daisies
- St. John’s Wort
- Sweet William
- Sweet peas
- Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan)
- Sandersonia
- Cornflower
Since all it has done for the past 5 days is rain, I have not worked in the yard a bit and am itching to do so. Though instead, I have been enjoying the bountiful blooms in the garden from the shelter of my home. The colors and textures are wonderful and I am quite impressed with myself and my plant choices, though of course, there is so much I still want to accomplish/move/change.
I have also been enjoying the many birds that visit my garden throughout the day. I particularly have fun watching two finch couples. They visit the thistle feeder throughout the day and also really seem to enjoy the for-get-me-not seeds that are on the stems. I have wanted to sprinkle the spent for-get-me-not stems in my little meadow for next year’s enjoymennt, but it has just been too wet. It’s nice to see the finches enjoying them in the meantime!
