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
The garden is pretty much on its own right now which is a good thing as I have had some medical issues to deal with. So, water from the irrigation system seems to do the trick. Then when I feel up to it I clip some deadheads to ensure new blooms and everything else seems to take care of itself. All I really have to do is sit back and enjoy which is all I really feel up to doing anyway.
Oh, and an update on my baby birds. During a recent watering episode, all the babies fled the nest in the hanging planter, the parents “yelled” at me and no one has been back since. I hope the babies all made it! They were kind of flying and seemed pretty good sized. I haven’t seen any evidence that they didn’t make it which is encouraging.
Newly blooming:
- liatris
- crocosmia
- rudbeckia
- aster
- cornflower
- zinnia
- scented geraniums
- ALL dahlias
- ALL roses
I have baby birds in one of my front hanging planters. I discovered the nest a few weeks ago as every time I would water the planter, a bird would fly out, sit on a near-by branch and chirp angrily at me. Here’s a picture of the 3 babies:
I believe they are Purple Finches judging by the sound description, egg color and habitat. I try to be careful with them and water less than my usual so as not to flood the little nest or get the eggs, now babies, wet. I always save this planter for last so once disturbed, the family can quickly relax again knowing there are no humans around. Hopefully the babies will successfully fledge.
Here’s the planter:
And here’s a parent on the roof above the nest waiting for me to leave:
And, here’s what’s blooming:
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
