Mid-June Scenes

Greetings! Summer is underway here in the Midwest, even if it doesn't officially begin until next week -- we've been alternating a few sunny days of highs in the nineties with a few days of rainy, cooler weather for the past several weeks now.

The roses have certainly loved this weather: 'Golden Celebration,' above, has looked beautiful, as has 'Seminole Wind,' shown below:

Clematis and astilbes next to my garage make a nice combination.

The evergreen North Border is looking pretty neat and orderly, now that I have removed the flower bed that  was in front of it. We're still working on getting the leftover self-seeded cosmos from the flower border under control, and those will probably keep popping up for years (not that they're such a bad "weed" to have, although they do tend to smother out the evergreen shrubs behind them). 

The Yellow Garden is coming into flower now, starting with early Asiatic lilies and yarrow, and gold foliage dominates the shadier section near the house. The dead-looking tree at right is a laburnum -- I don't think it's entirely dead, but I'm not sure if it has been damaged by residual farm field spray, to which they are apparently very sensitive, or if another malady has defoliated it. This is the second time it has suffered like this in late spring, and if it happens again I will likely replace it with something else. Who wants a plant that looks mostly dead every year?

The new Paradise Garden is beginning to fill in and show a bit of color, despite being planted less than a month ago.

A closeup of the Persian carpet colors in marigolds and short snapdragons in the Paradise Garden.

After a rain shower, the roses and stocks smelled wonderful near the pergola in the PG.

I've noticed with dismay that a number of the flowers in the Paradise Garden have been fatally nibbled, snipped off at the base or completely yanked out, mostly likely by rabbits! I didn't think they would be such a threat inside our picket fence so close to our house, especially since our dog spends most of her time near the house. But she is getting pretty long in the tooth, and probably can't see, hear or smell them like she once did.

Time for defensive measures: I'm going to run some chicken wire fencing around the bottom of the picket fence to try to keep them out. We'll see if the nightly pillaging is reduced after I do this....



Hope you are enjoying the beginning of a pleasant summer in your own gardens (and that hungry varmints aren't munching on your flowers!). Thanks for reading, -Beth