The Garden

Before we left for "farm week," I wondered whether or not we would miss the lilies. As it turns out, not at all. You can see one blooming in the far back, but they've waited for us to return. Before we left, I deadheaded the Salvia and Dame's Rocket and they are in bloom once again. The Dicentra eximia blooms effortlessly and the Geranium 'Johnson's' has exploded with new growth and flowers.

Overall I am fairly impressed with how the side yard turned out this season (knocking on nearby Zelkova). Each plant has been spaced decently and so far no one has come in to trounce anything! The path stones are nearly covered by rapidly spreading Sedum and Potentilla indica. The pots have been filled by Betsy with annuals (some which over-wintered). The Gaura and Russian Sage have been successfully transplanted from the front yard which is now only part sun-shade. The lilies survived transplant.

Although this one is too short for the competing Solidago and Asters.

It's quite the bountiful garden. Echinacea and Gaura are in bloom, as well as the self-seeding Borage and Alyssum. The native Liatris is about to bloom and the Sedum has been blooming pink for two weeks now.

Meanwhile in the front yard my grandmother's tea has its best year for blooming yet. There are several buds about to open not two weeks after the first flush of many more has ended. The 'Knockout' rose that I hacked back late and hard has made its comeback, all the while the generally sun loving perennials struggle if they are unlucky enough to now find themselves in the shade of a Zelkova. The front yard is now due for a major, new reality, overhaul.

This oddity in the front yard, under the 'New Dawn' climber and growing through the dwarf spirea, has made an appearance during the Allium sphaerocephalon bloom. These are usually very much magenta-purple, but this one has bloomed all green-yellow. Peculiar.