Dotted with Flowers

Saturday, July 10, 2010

June fades into July

Working on the Garden Design

Pepper planter with nasturtiums and yellow dahlias. Nasturtiums always make me happy! They are perfectly bright orange, smell sweet, there are tons of them, and they are edible! So cool. Got to keep them cut back so they don't overtake Mike's prized peppers.
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The garage side-garden: pink, orange, so vibrant.
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Front planter has a ways to go. Got 4 begonias at the farmer's market for 50 cents each, a little something to help fill in for now. I have a vision, but it's hidden by all the big annuals that don't fit the design. But that's okay, because the perennials won't be big enough to make an impact until next year!
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Flowery Awesomeness

(that is a delphinium I grew from seed- it's gonna bloom!)
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Phlox are so beautiful- especially in the fading sunlight of a perfect day in July. Hope the powdery mildew doesn't get the best of them.
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Wish daylilies had a longer vase life!

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Can't get enough jazzy zinnias!
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Beautiful Bouquets
Love picking flowers

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Food
Mike's domain. Wish I had time to help out more, but excited about the harvest. No red tomatoes yet. A few hot peppers. A handful of peas every other day. And some blueberries that we have yet to taste... they must be good, because the birds sure seem to enjoy them!

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Wildlife

Sunday, June 13, 2010

June!

Such a beautiful month! Unfortunately, I've spent most of it either sleeping or working, and the plants have been understandably a little neglected. Summer crept up without my realizing it, and there's so much to be done to make the garden beautiful!

The front door garden is a design mess. I've removed a hosta and the mums, and I think I'll take that last hosta out, and replace them with some of these fine new perennials. I spent no less than an hour browsing through a few shelves of sunny perennials at Earl May, picking all those that just felt right. I felt a little silly bringing home, you know, one of everything, but you can't know what you love until you try them all!

My side-of-the garage garden still needs help, too, but I'm pretty optimistic since the emergence of an orange daylily. It just kind of ties things together... it looks like it's going to become an orange and pink theme, which actually looks pretty cohesive and nice. I just have to throw in a couple more perennials and move some things around. And I'm cautiously optimistic about the blanket flower and coreopsis that I moved to the front. I think they'll look great, once they get over that you-shouldn't-have-moved-me-now-I'm-going-to-wilt shock.

Mike's vegetable garden is doing well. The strawberry cages are very snazzy, although a cardinal somehow got stuck inside one-- he was unharmed. Our pepper and nasturtium planter has some baby peppers and a few nasturtium flowers.