The Heat Wave

It's awfully hot for June. It's also very, very dry. According to the paper, the drought in Columbus is mild compared to the rest of the state. That's hard to believe! We did have a storm last week, and received 3/4 inch of rain here in my town. While it was a lovely thing, it was hardly enough. The garden has mostly thrown up it's hands in surrender. The first flush of roses is over, and there are only random blossoms. Here are a few of those last blossoms, for now anyway.

Don Juan climber

 Tahitian Sunset

Zepherine Drouhin

Oranges and Lemons

In their place are daylily blooms,

 Little Grapette

Pandora's Box

various coneflowers,

 Coconut Lime

Ruby Star

Pow Wow Wildberry

and the bee balms.

 Monarda Cambridge Scarlet

Monarda Grand Parade

Now the butterfly bushes don't mind the heat and drought. Although I must admit that the bicolor blossoms always droop in the mid day sun, but they perk up later.

 Bi Color Buddliea

Unknown Buddliea

I've got a few other flower friends who don't mind the heat. The various hyssops don't even blink. This first one, I started from seed last year. A real triumph for me.

Sunset Hyssop

 Golden Jubilee

Anise hyssop

And this Gay Butterflies milkweed I started from seed last year actually has a few flowers on it! I'm always excited when I have good results from seed.
 
 Now this one is a new one on me. So far, so good. The blooms seem to last a long time, and they are unfazed by the heat and dry weather. It's called Lysmachia Beaujolais.

The creeping thyme growing as a ground cover through my arbor never complains about the heat either. And you can walk right on it!

 The hot and dry weather doesn't seem to be keeping the butterflies away. They aren't bothered one bit!

Red Admiral

Swallowtail

I guess I'd better go drag the hose around the yard like I do every day. I love summer, but some rain would sure be nice!

Just Plain Pretty!

While I'm looking through my June garden pictures, trying to figure out the theme for today's post, I realize that beauty is all the theme I need. It's just plain pretty out there in the garden! From the Fourth of July roses clamoring up the trellis,

to the arrival of the hydrangeas,

to the blooming of the daylilies,

and the return of the nigella, I find new pretty spots every day!

Daisies are popping up everywhere.

Patiently waiting for the arrival of the first coneflower. This one is Pow Wow Wildberry.

Munstead lavender continues to delight! But it's so covered in bees at all times that I can't get anywhere near it.

So even though it's painfully dry out there, it's still just plain pretty!

The Man Made Garden

Not all of the pretty spots in the garden come from plants. Now don't get me wrong, plants are the most important part, especially flowers. But there are lots of other touches made by man that can give your garden personal style. Containers are probably the most common way to add this personality. Both the container itself and the plants you put into it are important parts of the look. My front porch faces north, and is usually shady until late in the evening. So I generally put a fuschia in my wrought iron hanging basket. This year I found a pretty cream and pink version, not as garish as the usual hot pink and purple.

I also bought a wrought iron urn for the front porch, then had fun filling it with shade loving plants. I can't wait to see how it fills in throughout the summer.

An annual favorite for me is to have a mandevilla plant. I've tried several times to over winter them in my basement, but without success. This time, I've given it a more substantial and interesting trellis to climb up.

I love my new window box style container on the side of the garage along the front walk way! Because it's a big, blank wall, I wanted something to break up that big expanse. And I think it will still look interesting in the winter, even without greenery in it. Again, it should fill in nicely throughout the summer.

Do you get the impression that I like to use purple plants in my container gardens? This pot next to the garage is always done with bright green and purple, and is always my favorite. I no longer even bother using flowers for this one, just colored foliage.

 And don't you love the bright coral color of these zinnias? 

Other than containers, I don't have too many other man made touches in my garden, just a few things here and there. I do like my gazing ball.

 My kids bought me these wind chimes for Mother's Day.I think they suit my bohemian vibe.

One of the best man made touches to have in a garden is a bird bath. We have this right outside the back door, and enjoy watching the birds drinking and bathing while we eat. I think this juvenile robin feels right at home here in Robin's Nest!

Saying goodbye to May

June is here, but May had so many moments of beauty that there are still many to share here. The first round of foxglove blooms were such a delight with the other spring flowers nearby.

 The perennial geraniums are blooming so beautifully. I think this is Johnson's Blue, but I've lost the tag so I'm not sure.

So far I'm pleased with the new Zepherine Drouhin rose climbing up my beloved arbor. The pink looks very pretty with the bright yellow of the Moonshine yarrow.

I know I've talked a lot about the tall Ribbon Mix snapdragons that survived our mild winter. But I just wanted to share one last shot of the gorgeous flowers. They've finished blooming for now, and look diseased to boot. Considering that they were planted last spring, I guess I can let them go. They've served their purpose and I have another fresh flat of them planted for this year.

One lonely little lupine bloomed out in the flagpole garden. I hope it sticks around. I've only grown them once before and didn't have much luck.

My lavender is doing fantastic since it's been so hot and dry. But it's so covered in bees at all times that I can hardly get near it. I need to spread it around, there are seedlings every where. Don't you just love garden freebies?

The penstemon is blooming, but it's really getting floppy. I have a little fence in front of it, but I guess I'll need to thin it out. I haven't seen many hummingbirds yet this year, normally they are all over this stuff.

Last year the birds left me a little garden present, verbena bonariensis. It was just one plant, so I didn't really think it would reseed itself, but it did. I've wanted some, but wasn't sure I had room. It turned out to be so airy thatla it could fit anywhere. I just want it because the butterflies love it!

The mystery peony finally bloomed. It turned out to be white streaked with red, like a candy cane. Pretty! I have no idea what kind it is. I thought it was Dr. Alexander but it doesn't look anything like this. Guess it will remain a mystery!

Another surprise was the reappearance of the black hollyhocks I planted a few years back. I do love them, they are such a dramatic color. But every time I grow hollyhocks, they get covered with rust and look terrible. Last year I pulled them all out. However, this one escaped and planted itself in the middle of the butterfly corner. Once it's done blooming, I'll remove it. What a shame. I love hollyhocks, but they just don't like my garden. And these black ones are impossible to photograph well!

So it's goodbye to May, but hello to the rest of the summer! There will be lots more blooms for me to enjoy all summer long.