My Garden at Summer Solstice

Am I kidding myself by thinking that most of the hard work of gardening is complete? That all I have to do now is put my feet up and wait for everything to take off? I’m sure there’s stuff I’ve forgotten, but for now, I’m feeling pretty pleased with myself.

Clean Up

I cleaned all of my beds. I tried very hard to abide by no-mow May, including not disturbing anything by weeding or cleaning my beds. This meant that when it came time to plant and start actively gardening, there was a huge clean up involved. In some ways I was lucky that the temperatures stayed chilly through the end of May this year, so I wasn’t rushing to get my plants in the garden and was able to spread the clean up over a couple of weekends.

Gardening Jigsaw

Gardening is a bit like a jigsaw. Trying to find a spot for everything is usually my problem. I am always nervous about moving plants. But this year I had no choice but to move some plants around.

Somehow I managed to plant two identical rose bushes that get very large right next to each other. People who know me are aware of my obsession with pink, but the wall of pink roses was too much even for me. I also wanted to add a white rose to my collection, so I got my husband to move one of the pink rose bushes into a very gross and neglected corner of our yard. With any luck, we will have a gorgeous pink rose bush to enjoy from our living room window. I am hopeful since the rose looks to have survived its move quite well.

I wish I could say the same for another rosebush I moved on my own. It was growing into the lawn, so I thought I would simply move it back. It is not happy! I am quite worried that I killed it.

I also moved my purple aster and a Japanese anemone to the front of my house. I’ve had this aster for three years and it’s never done anything because Sam the groundhog thinks it’s his own private buffet! The Japanese anemone was in the wrong place and was furthermore being attacked by slugs. It didn’t even flower last year! It looks so happy about its new location.

New Additions

For years, I’ve been dreaming of planting a particular tall cheerful yellow flower that blooms in late summer. I never knew the name and never came across it. But my mom surprised me with one this year. Apparently it’s a double cone flower Rudebeckie. It’s probably not getting enough sun where I planted it and the boys have squashed it a bit, but it’s hanging in there. I am very excited to see what happens.

Other than the white rose and the plant from my mom, I planted only what I started from seed myself. I am so excited about this!

I planted my vegetables. I started them indoors from seed and kept it simple this year. I will go into more detail in a future post.

I also planted all of the fruits of my winter sowing. It’s hard to know what’s what since I didn’t label anything (eyeroll) but I am having varying degrees of success.

What’s Blooming

Does anyone else’s geranium do this? Sort of flattened in the middle? It’s about the most ridiculous thing I’ve seen. I love the purple flowers and the bees are thrilled, but it looks awful! It’s also encroaching on a phlox and the potentially dying rosebush. I do wonder if it’s keeping Sam the groundhog at bay. I don’t think groundhogs like the smell of geranium.

My other geranium is in the shady side of my garden, so it has taken longer to get established, but I am very pleased with how it is looking this year. I’ve never done much to my geraniums in past years, but I am going to try deadheading this one to see if I can get more blooms out of it.

I started bachelor’s buttons using winter sowing this year and they have been a resounding success! They are the first flowers to bloom and I couldn’t be happier with them. I love the different shades of pink, purple, white and blue. I had enough to plant all over my garden and I’m thrilled. I will definitely plant them again. I am curious about collecting seeds, though I want to deadhead so I can enjoy them as long as possible.

Some of my columbine continues to flower. It’s been flowering for about a month now. Check out my columbine appreciation post to find out why I love this flower so much.

My roses are starting to bloom. They are very late this year, but I love them so. I will have a separate post just on roses soon.

What’s on the Horizon

• My astilbe will bloom soon. Last year, it made the prettiest show with my orange rose, which is also getting ready to bloom.
• My roses are so behind this year, so I have some that still haven’t come out yet. Hopefully the half-dead one will rebound.
• Against all odds, my false indigo is going to bloom. It has been battered and chewed, but one stem is going to flower.
• My lavender is looking better than ever. I can’t wait!
• My four different types of hydrangea are coming along nicely. They are so reliable and low-maintenance and gorgeous!
• My zinnias are experiencing varying success. The ones in a box look great, but are a long way off from flowering. The ones in the ground are getting eaten by something – maybe slugs? This might be the third year I’ve tried to plant zinnias and never had any success at all. I started these ones using the winter sowing method and will do it again next year. But I am going to start them much earlier, with the hopes that they will be further along and stronger. With winter sowing, I have the capacity!

I am sorry to report that Sam the groundhog is back. I’ve had to protect my coneflowers again this year. He drove me to relocate my aster. I think my four phloxes might be too far gone, though since the geranium went haywire, he’s been around less.

So that’s it! The hard work is done, right? Can’t wait to show you the results once the garden fills out!