Mid July … the heat and humidity continues … and the gardens are looking wonderful despite the extreme heat. Thank goodness for heat tolerant and drought resistant plants.
I haven’t been doing much outside, except watering the veggies and the pot gardens in the early morning and seeking shady spots to sit. This photo was taken about 6:30 am this morning and it was already humid and sticky outside.
Even the plant tables laden with the veggies are getting a little shade pampering. This is a south facing garden and this corner is a sun trap. So to give the plants a little extra shade during these hot, hot afternoons I’ve added a couple of umbrellas to the ends of the table. My wonderful hubby drilled holes in the last plank of wood and the umbrella slots right through. I know, I know … who shades their garden? Tomatoes and other veggies grow in farmers fields without any protection. But I have noticed that the leaves look a little worse for wear in all that direct sun. In fact I know several gardeners who place umbrellas throughout their gardens to give a little more shade.
While outside this morning I picked a few more peas and the first of the sweet juicy little tomatoes.
Even the squirrel has taken to relaxing in the hammock in the shade under the trees at the back of the garden …
… and the rabbit is stretching out in the cool shade by a big spruce tree.
I’m sharing with Cottage Garden Party, Nature Notes and Camera Critters.
The plants in the gardens and containers are in varying stages of blooms. I’ve grouped them into stages (my names) and can move them around each week as they move through the stages. This is a good reference for me to look back at next year for comparison. Plants don’t bloom in alphetical order so they aren’t listed in any particular order. Some plants are in 2 areas … example is coreopsis because it is blooming but with continual deadheading it is also budding
leafy and growing, no blooms yet
yucca, peruvian daffodils, venedium, cosmos, garlic chives, coleus, canna
Budding
sedum, hollyhocks, zinnias, beans, coreopsis, daylilies,
Blooming
ditch lilies, roses (bush), rudbekia, coral bells, petunias, fuchsia, coreopsis, Bressingham Blue hosta, clematis, feverfew, pansies, lady’s mantle, lavender, shasta daisies, echinacea, hostas, beebalm, liatris, drumstick allium, nasturtiums
Harvesting
peas, Egyptian Walking onions, tomatoes,
Fading blooms
honeysuckle vine, climbing roses, weigela,ninebark, creeping jenny, astillbe,
Seeding
lunaria, oxeye daisies
Blooms finished. leaves flourishing
iris, lily of the valley, early yellow daylilies, bleeding heart, columbine, dianthus, evening primrose, ninebark
Vanished till next year
tulips, daffodils, poppies, yellow molly alliums, trilliums
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