Mid to Late June 2023

We've experienced a very dry period in the first two weeks of June. Hence a butterfly, looking for moisture on this daylily. It's quite an unusual site. This tiger swallowtail was going deep into the Fairy Tale pink daylily blossoms.

The goldfinches continue to feed on the verbena bonariensis seeds. It's just a wonderful sight. I spy five goldfinches.

At last, we had a brief rain shower on June 16th.

Beads of raindrops on the fennel. You can also see where this plant has been suffering with heat and very little water.

Ian pulls out the garden hose a few times a week to keep the plants alive. Fennels are happiest when it is cooler.

The Dusty Miller artemisias, Ping Pong gomphrenas and snap dragons in the pots have responded well to the watering though. The magenta colored gomphrenas were supposed to be white. Oh well. Another garden surprise. Next year I want to stick with the lavender and white gomphrenas for a beautiful glow in the evening. As you can see, I like to let the wild oxalis (that's the small plant with one tiny yellow blossom in the foreground pot) grow where they please.

June 8th, I neglected to include this in my Late May Early June post. These asiatic lilies were not infested with the aphids. Spirea Neon and Black n Blue Sage are the companions.

Ian has been working diligently to keep the water level up in the garden pond. We had our first waterlily open on June 16th. I think they have also been missing the rainwater.

Other plants in the pond are doing great. This papyrus plant was a gift from a good friend and neighbor, Cheryl. We have banked up the pond debris to create a muddy area for this plant. It lived in a pot until last autumn.

The native pickerel rush is blooming,too. The pot holds a cardinal plant. It should bloom later in the season.

We have planted another native, Lizard Tail. Believe it or not, we transplanted this from our driveway. Condensation from our AC had built up in a crack in the concrete. This plant had set up a home there. I have a theory that Ian and Maddie brought back seeds on their clothing from Beaver Marsh. I will probably need to keep these plants in check as they are prolific growers when they are happy.

Back to dry land. The romance of garden art amongst the flowers.

The week of June 19th brought us a very rainy period. Summer Solstice was rainy and cool. Highs were in the 70s which is very unusual for us. Its looking like July might be a great time for the next wave of blossoms. If all goes well, maybe Ian and I can have sangria on the patio to celebrate mid-Summer's eve this Saturday.

June dayliles on the 22nd. These held up well considering we had heavy rain this morning. I took this photo in the late afternoon. I'm looking forward to seeing the sun tomorrow.

Happy Summer!