In lieu of Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day (two weeks ago), I present all the photos I took on Bloom Day but didn’t manage to actually post yet.
Things have been hot and dry here in Zone 6, and even the stalwart plants are droopy. Thankfully, we’ve gotten some steady light rain this afternoon and evening, and that seems to be perking things up a bit.
Back on July 15, though, this is what the beds and borders had to offer:
As I write, the rain continues its crescendo from sprinkle to drizzle to steady shower. The downspout nearby is punctuating the rain with its own tiny waterfall, spilling out over the gutter and down onto the back patio. My cat is sitting upright watching, entranced.
The potted columbine division my neighbor gave me a few days ago has already tripled in size — it appears to be enjoying its new home, and I’m sure it’s enjoying the rain as much as the cat and I are.
Since I’ve been keeping up with daily weeding while my son eats his dessert and watches TV in the evenings — I call it my “fifteen minutes of fun,” although sometimes it stretches to more — the beds and borders don’t feel quite as overwhelming as they usually do by midsummer. The lack of rain might have something to do with it, too, as does my having given up on keeping all the borders grass-free. I keep the perennials from getting choked out or accidentally weed-whacked by the lawn guys, and that’s about it. There are a few borders with particularly good edging that I don’t have to worry about, but about half of them… yeah. They still look decent, though, and it keeps me from feeling stressed over keeping them extra tidy.
August is looking like it will continue a good tomato harvest (I remembered to water, so blossom-end rot is at an all-time low) and a good amount of blooms and foliage and other awesome things to enjoy.