Hello sweet friends and Happy Tuesday! For the past two days it has hit 100 degrees and today promises the same. Add breezes, and no rain for a few weeks, and gardening is challenging right now in our Appalachian Foothills!!
“Yours is the day, yours also the night; you have established the heavenly lights and the sun. You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth; you have made summer and winter.”
Psalm 74:16-17 (ESV)
Ordinarily, I would invite you to lace up your shoes and take a walk with me in the garden. However, pour yourself a tall glass of iced tea or lemonade and stay inside with the air conditioner!
Zinnias are blooming in three of our different garden spaces! Zinnias are one of our favorites, but unfortunately the Japanese beetles are loving them too! Another challenge!
Their colorful blooms bring a smile as they greet me. Coming next month, I will devote an entire blog post to highlight their beauty!
In the past, I attempted to grow dahlias and had little success. Every year Dahlia Avignon, with its snowy white petals, purplish stripes and speckles, offers a few blooms for my enjoyment! I keep saying to my ‘Head Gardener’ that we should dig it up, but when I see the blooms, I change my mind!
I love the old-fashioned gladioli. This year RM (aka Butch) built a wood structure to give support, as they are over five feet tall. EM’s favorite color is hot pink, making these glads her favorite!
Their blooms open from bottom to top. I love the way they look in the June garden and rarely cut them. I just enjoy their beauty from my kitchen window!
This is a view down the right side of the garden. The concrete bench was moved from the old historic home site a few years ago and is a great place for a potted plant. Beyond the fence is one of our patches of sunflowers that are in full bloom. A sunflower post will be coming soon!
I had to sneak this photo into my post. This beauty is called ‘Desert Sun’ and the ‘Bloodgood’ Japanese maple (seen in the background ) highlights its gorgeous coloring!
Daylilies are one of my favorite garden flowers. They are easy to grow, almost maintenance free, survive drought, and virtually disease and pest free! They can range in color from sunny yellows and blushing pinks to deep purples and electric greens. ‘Endless Beauty’ is a prolific bloomer…
…and is a dark rose color with a lemon ruffled edge and a large green throat. The blooms average 7.5 inches in diameter!
‘Echoes of Mercy’ daylily is a lavender rose with a purple eye above a green throat, with blooms that are five inches in diameter.
‘Bold Awakening’ is always my first daylily to bloom, usually mid-May, It is a cream yellow with purple eye above a green throat. Its blooms measure six and a half inches.
‘Lake Norman Sunset’ was a wonderful surprise gift a few years ago from my Tea on Tuesdays and Monday Morning Blooms friend, Mary @ Home Is Where the Boat Is. It is a lovely shade of pink with white midribs and bright green throat!
We have had a few unusual garden happenings this season. This scene of the back of our garden looks quite different from years past. Notice closely the two small sunshine ligustrums on either side of a smaller limelight hydrangea. Two original large ligustrums were replaced with new plants, and two other originals were removed completely as they were crowding out other plants. The two limelights are also new plantings. Also note the apricot drift roses which were removed, but insisted on returning from left behind roots.
This photo is from last year and you can see the size of the sunshine ligustrums.
Hibiscus Moscheutos, ‘Luna Red’ (hardy hibiscus) is a compact and well branched perennial. It is known for its huge, deep burgundy red flowers, six to eight inches across!
A very strange blooming time for our ‘Autumn Fire Sedum’ has us baffled. I googled and could not find anything on why a sedum would bloom 2 1/2 months early. I sought an answer from several expert gardeners and everyone was puzzled.
The sedum is very pretty with the chaste tree in the background, but this should be happening in September! Maybe some of you have an idea? Maybe the emergence of the cicadas confused everything, HA! Contrary to what some experts claimed, cicadas did cause damage…just another challenge, but they are now gone!
I made a bold statement that I would not plant cosmos again! Guess what, I did! I should say that the ‘Head Gardener’ planted them. When I saw the ‘Double Click Bicolor Pink’, in the seed catalogue, I had a change of heart…
…and ordered seeds for these three inch, fully double and semi-double bicolor flowers in a range of pink to white! I like that these are on a strong stem for cutting!
“The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies.”
~Gertrude Jekyll
Thank you for your visit and gracious comments. For those enduring the oppressive heat, stay cool and hydrated. Wishing you a joy-filled day!
Linking with: Pieced Pastimes, Between Naps on the Porch, Katherines Corner, Follow The Yellow Brick Home,
Life and Linda
Good Morning, and Happy Tuesday! Your gardens are such a delight to see on this early morning. Your zinnias are beautiful, along with your gorgeous collections of lilies! I need to add some new lilies, but where? Our gardens are so full! But I am sure I will make room!
Gardening is always an ever-changing job. Year after year, the gardens change and need the gardener’s love. I need to work out in my front garden. It is overcrowded!
Thank you for sharing your garden beauty with us. I always enjoy the stroll. I look forward to your posts on Zinnias and Sunflowers!
Happy Tuesday dear friend!
Thank you, Nancy. Yes, gardening is always changing and challenging! Enjoy your day!
I love this garden update Pam. the sunflower against the Bloodgood is fabulous, makes me wish for fall just because of the colors.
Guess what? There IS a pest for daylilies – squirrels! I had one eat almost every single bud & flower of one patch of mine, and used the concrete bench like yours as his picnic table! 😡
The ligustrum is a testament to the life cycle of gardening, with maturity and size. I love the fresh, clean look of new plants as well as the look when mature and full, both have their highs and lows. I also have a volunteer rose from a dig when we first moved in – a red knockout is forcing its survival in one bed. The new cosmos is so pretty!
Looking forward to your dedicated posts coming up. Happy gardening!
Thank you, Rita. The heat is making me and the garden tired and it isn’t even July yet. Squirrels are considered pests to us, so far they haven’t eaten my daylilies! Yes, it was hard to let the mature ligustrums go, but they were overcrowding the limelights. Have a wonderful Tuesday!
What a fabulous floral show you have! Lovely all around.
Thank you, Carole. As you very well know, it is a lot of work!
All of your flowers and gardens are so beautiful. Our daylilies are almost through blooming except for a few repeat bloomers. It is getting almost too hot to work outside except for early mornings and late evenings . Yard work is callng. I must get busy.
Thank you, Rachel. Yes, early morning and late evening is the only time I can be in the garden, the heat is oppressive! Take care in this heat!
Everything looks beautiful as always. I’m sure keeping everything happy in this heat is a lot of hard work, put it certainly is paying off~ I especially love the glads, beautiful! That is weird about the early blooming of the Autumn Fire Sedum, do you think it could be because it is so hot so early in the summer this year? I know that it feels like August to me! I’m looking forward to your sunflower post, I adore sunflowers~ Stay cool Pam!
Thank you, Jenna! Butch hates to see our water bill, we are watering some plants twice a day. I also love sunflowers 🌻
Beautiful Pam. Love the colors of the sunflowers. The beauty in nature is amazing. Have a great week. Hugs. Kris
Thank you, Kris! Have a wonderful week!
Happy Very Hot Tuesday, Pam! There is not a cloud in the sky at the moment, and we desperately need rain here too. Your garden looks magnificent, despite the challenges! Your zinnias are much further along than mine, and I cannot wait to start harvesting some blooms! My David Austin rose (a gift given in memory of my sweet Rosie) was covered with new buds on Saturday, and by Sunday the Japanese beetles had destroyed them!! A fresh pitcher of sweet tea is in the fridge, so I am prepared to face the day!!
Roxanne, those horrible Japanese beetles destroying your DA rose is so aggravating! Sweet tea sounds fabulous on this very hot day! Take care if you are outdoors!
At first I thought Echoes of mercy was an orchid. It sure is pretty. I’ve been praying for your area to receive a good soaking rain. I have to water everyday too. This is a Desert. But my peppers, tomatoes and zucchini are looking good. They are beginning to grow fruit. I love to share. It’s hot here also and upper 90’s are forecast. But I love summer because I don’t have to wear a coat!
Dearest Alice, I am so happy your garden is producing wonderful vegetables. Those three you mentioned would be a great casserole or fresh salad. Be careful in the heat if you are outdoors and stay hydrated!
I’d be happy to be hot if it was for a walk in your magnificent garden. It truly is spectacular, Pam, with so much wonderful color. What a haven!
Thanks so much, Jeanie! Bring a hat and sunglasses ❤️
Pam, Your garden looks like it’s flourishing and despite by this heat and lack of rain. I’m out the door to walk the dogs at 6 am, then hitting the garden to deadhead and water. By 8:30, I’m hot, tired and drenched! 🥵 Your zinnias are so cheery and I can’t take my eyes off that gorgeous sunflower…what a show stopper! 🌻 I planted some zinnia seeds the end of April and it’s been a battle with the bunnies ever since. Gorgeous daylilies. . . ‘Endless Beauty’ is definitely living up to its name! So glad you’re enjoying ‘Lake Norman’ Sunset in your garden. The reappearance of apricot drift roses is a sign you should keep them. 😊 Your early blooming ‘Autumn Fire Sedum’ is a quite a mystery! Hope you manage to stay cool this week. 💗
Mary, I feel your pain, with the deadheading and watering! We hate to see our water bill, it has been constant deep watering for our big shrubs. We not only have 100 degree heat but we also have wind every day. I can’t possibly understand the sedum, it is bizarre. Stay cool if you can!
This reminds me that I haven’t planted Zinnias in a few years and I don’t know why. I always love cutting them to bring indoors. We’ve been getting lots of rain in South Alabama – which makes it humid, but it also makes my figs plentiful and giant this year! Hang in there and fan yourself.
I love figs, if I lived near you I would come by and get a few. I love them with a drizzle of honey and crumbles of goat cheese!
I love your gardens Pam. Thank you for the beautiful tour. When we first moved to Florida, our landscaper said we needed to remove a few plants and at first I was horrified as I knew how long it took to bring plants to this level in Kansas. He assured me that culling out plants would make the planting areas look nicer and that soon (within weeks) the new would be as large as we would want them to be. And he was right. Now I cull all the time. Looking forward to the zinnia’s post. It was my Mother’s favorite flower. Stay cool my friend. We are still having rain daily…along with the heat but I don’t have to drag a water hose to those pots in the garden not under the automatic sprinkler system.
Thank you, Kari. How sweet that zinnias were your mother’s favorite flower. I do love all of their colorful blooms! Removing and editing is alway necessary with gardening. I love your secret garden my friend!
Oh, Pam, this made my day! I’m getting ready to call it an evening, but I had to come and visit the garden.
I love zinnias, too! But my favorite pic has to be the special sunflower with the maple in the background (is it because of my love for fall colors?).
Everything is blooming so beautifully; I hope the beetles leave things alone!
It’s very hot here, too. I’d love to come and sip tea and sit at your place! As always, your words and truth from the Word warm my heart.
I think it’s going to storm in SW MO tonight. I’m praying for all of you and your situations, precious Pam. I love you dearly!
Thank you, Karla 🌻 I pray for sweet rest for you tonight dear friend. May God grant you a night free from pain and deep restoring sleep! I love you dearly and you are always in my prayers and my heart 🙏🏻❤️🙏🏻
Beautiful blooms in your garden. My Sedum is in full bloom here in Eastern NC. I thought it was because of the upper nineties temperature…with no rain.
Thank you, Nancy. I had thought that the heat could possibly have caused the early blooming!
Pam, Your garden landscaping is beautiful! Those gladiolas are gorgeous. The cosmos, dahlias, and day lilies are outstanding! The Japanese beetles are giving us a headache as well. They are all over our zinnias and roses. Your zinnias are so colorful and happy! The sunflower against the Japanese maple is lovely. Thanks for a tour of your garden. Your new plantings will thrive as you both have a green thumb. Wouldn’t it be nice to transplant the mature plants where you need them? When our airport expanded many years ago and they bought the adjacent houses, they let landscapers come in with equipment and lift the mature plants up by the roots and sell them to the public. Wouldn’t that be a nice piece of equipment to have? I don’t know if they thrived after that, but if they did, you would have an instant mature garden if you could afford the plants and the cost of planting them! We got a little rain today so we hope it will come your way as well. Enjoy your afternoon. Clara ❤️
Thanks so much, Clara! The Japanese beetles are a menace. I can’t even imagine what those mature plants would cost. We had a misting of rain this morning and hopeful we will get a good steady rain. Happy Thursday, Clara ❤️
Your hot day sounds delightful on a winter’s chilly day here Pam. It’s 53F here at the moment.
Your garden as always looks lovely & such lovely colours too!
Blessings sweet friend,
Jennifer
Jennifer, your temperatures sound delightful! Thank you, sweet friend!
Oh Pam, I always enjoy a walk through your breathtaking gardens! Your zinnia blooms are so pretty, and all of your daylily varieties are beautiful. With these triple digit days, some of my flowers are struggling. Stay cool and drink lots of sweet tea, dear friend! Have a wonderful week!
Thank you, Shannon. Our extreme heat is taking its toll on our flowers. We water every morning, but it is not as good as rain!
I sorry it’s so hot down outside, but your garden looks MAGNIFICANT! Wow, you have a green thumb.
Thank you, Jeanne. Finally we received rain on Friday and Saturday! Thanks so much!
I tell you, if I lived at your house, I don’t think I would ever want to go indoors, even in the oppressive heat! It is all so beautiful! I’m sure the view from your kitchen window is breathtaking! I’m so thankful you share the beauty with us here!
It is a labor of love that my sweet husband works so hard in our gardens!
What a beautiful glimpse into your June garden! Despite the heat and pesky Japanese beetles, your zinnias and dahlias are thriving. I love how you enjoy the blooms from your kitchen window. The daylilies sound stunning, and it’s intriguing to hear about your early-blooming sedum!
Thank you for sharing your gardening journey.
Thanks so much, I love gardening and there are always challenges. It is my pleasure to share!