The Early Summer Garden

Hello and welcome friends! Can you believe this is the last day of June and 2026 is half over?

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.””
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭91‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭(ESV‬‬)

I would invite you to talk a walk in the garden, but with a temperature of 96+ and heat index values of 105 to 109, I advise staying inside with the AC and scrolling through the photos and reading the commentary in comfort!

This photo was taken a couple of weeks ago. Now the sunflowers are so tall that we need a ladder to cut the blooms! A blog post with sunflowers and zinnias will hopefully be coming mid-July! Friends who visit often ask what kind of tree has the purple spike blooms. The Chaste (Vitex) tree is constantly buzzing with bees and hummingbirds visit often as well!

‘Endless Beauty’ daylily is rose pink with a lemon ruffled edge and a large green throat. It is the most prolific bloomer of my four varieties of day lilies!

The blooms measure about 7.5 inches. It began blooming around the middle of May and is still blooming.

Last year it bloomed again in September which was a first.

Old-fashioned gladiolas remind me of my maternal grandmother who definitely had a green thumb! In her small flower garden, she always had the prettiest gladiolas!

Gladiolas are available in a rainbow of gorgeous colors. This is our EM’s favorite color and she is excited to see them bloom!

Gladiolus grow best in full sun. Generations of gardeners have loved gladiolas with their elegant 3-flower spikes with orchid-like blooms.

We learned many years ago to keep mint in a pot! Daylilies surround the old chair.

‘Echoes of Mercy’ is a lavender-rose daylily with a purple eye above a green throat, with blooms that are 5 inches in diameter.

‘Lake Norman Sunset’ daylily has pastel coloring of pink and white midribs and green throat.

This lovely daylily was a gift from Mary.

Lake Norman Sunset has been blooming for several weeks, and I noticed three blooms yesterday.

I purchased this daylily last year at a large garden shop with no info nor identifying name. I have searched and found several possibilities, but cannot narrow it down. Do you have an idea?

Black-eyed Susan’s, a special gift several years ago from The Swag Garden high in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. The original plant resides only a few yards from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park!

I have one remaining dahlia that manages to produce a few stunning blooms every year. ‘Dahlia Avignon’ is a mystery in our garden. Normally the blooms are creamy white and irregularly streaked with deep purple, burgundy, and lilac speckles. No two flowers are exactly alike. This bloom was opening to more purple than white. I failed to get a photo fully opened, but it was beautiful!

Growing behind the cottage garden fence is Crocosmia, a gift from my dear friend, Martha. It is a member of the Iris family and is a magnet for hummingbirds!

‘Bold Awakening’ is always the first daylily to bloom!

It is a cream yellow with purple eye above a green throat with blooms that are 6.5 inches.

There is a reason they are called daylilies…each individual flower opens in the morning and wilts by evening. Daylilies are incredibly hardy, long-lived perennials. With basic watering and occasional dividing, a single plant or clump can live and bloom reliably for decades.