The summer garden???(long/photo heavy)

14 years ago

Usually the 1st of July finds me praying for at least a sprinkle of rain. Not the case this year.

Here in CT, it has been raining almost everyday since the end of April.

My gardens are in full sun, for the most part, and have been planted accordingly with those that are drought tolerant.

For the 1st time, I had to cut some of my salvias back to the ground because they were flopping all over. Especially onto other plants surrounding them.

Leaves of the remains of peonies are blackening. Gaillardia flowers rot before they have had a chance to fully open. Etc...

But some things are very happy with all of the H2O they have been receiving. It has not been necessary to offer supplemental water to the hydrangeas and astilbes which are loving it.

I expect it will continue to be an unusual, if not short, summer.

Here are a few of the beds with somewhat less bloom than I would have anticipated for this time of year.

Can't wait for the explosion of daylilies anytime now! They just plug along no matter what conditions they are presented.

Astilbes 'Bridal Veil' (white) and 'Fanal' (red).

The bed below is the alley alongside my garage. The deer dare not come so close to the house for this lily and so it was saved. Or so I thought!

Unfortunately, it has been under attack by lily leaf beetles which not only ate off most of the leaves on the main stalk, but also attacked two of the buds that I have removed.

I think I will have to remove this plant or it will become a continuing problem in the future and may extend itself to others. But, I will enjoy what's left for now.

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Comments (13)

plantmaven
14 years ago
Wonderful eye candy! I am always so glad when someone says photo heavy.

Kathy
BecR
14 years ago
Beautiful! Wish you could send some of that rain over here.

Am curious: what is that growing in the partitioned areas in photo #6---low growing and reddish-brown in color?

Becky
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girlgroupgirl
14 years ago
Those photos are just gorgeous!
If you'd like a little less rain and a few more warm sunny days, maybe we could swap weather, oh, say once a week for the rest of the summer?
gardengranny2
Original Author
14 years ago
bcr, those framed areas are planted with 2 different varieties of sedum. Namely, sedum kamchatkum and sedum spurium(spelling??).

Kamchatkum blooms in May w/yellow flowers. Dark green foliage.
Spurium blooms in late July/early August w/pink flowers.
Blend of green/pink foliage (takes a brown cast in the photo).

Both remain right through our rigorous winters and only need to freshen up in the spring.
newyorkrita
14 years ago
Beautiful, beautiful gardens. You have such a lovely property. I remember your posting some garden secenes of your backyard earlier in the year. Its so nice to see it now, in full summer.
blondiesc
14 years ago
Beautiful! I especially love the geraniums!
Vikki1747
14 years ago
Your garden beds are breathtaking! I am an astilbe addict and your Astilbes 'Bridal Veil' is so beautiful. I loved seeing all your photos.
Thank you!
Vikki
User
14 years ago
OH so lush...you really do have beautiful gardens. I love the slope and how you have it planted.

Please do send rain...we are so dry and HOT here in Al. c
laura_in_cinti
14 years ago
Your gardens are beautiful! I so loved seeing your photos as I also have a sloping yard. I really enjoyed seeing how you laid things out to take advantage of that.
phonegirl
14 years ago
Gardengranny,

Your name fits you. You must spend every minute awake out there taking care of your yard. Didn't see a weed. Do you have under ground sprinklers to take care of all of your yard? So beautiful and thanks for sharing. Punk
gardengranny2
Original Author
14 years ago
Phonegirl, thanks for the kind comments.

I take a walk around the garden early every morning (when posssible) to dead head and pull any visible weeds. The weeds tend to grow next to plants with leaf structure similar to their own and are sometimes difficult to spot until they get to be 3 ft. tall.

I try very hard to stay on top of this as often as I can.
Rheumatoid arthritis diagnosed about 4 yrs ago sometimes finds me unable to even scratch my nose. I never know when it will flare. As a result, I can't put things off until tomorrow or it may be a while before I'm able to do anything.

As for the sprinkler system, ahh no. We don't have one. DH says we should do that soon as we are not getting any younger. Dragging hoses up and down 200 ft. of hill gets to be a real pain, but I honestly don't think I would use it often enough for the benefit to exceed the cost. I rarely water anything other than the pots in my "ghetto" and the strawberries growing in the planters on my deck rails.

It has to have been 2-3 weeks w/o rain before I would even consider watering. And while the lawn looks lush and green now, it usually has started to crisp and brown up at this point in July. This continues to be an unusually rainy and cooler than normal gardening year.

If you look at previous posts, you may see the hose extension hanging on the fence near the bottom of the hill.
angelcub
14 years ago
Your gardens are magazine worthy! Such inspiration! I love that sloped area with the sedums. You've really done an excellent job of "taming" your slope. I just want to throw down a blankie and take a nap amidst all that beauty! A nap with one eye open so as not to miss anything. : )

TFS!
Diana
christinmk z5b eastern WA
14 years ago
I remember when you posted in early spring...look at everything now! keeer-POW! Waves of color and perfectly laid out boarders. You have done a great job with the staggering of heights, which is something I will forever be working on. The colors you have work wonderfully together. Your lawn is fab; I love rolling lawns.
And I love your sedum beds. Didn't you say the previous owner was going to put a pond or pool in there??

There are a few things I am curious about... that tall magenta/purple flower in pics 5, 6, 9, and 10. It looks like a giant Astilbe. And that beautiful gold/bronze tinged shrub in the back of your gardens. Pagoda dogwood? I love the look of it.
Thank you for sharing your joy with us!
CMK