The dog days of summer are here (in less than one week I’ll be back at school) and despite the heat, there’s a lot going on in my perennial garden. I’m thrilled that my red roses, pink roses and yellow roses (magic carpet ground cover roses) are still blooming and growing fast. My dwarf day lilies are continuing to bloom and give my garden color. My spearmint is flowering nicely, almost time to take cuttings and dry them for cooking. My sedum, yarrow, coral bells and campanula continue to bloom. My thoughtful neighbor decided to spray industrial strength weed killer one two of my rose bushes while I was away on vacation… so I’m looking through my most recent rose catalog.
Spearmint Blooms
Lucky Lady Bug
It’s almost time to cut back the dried foliage on my tall day lilies, asiatic lilies, irises and gladiolas. Putting aside the seed pods I allowed to form on my yellow irises. Pulling chicks off my hens and planting them in small pots to share with my friends (still looking for a central PA garden swap).
It’s also my last major pruning in the garden for the year. Trimming my fast growing variegated euonymus which I like to keep small and spherical. Some weeding. Cleaning up the lines and maintaining the size on the arborvitae in my perennial garden. Weeding. Trimming my boxwood in the planter urns, to keep them small and spherical while the ivy continues to trail down the container. Weeding (okay, I have a lot of weeding, but it’s been a very wet spring & summer and I’ve been away a lot). Then time for a feeding.
The newest edition to my garden is a barometer with inset clock that I got on clearance. I hung it on the wall above my bistro set on my patio. I think it adds a nice touch to the otherwise blank wall (picture to come when camera is fixed).
The rock border on the back of the house needs to be finished (around my carpet roses) and some arborvitae, euonymus, and yarrow needs to be moved to that side… hopefully before the month is over (if Hubster will dig the holes).
The lady bugs crawl and work while I work. My cat Rory lays in the window sill watching me work. The baby bunnies hop around me, right up to my feet, not afraid of me (I guess I’ve become part of the garden).
At the end of next month I’ll start to plant my spring bulbs. What bulbs would you like to see me plant for next spring?
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