July Garden

The gardens are flourishing! We have had lots of rain, translate lots of time to sew and everything has grown!
Above is a very pretty red salvia. I have never had this before but will be putting it back in my garden again next year.

The older I get the harder it is to motivate myself to weed, dig and do everything needed to garden.

These hibiscus are looking pretty good but truthfully the red reminds me of gobs of blood! In hindsight I would have chosen a different color but they seem to like where they are living...

 I chose these purple vinca and this was not my first choice. They are fine but I like the red/pink ones better. Next year.

I will always have Black Eyed Susans in my garden. They are happy warriors and perform continuously all summer long. They are a happy yellow backdrop for all the other flowers.

Black and Blue salvia, they really do look black at times!

 My Beauty bush (calicarpa) with berries that will soon be purple. This has started to self sew in my garden. Luckily I have shared this pretty fall bush. The leaves are a lovely lime green too.

I recieved a few sprigs of this last summer from my neighbor. We are not sure what it is but she said she thought it was a type of perennial impatient. I just love how delicate it is and it is in a happy place!

These petunias with the sweet potato vine make a great color combination. The geranium in this planter didn't do well this year and I am not sure why.

My butterfly bush seems a late in blooming this year. The butterflies have found it though!

I love these red cone flowers and this year they are doing great!

I have been a maniac with the liquid fence to keep the deer away from my daylilies. The reds ones are a gorgeous addition to the green in the garden. So far so good....

They did get some of the yellow ones but maybe next year I will succeed!

The hydrangea are so so. I think snow laying on the plants affects them. It's ok I will take the few little pops of purple here and there.

I don't know what I was thinking with the orange coleus....I should have gone with a different color. At least they will look good at Halloween!

Th fuchsia have struggled this year and I am not sure why....

Usually impatients do not do well here but this year the purple is a welcome relief in the shade.

Picture these against a bright blue sky, perfect!

The sycamore tree we planted a few years ago has really taken off. It is a beautiful shape and the bark has started to peel. This is my favorite tree.

I have some sunflowers that have survived the deer and bunnies at least for now! I had to stake them so the storms don't knock the over.

This is the garden I have been avoiding. It is in the back yard. The coneflowers have taken over. I am not a fan of the purple ones, they look like weeds to me BUT the bees, butterflies and hummingbirds love them. It would also be a lot of work to dig it all out....

This is another great little hard working annual flower called melampodium. I look for it every year. It is low growing but you can pick it to put into a bouquet.

No matter how hot it is outside, we sit out on the porch every single night. The end of day light that hits this section of the woods always makes me feel peaceful. I always think how lucky I am to see this every day.

We no longer see sunsets as the trees have grown for the past 32 years we have lived here but the light is always lovely.
I was gardening the other day and thinking it is very much like quilting. You can pick out the colors but sometimes they don't look right. Things self sow that you didn't plan and are gorgeous together.  You can plan, pick out the pattern/plants and buy all the stuff but if you don't do the work you won't get the results.
Gardening also gives me lots of time to think and plan things uninterrupted. I don't take my phone out with me and very seldom listen to anything other than the birds. The feel of the dirt on my hands, the sun on my face, the sweat and sore muscles are something I hope I can still experience for a long time to come.

Kelly