Archives for June 2017

On June 22nd, I had 3.5 inches of water in the rain gauge.

On June 23rd, I went out to check how much rain had fallen in the night.

At first I couldn’t find the line of the water.

Then I realized why.

It was full.  From 3.5 to 8 inches of water.

There was 2-3 hours straight of lightening, thunder, and pouring rain. Then I fell asleep, and I guess there was more.

A dam in a village upriver broke, and the water rose in our town.

This is someone’s back yard.

The park beside the river.

The sun was out today, and the waters have peaked, so hopefully no more rain for a bit.

I didn’t get too creative with the pots this year.

I bought some calibrochoa in some fun colours, torenia which I love,  fuchsia impatiens, some ivy spillers, and a variety of coleus and begonias.

This combination looks good every year, so I did it again.

Some fun colours, maybe too many.  We’ll see.

Such a beautiful colour of begonia.

Put the plumbago in pots this year.  I’ve had them in a sunny spot in a wheelbarrow other summers, so now they have more shade, which may not be good.  I have overwintered these plumbagos.

Window boxes hold begonias, coleus and bright impatiens, bold against the yellow brick of the house.

And the cement planter.  Still experimenting with this one, only the second year.

And I always have hanging fuchsia and streptocarpus for the hummingbirds.

I rarely buy prepared mixed planters, but I do find it a bit overwhelming every spring, getting them all planted.

So I’m happy when they are done, and I can just enjoy the colourful flowers all around the deck and patio!

 

A couple of years ago, I bought this shrub.  I always try to buy shrubs with some sort of bloom, but this one hasn’t bloomed since I planted it.  So I forgot what it was of course.

Until this spring when these little red blooms appeared.  Then I had to look it up and find out it is a calycanthus, or sweet shrub.

Little buds open up into lovely red blooms.

Leaves are big and glossy too.  So looks good even when blooms are done.

In a few years it should be really stunning, covered in these red flowers.

Fun to be surprised by something you forgot about!

Because of the mild winter, there was very little winter kill on the beautybush.

Both shrubs are putting on a good show this spring.

Masses of tiny flowers.

Not a common shrub in gardens, but definitely an uncommon beauty.

This is the vegetable garden on June 12th.

We planted it on May 30th, so some seeds are pretty slow. Two rows of beans are up, the other two rows are showing no growth yet.  Most of the other seeds are not up either.

The plants you see were started earlier.

Snapdragons and asters for cutting later.

Tomatoes.  Only 5 plants this year, with the new stakes from Lee Valley.

A few peppers, still looking pretty spindly.

Variety of herbs – rosemary, thyme, cilantro, parsley, basil, and mint.

Lettuce.

And a bit of space for cucumbers, zucchini, and butternut squash.

I think the soil was still a little wet when it was tilled. It is hard and clumpy, which I’ve never had before.

I don’t know how the vegetables will grow this year.  So far it does not look too good, but there is time yet.

And the electric fence was out of one bracket, so I know something tried to get in!

That’s working anyway!

The blooming trees have really been amazing this year.

This magnolia was so full and beautiful, and long lasting, with the cooler weather.

Then along come the flowering crabapples and redbuds.

Such a mass of delicate blossoms.

The Boomerang Lilac also looks and smells great this year.

And of course, a few pink tulips to fill in the gaps!