Its been hot and humid the last few days and feeling pretty tropical. My garden is beginning to look like a jungle since I haven’t bothered weeding or deadheading or much else lately. So although I may have retreated indoors to the AC for a bit, my plants don’t seem to mind the juicy air. In fact, some of them are pretty darn happy.

The dahlias are doing fine. I still have daylilies, shasta daisies, heliopsis, and phlox blooming too. I have plenty of color, now I just need a little pleasant weather so I can get out and enjoy the garden.

Wow – July got away from me. Gardening wasn’t the best, it rained nearly every day. And then it rained some more. At least I didn’t have to drag out the hoses all month. The daylilies were (and are still) beautiful. I picked blueberries and raspberries for weeks. The birds have been wonderful. Wrens and bluebirds are nesting again and feeding their young. Orioles are hitting the grape jelly big-time and hummingbirds are everywhere. Summertime and the livin’ is easy. I’ll weed later.

And lastly, this guy. There used to be really nice little rock garden plants in this planter. Used to be……

One more grouping of daylilies. I couldn’t resist. See you in August!

Have you ever noticed how many plants have flowers that look like fireworks?

The ensata was a stretch but it was too beautiful not to share.

Its been hot, its been chilly, its been wet, its been dry, typical New England. The robins fledged, and the first batch of wrens fledged but they are building again. The bluebirds are building again too. So we will have more entertainment. The varmints continue to do their thing. The baby rabbits are cute but oh so destructive!

I have eight different Iris Ensata. They need to be divided. I have decided that I will dig them in the fall and move to the wet spot where we used to have a willow. I have one ensata there now which is flourishing, and I think I will dig out the lilies and siberian iris that are also in that spot, and then I will put all the ensatas in that area. In the meantime, here are two that are blooming now.

We went to our cabin in Maine for a long weekend. The orchids in the bog were all blooming – both pink and white

The daylilies have begun blooming and they will be the focus for July. Let the fireworks begin!

It been a roller coaster month. Really hot and dry then cool and rainy. Critters galore. The rabbits continue to munch on some favorites. The bluebirds fledged and the robins and wrens are about ready to go. Deer circumvent the perimeter of the meadow. Chipmunks are everywhere now. Fireflies were out the other night. The praying mantis egg cases hatched and the polliwogs turned into frogs. Life goes on.

Today it is 46 and raining. Last Wednesday it was 91 and dry. You have to love the New England weather. We gardeners are not happy that Memorial day observances are rather chilly and wet, but we are thrilled to have the rain to help ease the drought conditions. It has been a busy few weeks. The bluebirds fledged a couple of days ago.. we saw four but there may have been more. The wrens are building everywhere and momma robin has laid some beautiful blue eggs in a cedar tree right outside our breakfast table window. Hummingbirds are regular visitors to the feeder and orioles are slurping up the grape jelly and oranges. We have had other visitors too: deer in the meadow, rabbits, turkeys, a huge milk snake and raccoons. (They left their footprints in the pollen on the front porch). Ready for some flowers?

Happy Memorial Day. We will never forget those who served

We have had a glorious spring with pleasant temps and rain when we needed it. Spring is fading though, warmer temps are on the way and there’s no rain in sight so its time to drag out the hoses again. The spring ephemerals will be disappearing soon, so I thought I would photograph them before they go

I hope to get out in the garden and photograph some more plants this week. Busy, busy, busy times

We have gotten a lot of rain recently, and the plants love it. The ephemerals are in their glory. This time of year is fairyland – its just magical. Of course, the critters do their best to harass me. Baby rabbits are munching and the voles really wrecked havoc over the winter so I am transplanting a lot of things to fill in the barren spots. At the end of each day I am tired and sore but happy.

This little guy has lots to nibble on

There is much more but this post is long enough. I hope you enjoy it.

Spring has sprung. We have returned from the sunny south and the garden is waking up.

The above photos are the nice things that are happening. Unfortunately, I discovered that my 3 orange deciduous rhododendrons are covered in scale. Absolutely covered. I decided I needed to remove them. I started with the chainsaw and broke the chain. Then I moved on to the sawzall. That worked pretty well. I decided to leave one plant to see if it will make a come back and “hoick out” the other two.

Downside: a sore back and two beautiful shrubs gone. Upside: lots of space to move crowded plants into. The grass is getting green. The epimedium are almost ready to pop and …….we might have snow on Friday. The gardener sighs.

Spring is here. According to the calendar, and according to weather reports it sure looks like spring weather is here as well. There are reports of spring peepers. Will it last? Who knows. We usually get a tease or two of warm weather and then just when plants are up and sometimes even blooming, we get a snow in April or a big freeze and that messes everything up. We will have to see.

I’m writing this from afar so I can’t go out and actually look at the garden and send photos of shoots or buds. Are the daffodils up yet? Is the forsythia budding? Are the crocuses up and being eaten by rabbits? Did the voles return and eat everything over the winter? Did the deer break through the barriers and nibble the azalea buds? Have the bears come out of hibernation and torn down the bird feeders hoping for a few old seeds left behind? Those questions and more will have to wait a couple more weeks to be answered. There is work being done in the house while we are gone, and its not quite ready for us to come back yet. There will be much to see when we return, both inside and out.

In the meantime, we will enjoy a bit more of the ocean and warmth. This spring feels more hopeful than last year’s did. I look forward to seeing my gardening friends again in person and getting on with life.

Happy Spring!