Dee, thanks for that idea. I had a cinder block bed that I wanted to try out and I just couldn't make it work for me and I took it down. I think you are right, with a small property, there is no out of the way place to put one without it staring you in the face, but I don't think that was all of it. I thought it heated up more than other beds and crops didn't grow as well. Have you had any of those issues?

Defrost, sorry you are having problems with voles. I hope the hardware cloth takes care of that problem this year. I have one bed with hardware cloth on the bottom. I haven't really put it to the test yet, because the rabbits have been more the problem than anything so far.

It is POURing here right now! All my rainbarrels are full from yesterday. This is an amazing amount of rain for June. Everything is going to be so happy with it. Especially my shrubs, some of which already have been too dry, with yellowing needles on the interior of two large Taxus. And all the shrubs that are finishing up bloom are getting a good trim, so perfect timing for that too. I can't remember heading into July with a lot of moisture, for a long time. And another week I barely have to water! And I finally bought a new hose nozzle that just got delivered yesterday, that I'm waiting to try out. [g] Forecast is for 4 days of comfortable temps and sunshine once the rain stops. How great is that!

Defrost I love the poppy... can't believe how great it looks in such a inhospitable spot. Are poppies that easy to grow in general - or just the variety or your environment I wonder? Putting them on the list for next year.

We deserve this rainy early spring after last year that was so dry it killed much of my non-irrigated lawn and blew up water bills for the garden.

PM2 yes unfortunately rabbits eat 100% of any oakleaf vegetation they can reach, and even chew through some of the stems to get higher stuff. I'm hoping once it hardens off, they may leave it alone... we'll see. I have a simple chickenwire fence around the garden that's worked for rabbits and groundhogs so far, but it's a bit of a hassle, so I think future expansions I'll try the raised approach too. Here's a funny shot of one gazing wistfully through the fence last year lol.

hahaha, omg, that photo is great, Gregg! I almost feel bad for the little guy. I'm sure you don't though!

I'm starting to have an issue I think with voles. I had a fairly large rose bush that suddenly one day just looked limp and I thought, uh oh. Sure enough, I went over and gave it the slightest tug upwards and it came right up. Nothing at all holding it in the ground. I stuck it in a pot and there is still some green on it so I'm cautiously optimistic. Debating whether to cut it all down to the bottom green stems or if that will completely kill it.

PM2, I've never noticed any heat issue with my cinderblock beds. I was actually a bit worried last fall, as I stuck a rose in there that I dug up to transplant. When I dug it up, it had a dangerously thin root (pretty much only ONE root) which surprised me because the rose always did fairly well. Since I wasn't sure it was going to permanently live in it's new spot, I put it in the raised bed, since the soil here is nice and deep and root/rock free. I did worry that the bed might be too COLD over the winter, being raised and all, but the rose came through fine and bloomed great this year. I'm still afraid to dig it up, lol, so will wait till at least fall and maybe even next year, in the hopes the roots will grow. Here's a photo - almost looks like there was a graft that got eaten away??

Awesome poppy defrost! What a great color!

:)

Dee

Gregg - I checked my Hydrangea and I couldn’t see any damage from the rabbits. How lucky is that? [g] I’m still covering some of my vegetables with milk crates at night, but the other day in the middle of the day, noontime, the rabbit was back and eating my Redbor Kale. He also chewed all my Dinosaur Kale back to the main stem and some green bean leaves. Ignored broccoli, Bok Choy and lettuce plants. When the plants are covered up, I see him out there eating clover. I can’t figure him out. I thought rabbits were only out from dusk to dawn? I can't keep my vegetables covered with milk crates during the day, they don't get enough sun as it is.

BTW, Gregg, as for using higher vegetable beds. I do want to do that, but I'm wondering about having to use double the fill?

Dee, now that I take a second look at that photo, it really does look like he just longing to get into that garden. [g]

When I had an issue with a rose, I posted over on the Rose forum and they figured it out right away and I had it fixed in no time flat. I can’t tell from your photo what the problem is at all. Is this what the rose looked like before you planted it in the raised bed?

Dee, a friend resorted to planting in wire baskets she bought at the dollar store to keep voles from chewing roots. She lost a lot of perennials.

Gregg, the poppy is an annual I once bought at the local nursery when they were growing a lot of their things from seed. Of course, the tag is long gone. This is the best it has ever looked but I suspect it is actually a little cluster of plants growing together. Usually the plants only produce a couple of blooms. I just let seed go where it wants and most of it is against the south foundation of the house but under the kitchen window where in addition to the pea stone drip area, I have a narrow border where I plant tomatoes. So the plants in that area might be getting some benefit from fertilizer. I'm happy to share seed. I think we can private message people here.

Storms bypassed us yesterday so I should have gotten outside. It's high time for me to finish vegetable planting/gardening and start some perennial bed renovations. I have three yarrows waiting for a new home. I have a circle bed where I think shastas have taken up more then their fair share of space but at least the other half of the circle can still be dug up and renovated. I should have echinacae in this bed which I never clean up in the fall so the birds can enjoy the seed heads. A lovely day lily planted on the north side of the circle likes to point its flowers to the sun! Our kitchen window is north of the garden so I'd like it to look nicer than it does.

PM2, I posted on the rose forum and no one could really help me with questions about the roots of that rose. Didn't get many responses to that or to a rose ID question. I'll let the rose grow this season undisturbed and move it next spring, and hope for the best.

defrost do you happen to have more info on the wire baskets? The size of the openings, how big they were etc? I guess I can look around. I just have such large plantings in that bed I can't imagine digging them up and replanting in baskets. Clumps of daises, daylilies, asters that have been there 20 years, roses, a large hydrangea. If more things start getting affected I guess I'll HAVE to do something, but I don't relish the idea of digging up that whole bed lol! And I'll have to dig BIG holes to fit the baskets back in the ground too lol. Ah, the things we do to save our plants.

Glorious day here. Too bad I missed most of it at work (where, btw, it was dreadfully hot. Plexiglass dividers, masks, and several fans going at once do not make for great verbal interaction with the public lol.) Going this evening to help my daughter in her garden though, so I will get my hands dirty on this beautiful day after all!

:)

Dee

Defrost thank you for the kind offer about the seeds but I should probably be able to find something similar around here now that I have an idea what to look for.

Pm2 I guess the rabbits must be like people some don't like lobster, and others will even eat the green stuff out of the belly. Mine do love that clover too though! Good point about the higher beds in the fill. I've seen videos where people feel their beds with rotten logs up to a point, which obviously rot over time. Not sure how well it works but it seems to make some sense if you have logs around.

Defrost you reminded me of the daylilies. Some people give them a bad rap, but the few that I have don't see the Sun until 3:30 p.m. but still put up pretty yellow flowers.. can't beat that!

Dee, I'll try to het more info about baskets. i thought they were small wire mesh waste baskets. i've seen some made from hardware cloth but expensive. when I researched hardware cloth for the bottom of my new raised bed I got quarter inch mesh. Half inch is too large, voles can squeeze thru.

I have a large area of volunteer kale critters could be eating instead of tomato plants. I'll try apricots on the snap traps. My local grower said they used bubble gum so I'll also het some gum to put around. gum fouls up their digestive shstem. We did pull up some landscape plastic that had a path in the grass leading to it where we expected to uncover a nest but didn't find one.

I went on a garden tour in the Tamworth NH area years ago. some people edged their raised beds with rock to help warm them sooner in spring. My narrow border is edged on the east side with rocks and I have not had any perennial plant loss. i have hosta, day lilies, catmint, lambs ears, etc. Due to the slope, the east edge is probably eight inches high. Hugelkultur uses of logs is fascinating. I originally built my vegetable beds using the lasagna method. First year 24 inches high but compacted to 12 by spring and now level with surround lawn six years later. To further mystify, my small high tunnel is covered with 6mm greenhouse plastic. The ground never freezes inside. No auxillary heating.

A second cousin and her husband bought the property across the road from us. The house is being completely renovated. Her inlaws camp in their yard each summer and love gardening and yard work. yesterday they came over to get dill seedlings and herb divisions. It was so pleasant to meet them and grub around in the dirt. Their son wanted garlic in their new vegetable garden and neither knew it needed to be planted last fall. Timing was good however to given them a handful of garlic scapes and also a salad turnip to taste.

Dee, Tell me more about this rose root. I’m a novice with roses. I know the few basics I need to and that’s about it. [g] I thought that was a photo of the rose root before you transplanted it into the raised cinder block bed and that it was doing well in that bed? It’s not a 2nd rose, right?

I would move it in the spring for sure. I don’t amend my soil when I plant, I just top dress in the spring and then a 2nd time before a second flush of bloom. Plus organic foliar feeding bi-weekly. That’s just how I would do it as a novice and I’d feel confident in that. It might not be everything you can do, but seems like a solid choice to me. I know that doesn’t help identify the problem. Maybe you could bump up your thread again and see if anyone responds. It might be a busy time for rose growers?

I haven’t tried the baskets for voles. I know I have some, they just haven’t gotten to be that much of a problem yet. I can see using baskets each time you plant a new plant but, digging up a whole border to do over? I might consider doing just my most favorites that I just don’t want to lose. Or, any plants that the voles seem to be disturbing the most. And if I had to transplant or move any, I’d add the baskets at that point. Of course, I don’t see how you put a large Hydrangea in a wire basket. I think not. I would use hardware cloth and make my own baskets the size I needed them, and start adding them when you can, I think.

I read an article once about a woman who tried planting a lot of garlic in her beds as a deterrent to voles. She said she thought it was a a success. I bought some of the garlic bulbs she used - ‘Music’ - I liked the way they looked in a mixed bed. I wish I had a link to the article because it had photos of her garden with the garlic in it and it didn’t look bad. I forget if she put them in strategic places.

Here is an article on plants that voles avoid….just for another way to go about it.

Plants Voles Avoid

Gregg, I've heard of the log fill idea too. We end up with a lot of branches and prunings, that might be an idea to use in the bottom of a bed. But like Defrost's experience, even with regular fill, my beds get lower every year. I am going to have to figure out a way to keep them high enough without a lot of work.

Defrost - you are so lucky to have family move in near you!! Especially if they garden too. Sounds ideal.

The fill in my bed is lower too, and I've been slacking off on adding organic matter and cover cropping and I think that is all I need to do. Dig in toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls, shredded paper, banana peels, coffee grinds, etc. I dig them in the corners and in parts of my beds I'm not using. And when you cover crop and turn it in your soil level comes up too.

If I start new beds that are taller, I might collect branches from pruning and Maple branches that come down in storms to fill the bottom of the beds. Just a thought.

Oh, my. So much time has passed...

Nekobus, Awakening is beautiful. Zepherine Drouhin sounds like my kind of scent--overwhelming. I like it when the scent practically knocks me down.

Gregg--that does look like something has been lounging in your garden. Weird. Let us know if it turns out to be something other than a napping critter. That covetous rabbit is hysterical! Oh, to be so close and yet so far, he's thinking. What perfect timing for the photo. I've also heard of the logs, but they pile the logs up with grass clippings etc. Hugelkultur? I read in an old blog post from Texas that it works really well on slopes. The logs create a natural terracing affect. Duh, that reminds me that I have some areas where I could try it myself.

Brdrl--that's both a very nice climbing rose and a nice arbor. The blooms are a striking color. Your climbing hydgrangeas are impressive. I know it takes YEARS before they will bloom. Yours are fantatstic.

Defrost, the poppy is HAPPY! Do you think it could be Lauren's Grape? I had some seedlings of LG this year but am letting them die rather than deal with the watering.

Dee, I'm so glad you'll have family that close! I hope you have many years of shared gardening fun.

Reading about all of the voles reminds me that I think my vole problem is about nil. I have some areas so tunneled that walking on them in like walking on a foam mattress. I can see multiple entry holes. But, every single plant is just fine. I must have moles instead of voles. After reading of the damage voles can do, I am happy to have some moles hanging around!

I have some photos I will post from my phone. The garden is beautiful and I should take a few minutes to catch my breath and enjoy it!

I am envious of your generous rain, all of you south of me. Your inches has petered out by the time they reached us. We did get 2/10 of an inch (which is apparently what I'm supposed to say instead of 1/5 of an inch), which is still welcome. It filled my trash can/rain barrel! The heat has subsided, though. My coneflowers are all wilting, even in the lesser heat. They need their water rotation this weekend.

Whew there is a lot to keep up with here. We took a long weekend to Bar Harbor last week so I am way behind the eight ball.

Yes Deanna you likely have moles, not voles. Moles are killing me this year making an absolute mess of the gardens. Every so often one of my cats gets one but the problem persists.

Clematis Huldine has really taken off. I need to tie it up better onto the arbor though. The cloud of purple is a sweet little Monarda Blue Moon that I picked up last year on whim. Usually I avoid Monarda because of the powdery mildew issue but so far I haven't seen it on this one.

Keeping with the Clematis theme. I've been super impressed with Tie Dye.

Close up of Tie Dye flowers.

Another plant new last year that I'm highly recommending is Geranium Boom Chocolata. In the past I haven't had the best luck with fancy dark leaved Geranium cultivars but this one is a winner.

So this morning I'm off to my first garden tour in years being put on by a garden club in the next town over. Six gardens to see...woo hoo!

Sue

Prairemoon, thanks for the link to vole info.

yes, Deanna, I think the poppy is Laren's grape.

Sue, I greatly missed garden tours last year. There will be Open Garden Days in VT and NH July 10 and 11 that I hope to attend.

discovered voles have probably moved to a weedy asparagus bed after I walked around looking for new trails. there is a ton of volunteer kale in my high tunnel they could be eating instead of tomato plants.

Wow Sue, love that Clematis Huldine... is it all new growth just this year - they type that gets cut to the ground? I just love when everything's mature enough to blend together into one scene like you have vs individuals specimens spaced out in beds of mulch. Patience!

I remember about 20 years ago here in CT there was a garden tour book. You made a donation and got the book/'tickets' and I believe people just opened their gardens to visitors on different weekends. I left CT for a while and wasn't able to find anything about it when I came back. It was nice because it was easy to know about them all, while it can be hard to find out about individual club's events throughout the state. Does that ring a bell with anyone?

gregg, check out Garden Conservancy Open Days. it's a national program. i've seen some womderful gardens in VT and NH. there are a lot of listings in CT.

Gregg, the Garden Conservancy tours are back this year but you have to reserve and pay on line and in advance. The printed book seems to have become a thing of the past.

Huldine is a group 3 Clematis so it gets cut back to the ground in spring. I moved this plant from my old garden in Wethersfield in 2016, abused it in a pot for a couple of years before finally planting it in the spring of 2018. Huldine is one tough cookie.

This annual silene is in its second season and reseeded excessively. The seedlings germinated last fall and survived winter as little rosettes. I really like it here in this out-of-the-way spot, but it definitely wants to dominate. You can see the penstamon Twizzle Scarlet that survived. It likes the drought!
I finally mulched the brunnera/lungwort after 4 years. The mulch looks so much better than Dead oak leaves. The leaves tend to drown out the texture of the brunnera.
The rose Campion seedling is a great addition to the dianthus. I like my volunteer viola right in the middle of it.

Another type of annual Silene was winter sowed and I just threw it in two pots as it grew very fast in the jug. I am surprised that it is blooming this early. Given that I did extremely little shopping for potted annuals, it’s looking good.

Sue, that Tie Dye Clematis is very different. Purples are always a favorite too. Do most Clematis have more than four petals? It’s very pretty the closer you get you can see the tie dye effect. It also looks vigorous.

Deanna, the color of that Silene up against the gray is really nice. And the dianthus is very bright. It’s nice to see a big patch of it near rocks. I have some of that and it’s along the edge of a walk and I’m thinking of taking it out. It blooms for such a short time and it gets messy. Yours looks great where you have it!

Finally, late comments to above threads...days whiz by!

Sue, Geranium Boom Chocolata looks fantastic. I'm on on the lookout for it. I currently have only one dark geranium, Purple Ghost, but just dug it up to move. It has struggled, but I believe it is in too much shade. Do you know how it compares to Purple Ghost? Geranium Boom Chocolata looks like a true winner. I can't believe it's size! I've been struggling with how to pair Ghost when I move it, as in the shade it was complemented nicely Japanese Painted Fern and Marvelous Marble heuchera. I don't have anything to pair it with in sun, but I'm going to move some Lambs Ear with it based on your picture. The Lambs Ear really sets off the dark color well. And, once you grow Lambs Ear you always have plenty to share! It's a traveler for me.

Yes, PM, the dianthus does get messy. The Bath's Pink always blooms first, so it's a short time where they overlap and I can enjoy all the pinks. Bath's Pink was already well past prime in this picture. I do love dianthus, but they are certainly not long bloomers. My brighter pinks are in a bit more shade, I believe, and I wonder if that helps them last longer. I don't know.

We had nearly 1/2 inch of rain earlier this week. YEA!! And, we just got a refresher small shower this morning. The heat seems to be have broken and we are back to normal temps. What a relief! May was a scorcher.

Deanna, I believe the one I have that is like yours is called 'Maiden Pink Brilliancy'. That is what I have it listed as. That is the one I don't enjoy, I don't deadhead it and right now it's past bloom which didn't last more than 2 weeks if that, and now it's covered with brown seedheads, that I need to shear off. The flowers are so tiny, I am ready to give it away.

The only other Dianthus I have is 'Siberian Blues' which someone at GW shared with me on the seed exchange over a decade ago. I really enjoy that one and it blooms for a good month for me if I continuously deadhead it and not allow it to produce seeds. I let it go to seed 2 years ago and I had a lot or reseeding and I dug up sections of it in the Fall and increased it in a couple of places and I'm really enjoying that. I'm trying to remember, do I shear it back when it's done blooming to get a compact clean mound of foliage?

I have internet today!

PM2, Brilliancy bloomed for me all summer, the only low dianthus that has ever done that for me. but then it died over winter and I haven’t been able to replace it since I haven’t found it again.

About roses . . . I have Zepherine Drouhin, a double rugosa, Dr. Huey that sprouted from a rose that had it as an understock, an old shrub rose common around old farmhouses like mine, and New Dawn grown from cuttings from a neighbor. All are blooming now. I love ZD best for its scent, few thorns, and and bloom timing (now and again in late summer, so totally avoiding the Japanese beetles). Despite being listed as zone 5 or 6, it has done well here over something like 10 years including a couple of winters below -20F, though it dies back all but the warmest years years to the snow line. It is beyond my comprehension why anyone would plant New Dawn over an arch or near any path. it is visciously thorny and a very vigorous grower and I cannot imagine the amount of maintenance it would require to avoid it mauling passersby! Mine is away from paths and only is still around because it reminds me of my neighbor George and my FIL who gave me the plant, and both of whom are now gardening in the stars. With regard to rose roots, some just have sparse roots IME. When I dug up the old roses to protect them from foundation work many years ago, they had just one long root with few root hairs, but it did not seem to be an issue for them then or now. They bloom well and are beautifully scented, as well as suckering some, so they increase over time.

I will post this and then see if I have the bandwidth to add photos.

There are lots of red, orange and gold mushrooms in the woods right now. maybe they have always been there, but the dog gets me into the woods every day now.

Earlier this week at the end of one of our few rainy days; only 1/4”, so we are in dire need.

Dr. Huey, Kousa dogwwod, Zepherine Drouhin from the patio.

A shot of one end of one bed. I am finding difficult to find parts of the garden that are at all attractive after three seasons of severe neglect. I am finally starting to feel motivated after several seasons of family losses, though I have two more dear ones in hospice this summer, so I am not certain I will end up with more time to devote to the garden. I am grateful that I have the garden and woods to turn to along with the dog who motivates me to get outdoors!

The bees always love this rhododendron to the point that I can hear it as I step out the door.

Babs, Wow you had internet today! Lol I wonder why? Everyone was probablly outside trying to enjoy the day before it gets up into the 90s tomorrow and for the next 5 days.

I was curious about your description of Brilliancy that it blooms for you all summer. I have not had more than one round of blooms. Mine just finished blooming and I deadheaded them and soaked them this morning. I’ll keep my eye on them to see if I get another bloom.

This is the one you are talking about, right? Mine does not spread like that either. Again, I suspect dianthus prefers sandy soil to my clay heavy soil. I got this kind of affect this year with Siberian Blues, but only by grouping three plants together.

If you need another plant, I have five of them and would be happy to share.

I looked up your Dr Huey and that looks like a pretty rose. A really nice consolation prize after losing a rose.

I have not tried ZD but I keep hearing about it so I should consider it.

That is interesting your perspective on New Dawn. I have a small 4ft high fence - just one and a half panels that are attached to a gate where I enter my backyard by my garage. That is where my New Dawn has been residing since I bought her. And I was curious enough to look her up on my spreadsheet and I’m pretty surprised that I bought her in 2010 from Pickering Nursery in Canada. That was 11 years ago! Wow, I am so bad in trying to estimate time frames. I would have thought it was between 6-8yrs.

Anyway, I have not worked with it much at all. It is sitting in an area that is not full sun, maybe 6hrs of sun a day. It took quite awhile for it to grow. I have neglected it to the point of abuse. [g] I also have it mixed in with 2 other roses, a clematis and a honeysuckle, all on that small 4 ft section and a half of fence. This has actually been the best year I’ve had it. It bloomed more profusely, the flowers were larger with more petals and much more fragrant than I noticed before. I didn’t do anything new to her. I think we just got more rain than usual and that area is always dry. No one has gotten caught on it going through the gate because the honeysuckle and clematis are between New Dawn and the gate, I guess. I am hoping to put it on an arch or arbor over a gate, but maybe I should rethink it. Maybe on a trellis against the house might work better in the long run.

Boy, all you people with the Kousa Dogwoods are making me itchy to get one…lol. And that Dr Huey, now that I see the photo, that is a color I don’t have and think it would look great with some of my violet and purples. I’m liking it even more than the pink.

Is there still a Rhododendron in bloom there? Ours are all past now here.

Babs, I’m so sorry to hear that you have family who are struggling with their health. You have really had a lot the past few years and I don’t know how you do it! One loss is hard enough, multiples in such a short window, have to be so hard to cope with. And I completely understand what you are saying about the garden/woods/dog motivating you to get outside. When I am stressed, that is what gets me moving again, just walking outside and being in nature, hearing the sounds, feeling the breeze, hopefully something pretty to look at and always some work demanding I tend to it. And thankfully you have the dog this year! They make a lot of difference when people relationships are in flux.

PM2, the rhododendron pictured in my previous post bloomed early in the month, likely roseum elegans. i do have two just ending now, Independence Day (sorry no photo) which is a selection of the native R. maximum, and a deciduous one I don’t recall the name of, pictured below. I love its peachy combo of colors and shiny, healthy foliage.

A couple more photos

Clematis Gravetye Beauty and an unnamed Heuchera tthat has been blooming for at least a month.

More mushrooms

and a native Lysimachia growing in one of the wet areas along with leatherleaf and sedges.

Babs, so sorry to hear about your situation. I hope you find some peace in your garden. I know sometimes it's worse because you feel overwhelmed by everything that needs to be done, but I hope you can find peace in the beauty that is there and ignore the weeds.

Not a whole lot going on in my garden. A NOID hydrangea (possibly Nikko Blue) starting to bloom

I got some gorgeous flower heads off this hydrangea in the fall last year. For some reason they were much more colorful than the previous 20 years!

My hydrangea White Dome. In some ways I find this kind of meh, (not a huge fan of white flowers - so why do I have FIVE white hydrangeas lol??) but it's huge (at least six feet tall, and as much if not more around), practically no-maintenance, reliable, tons of blooms, and the individual flowers are kind of nice. They mellow to a nice green, and I used them with abundance in my daughter's wedding arrangements in 2019

My lavender is blooming, but can't get a good picture of it. Veronica is blooming (can't remember what kind)

Daisies ready to pop and rudbeckias just starting to bloom (and of course, feverfew everywhere!)

Also have this, which is very hard to photograph. I believe it's an actea racemosa, (still in bud, not actually in bloom quite yet) and for some reason I always think of Sue when I look at it lol. I know I got it at one of my first CT plant swaps. Sue, did you have this and bring to a swap?? Funny thing is, I thought I removed it because it seemed to be spreading too fast. Obviously I missed a piece, and it has returned reliably and has behaved itself since. This year it is amazingly tall - has to be at least 7-8 feet if not taller. The White Dome hydrangea next to it is at least six feet tall.

Enjoying my reseeded larkspur everywhere - such a gorgeous purple! - and also the nigella seed heads (another thing that's hard to photograph with my phone!)

:)

Dee

Babs, I do love the Independence Day photo, such a really pretty color. I tried to grow these without luck. Is it a Weston cultivar? I know they developed a lot of the new summer blooming rhododendrons and some of them are supposed to be fragrant. Lucky you!

Another red color in a clematis this time. Very nice.

And what is with the psychedelic mushrooms!? The pretty colors make me think I am watching a Disney movie. I know there was one with colored mushrooms in it. [g]

Dee, I have ‘Endless Summer’ Hydrangea and they are doing well this year, despite being killed to the ground over winter. Just about every hydrangea in the garden has buds on it. Not the paniculatas yet, but they’re coming soon. I really love the white hydrangea flowers, or the mauve and the green colors, the only color I’m not a fan of are the blue, and I have 4 of those. I just didn’t realize I didn’t like them until after I planted them. Half of the time they don’t bloom and I should replace them with something I like more.

Those are really pretty hydrangea blooms. Those are the colors that go well in my DR. Do you dry your blooms?

That Veronica is very pretty. I tried one that was blue and it was such a poor performer I never bought another one except the creepers. I’d really like to have something spikey like that in the garden. What is your experience with Veronicas? Do they bloom long? Are they picky about growing conditions?

Your second to the last photo of what you label as actea racemes. I have that and they are budding up nicely this year, but they don’t stand erect and it’s not something you can easily support attractively.. Mine is called Cimicifuga ‘Fairy Candles’, two with dark foliage - Cimicifuga atropurpurea, and - Cimicifuga ‘Black Negligee’

PM2, Independence day is evergreeen and closer in color to the roseum elegans. The one pictured I cannot remember the name of. I bought it pre-internet plants, so no record that I can find of its type.

LOL PM2, I'm not a huge fan of the blue mopheads either, but I have two of them! I was given one as a gift from a fellow gardener when I first started gardening, and when I moved it years ago I got two divisions out of it. It's not necessarily that I don't like it, I just find that color blue hard to pair with other things, whether in the garden or in the vase. But hey, the two shrubs do well with practically no maintenance, it's color of some kind when my garden is scarce on color, and they always seem to be popular with others, whether visitors to my garden or people who see a bouquet I made. The colors on those dried blooms are really gorgeous IMO. I just had painted my dining room a pale sage green, and then these flower heads aged to a beautiful green and kind of mauvey purple. In previous years they were just brown lol. I couldn't have planned it better myself!

My experience with Veronica is practically nil lol. I have this one veronica whose name I can't even remember and that's it! They always catch my eye in catalogs but for some reason I just don't have any others.

:)

Dee

Last weekend we worked on a section of a border I've been waiting to do, to get some of my pots in the ground before the heat.

This section of border, we widened a little and edged the bed. The above photo is after it was weeded and ready for plants and mulch. I'm leaving a space for a specimen shrub in front of the Taxus, maybe a Hydrangea if I have room. But that shrub in the lower left, is a NOID Hydrangea and I have no idea how large that is going to be. I'm reluctant to use it there because of that and it flops.. I bought it at a plant sale and it was barely 3 sticks 2 years ago and this year it surprised me pushing out all those branches and the one tall one.

The Ilex 'Sky Pencil is leaning toward the sun. Lots of mature trees to the right of this photo so afternoon shade. Here is a close up of the leaves and beginning buds on that NOID Hydrangea if anyone has any idea of what it might be.

I should have got a better angle to the photo. I was trying to get a photo of that Gray Dogwood. It's a native that I added to that corner when everything I tried wouldn't grow. It does sucker quite a bit, but it still has so many things going for it, that, so far, I don't mind dealing with that. And it has two Hydrangea Endless Summer between it and the lawn and so far it has not suckered into the lawn. It grew really fast. It flowers followed by white fruit that the birds eat, even in a shady corner. Never had a bug or disease problem at all. It performs for me 10x better than any of the many Viburnum I've tried here. Cornus racemosa.

New Hosta added, 'Guardian Angel'.

Dee, love your photos and the idea of feverfew everywhere!

Dee, with 'Endless Summer', it is the color which is a little too intense for me and is almost artificial looking. I would much rather have the pinks, mauves and lavender mopheads, but I guess I don't have the soil pH for those. Oh well, I'll stick to white and have grown fonder of the paniculatas. I also enjoy my Oakleaf Hydrangea except it dries out late in the season and the blooms all brown quickly. Too many tree roots.

I saw a photo of a Veronica on Facebook last week, called 'First Love' and I'm going to have to go looking for it. It was such a pretty pink and the blooms were very fat.

Keep the pictures coming everyone! I don't always have time to comment but I do see all the posts.

Babs it sounds like you've had a rough few years. The garden has a way of restoring piece of mind. I'm so thankful for mine.

Dee, I never grew the plain green Cimicifuga racemosa only the dark foliage varieties. Those CT plant swaps sure were fun.

I'll switch to my phone and post some pictures later.

Man it's nasty hot and humid outside again today. Stay cool!

Last day of June. This site is driving me crazy today. Try to post a few more photos. My roses have finished up with their first flush of bloom and I haven't gotten to the nursery to get more alfalfa meal and it's too hot any way, so they're on their own. I shovel pruned a rose yesterday that showed up with blackspot. I get that out of the garden quickly. I have 7 other roses with no sign of it and wanted to keep it that way. That rose had some other drawbacks that made me less willing to work with it.

Lilies looking like they're almost ready to open, but the daylily opened today, usually the lilies are first. Dahlias are still under a foot tall, got in the ground late, tubers delivered late. Pruned our Kolkwitzia by 1/3 of the old growth, topdressed with compost and mulched and soaked it before the heat wave. I've been keeping things watered and I think I'm in good shape and can manage through another day of heat. Friday is supposed to be in the 70s!

That's how small the Dahlia is at the base of the stake. I know, ugly tomato stake. [g] I blame it on Covid, because I'm not shopping.

Julia Child died to the ground over the winter, so this is all new growth this season. That's the last of the first flush of blooms but you can see it's already pushing out new buds.

This is what it looked like last June...and the pink rose 'Beverly' died back to the ground over the winter too. That one had 3 blooms on it so far and is about a foot tall.

Dianthus 'Siberian Blues' is having a good year. I was deadheading this morning and thought it was really riding out the heat wave very easily. I notice my photos aren't all that crisp. It's been breezy every day here, so maybe that's it.

I love the intense blue but agree it looks artificial. Since I posted a few weeks ago mine developed to this. My mom has an ”endless summer” too but hers is pink. Neither of us add anything to the soil.

Hi Brdrl - I think I must be biased. Blue used to be my favorite color when I was young and I overdosed on it. [g] I still love blues now and then and a particular shade will catch my eye, but really, there is barely anything in my household furnishings that is blue. [g] I now seem to gravitate toward the maroons and violets and neutrals. A few plates in navy and one particular blue check tablecloth that was gifted to me. I did paint my bedroom walls a very soft blue then everything else in the room are burgundies. lol

You must be really enjoying your Hydrangeas! Looks like they are at their peak now.

A few pictures while I psych myself up to go out and garden in this heat. It got to 94 here today which is unusual as our elevation usually gives us an edge of 4-8 degrees. But my car thermometer was between 99 and 101 on the drive home from work so I guess the 94 makes sense but crap it's hot!

Hydrangea Haas Halo has been a winner. This border was mostly planted in 2018 and I'm shocked at how fast the plants filled in, especially the Sourwood tree (Oxydendron) which grew about an inch a year in my old garden.

Cat takes a stroll. I wish he'd catch a few moles. They are making a complete mess of my garden.

A container arrangements featuring Acalpha Kona Gold. I really enjoy designing the containers every year but find the selection of unusual annuals at nurseries gets less inspiring every year.

Lychnis Lengai Red is an unusual little perennial I picked last year. I quest for the unusual I guess...

PM2, your NOID hydrangea is a paniculata, but which one will have to wait for blooms. There are several types with the reddish tones in the young stemsbut with the combo of red stems and flower form it may be able to be IDed. The floppiness may be due to shade or cultivar. In my yard, all of the paniculatas are in full sun and they are happy.

Brdrl, those hydrangeas are gorgeous, and I love that shade of blue. i have a few macrophylla hydrangeas and this year Endless Summer will bloom, but I will likely shovel prune the other two which haven’t bloomed for years.

Some big boomers out there tonight! 2" of welcome rain already. Such great pictures, this must be the summer wave. PM2 I love the roses - they looks so full and healthy. Brave of you to be out making new beds in this heat! @brdrl that is a remarkable shade of blue - I'm a blue fan too... slowly turning my pink one that way.

I only have a few things flowering and they're mostly all in one picture - a spot that was grass a couple years ago, so some progress. Have to figure out how to deal with earwigs munching my daisies... love them but they make them look so tattered and dirty. Tried the oil+soy sauce trick but no luck yet.

Gregg I'm jealous of your two inches of rain. Only 0.7" here tonight but I'll take it!

I can't relate with the dislike of blue in the garden. I look for ways to add more of it.

Babs, I’ll be sure to post a photo of the Hydrangea when it is in full bloom. I really like the red stems. The spot it is in, does get sun, but not full sun. I’m glad to know your paniculatas are happy in full sun! How much attention do you pay to watering? Last year mine browned up late in the season and I sometimes think I water that bed more than I should, but I could have waited too long at one point, I guess. I’m trying to be very attentive to that this year.

We had a period of gusty winds and thunder and lightening with some downpours. I don’t think we got 2 inches like Gregg. It didn’t last more than a half hour. Maybe an inch, but I’ll take it after all that heat.

Gregg, my husband did more of the actual work than I did and we did spring into action one morning when it was cooler before the heat wave. [g] It was just a section of that bed and the edging had already been done in early spring. It was really just weeding, planting 4 pots and mulching. I still left an open spot for another plant. But, normally we are done with all that by July and then don’t do any more until the Fall. I just have more pots hanging around this year than usual and watering them during a heat wave didn’t appeal to me.

Is that a Dahlia blooming at that height? What variety is it? Very pretty and full flowers! Shasta daisy? I love daisies and I don’t have one in the garden. Haven’t found one yet that doesn’t want to take over my bed. [g]

Guess we are onto July….

Gregg that dahlia is gorgeous! PM2, I believe that is Gregg's coveted "walmart no-id variety" dahlia lol, that we've seen before. Is that right, Gregg? It's really beautiful.

Gregg I always have an issue with my daisies but it's oriental beetles that get mine. To the point where I almost ripped them out. Every year, tattered, tired, eaten, and dirty-looking. This year for some reason the plant was doing extremely well; big and vigorous, and it started blooming about two days ago and so far only one beetle to be seen. Hoping it stays that way. They attack my daylilies too but the damage isn't as great since the blooms are only open for the day.

Geez, my plants always look so much better in person than in photos lol. Kinda like myself.....

We got some thunder and intense winds but no rain! Guess I'll be out there watering again later today.

Brdl that blue is stunning. Sue, I love blue as well, but as much as shades like Brdl's hydrangea catch my eye, I guess my problem is incorporating that color blue in the garden (or in the vase!). For instance last week or so I had cut a bunch of blue nigella and purple larkspur and I ended up making two separate bouquets because I felt the two of them didn't go well together. Same in the garden. I find I end up putting these blue hydrangeas either by themselves or with lots of white-blooming plants! Although I don't have anything as beautiful as brdl's intense blue! (And then there's always that "gardeners-call-purple-blue" thing going on lol.....)

:)

Dee

PM2, once established, I don’t water ornamental plants, even when it is really dry, with the exception of a few of the microphylla hydrangeas. I added a lot of organic material to my beds when I created them, and typically have them well mulched. I have not seen most plants look stressed by this. None of my paniculatas have browned out - they have retained good color until frost over more than a dozen years. I do water pots, and sometimes the veggie garden.

Dee, That is a great idea about putting the white with the blue. I have my Endless Summer blooming right now and it is alone, next to a variegated hosta and two large dark green evergreens. No wonder it’s too intense for me. If I move it to add an accent to some of my white Hydrangeas, I think I’d like it much better. Better in the vase that way too.

Babs - I don’t understand how you can end up with no browned out paniculatas and not water them!! Lol Wow. I am going to water water water to see if I can get thru this season without browning out but if I still get it, maybe I should stop watering it and see what happens. [g]

Houzz has been working very dysfunctional all day and apparently yesterday too, because it keeps producing posts out of order and out of sequence. All day yesterday and all day today there was no post from Sue with her photos. This is the first I am seeing her post even though it says it was posted yesterday.

Great photos, Sue! I love your Sourwood tree. And I do enjoy seeing your cat walking around the garden. So rarely that I see a cat outdoors any more. Very colorful in your garden right now and I bet you are really enjoying it. I'm sure we'll all enjoy our gardens a little more tomorrow with some lower temperatures.

Oh you're right @prairiemoon2 z6b MA.,... @Sue W (CT zone 6a) pictures weren't there last night for me. She keeps zooming out on that walkway on each of her posts and it gets prettier and prettier. @diggerdee zone 6 CT lol technically it was Agway, but that's is my first dahlia bought on a whim before I knew what dahlias entailed. But it survived and split, so I'll splurge for some fancy ones this fall. @diggerdee zone 6 CT Nice daisies! It is strange how things change year to year. I planted some lamium that was eaten to bare stems last year - and not a bite this year (yet?). @prairiemoon2 z6b MA Yes just shasta's.. they are so simple and cheerful - they did spread fast but the Black eyed susans next to them even faster - and taller than my hydrangea - they need to move - plenty of other places for them to spread their legs.

Sorry that cat on the walkway picture is so blurry. One of the settings on my phone camera was off. I've since fixed it and will hopefully get some better shots this weekend. Rain and cooler temps should make the plants much happier.

Outdoor cats can be a hot button but mine came to me as kittens as a stray and a feral. It took a year and a half to coax the feral into the house. Outside is their preference, especially in good weather but we have coyotes and bobcats here so I always keep them in at night. No guarantees but they are miserable indoors.

Sue, I cannot believe how quickly your garden has grown. It looks beautiful!

Can't sleep and wasted yesterday thinking it would be rainy. Sue, love your cat photo and beauriful walkway.

Defrost - We are always working on trying to sleep better here. *sigh*

I had my mind set on gardening today in the cooler weather, surprise, rained a lot during the night and still raining. Probably not going to be doing much outside today. I'm thinking of sowing some seeds instead.

I'm still playing with the Roomba and think I have the routine down now. It's just moving stuff out of the way, which can be part of my exercise routine. What I like about it is you can do it as often as you want and it does a great job of getting under things. If I were vacuuming, I'd only do it once a week. This time of year, even with door mats and rugs at the door, we drag a lot of stuff into the house.

I went to the nursery yesterday - Russell's out in Wayland. Got there a half hour before they opened and was able to review their perennial and annual area and figure out what I wanted for when they opened and was first to the register. Thought I would get plants into the ground today. We've already bought 2cuft bags of mulch x10, twice. I bought 8 more bags of mulch in a 3cuft bags. 50lbs each - This should be the end of it.

You should have seen the small, young, man, skinny as a stick who put them all into my van. [g] I always find myself biting my tongue not to warn young people about hurting their back. He wasn't using any kind of a brace and I am surprised. I would think that would be safety equipment.

Sewing buttons and ironing cotton shirts today! Haven't done that in quite awhile. [g]

Sue, your border has filled in--it looks far more mature than 2018! I agree about the selection of annuals. I went to our best "local" nursery (as far as size goes) and found basically the standards--petunias, superbells, etc. I remember going 2 or 3 years ago and being able to click the imagination to On, walk the greenhouses, and let the gardening design gears spin in new directions. Not this year. It was a downer. My containers are pretty standard. My favorite one actually has a seed grown annula, Silene French Catchfly, that I threw in there just because I had nothing else, and it is fantastic. It bloomed exceedingly early for a wintersown annual and is spilling over nicely. I hope it can be a yearly seed for me.

Wow, 2" of rain! I'm not complaining at our couple of recent rainshowers, all under .5", and today's shower has so far blessed us with .6" It's more than enough to keep us out of drought! I'm glad I let some of wintersown seedlings die, as it has made life easier now. There's always next year!

Gregg, that dahlia is gorgeous! I love the gentle salmon and butter coloration.

NhBabs, I'm glad you and Flax enjoy each day wandering. What a soul-fulfilling way to spend some time.