There was a heavy rain here on Wednesday. I recorded more than 9 inches at my house. That was a little scary since I did have some water enter the house after a heavy rain last spring. Good news!! All my efforts to divert water from entering the house worked. We remained dry.
The days are long and the temperatures are high enough that the summer blooms are magnificent this week. The daisies and black eyed susans are a joy to behold.
The heat of summer is upon us so gardening tasks have to be limited to early morning and late afternoon.
Here are the Shasta Daisies. I think these are the “Becky” cultivar.
The black eyed Susans are the “Indian Summer” cultivar I think. They looked defeated by the end of winter but they are truly gorgeous now.
The purple coneflowers are a very reliable flower in the Mens Garden. They have reseeded in numerous places.
The swamp milkweed Asclepias incarnata or rose milkweed has also fully shown up now. It is a winner. It has not attracted many butterflies though. I am hopeful that it will.
The white caladiums in the big planters are filled in. They are so welcoming.
This vitex or chaste tree is now in its third year at the garden. It is a striking bloomer. This variety is one of the temperate zone species of vitex. It does resemble butterfly bush.
This canna which I think is Tropicana is doing well in its new location. It was showing signs of leaf roller damage but it seems to be rid of that now. We will see.
We took a day trip to see the Cahaba lilies near us. They are endemic to our area. They are said to bloom between Mothers Day and Fathers Day. We missed the best days but found a Red-spotted purple butterfly, Pipevine swallowtail caterpillar and a native leatherflower (Clematis).
Those are mine for this week. It has been a wonderful week. I wish you happy gardening and beautiful flowers.
Don’t forget the Propagator
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