Walk Through my Garden July 06

OK I took a quick walk through the garden this evening and snapped a few pictures. This way I have something to review and compare with later in the season or in years to come! I didn't get everything - the entire North side of the house is so weedy it's not worth taking pictures, for example; and a lot of plants were wayyyy past their prime and barely recognizeable in the heat. But I did get a few things that are important right now. Keep in mind as you look at the garden we have just endured the driest June and July in 115 years. We have had something like 2" of rainfall all summer and this is normally our wet season! Plus temps in the upper 90's if not 100's since mid June. So everything looks very brown and dried out; it doesn't normally look so bad in a non-drought year. Anyway starting as we walk out the back deck (the backyard faces East) and around the South side of the house up to the Front yard.


This is one of the sunflowers blooming under the birdfeeder, against the deck. And three bumblebees apparently. There are about a half dozen huge blooms and they look so cheerful there!


This is a closeup of the red rasberry thicket in back. Dry hot conditions mean it hasn't produced much this year but I have been able to dry a lot of tea.


This is a wider view of the thicket.


The birch trees have had some sort of disease the last two years - the underside of every leaf is bright magenta? Plus some insect damage. I"ll have to figure out what it is.


On to the veggie garden, the cherry tomatoes are producing well so far.


My strawberries on the other hand are mutants. These bushes are two years old and healthy with plenty of suckers and only slight insect damage, but the berries on all three varietals are misshapen this year. They're kind of flat ovals instead of strawberry shaped. They still taste wonderful but teh shape thing is weird!


The basil has survived well and is fully into flowering as of July. I'm still harvesting some for pasta every few days.


Away from the veggies on the South side, past the perennial garden, is my calendula - this is one of the plants, a single bloom version.


And past the calendula, the ugliest spot in the yard and one of the most visible - my ugly SW corner by the driveway. Hopefully in a few weeks it will be bedded with shrub roses and annuals.


The shade strip by the front pathway - impatiens thrive there.


Potted impatiens by the front door make a cheery welcome.

I have to take pictures of the front flower bed with the hosta and columbine, but the light was all wrong this evening (it comes in from the West so my shadow was in everything!) They will be in a future update!