What's Blooming: June 2014

Things here have been, well, hectic, to say the least. I took these photos of the garden in mid June and today I see it is July 1! Nevertheless, I want to put these up anyway, because June is my favorite month in the garden. All the pinks, blues, purples and yellows making their way into view. The air smells delicious, the birds are chirping continuously throughout the day and the trees are still a lovely shade of bright green.

Here's what my garden in June looks like this year:

The pink astilbe look fabulous against the wall and their sweet, subtle fragrance is a treat if you catch a whiff of it. Along the edges, I'm so happy to see the "Pretty Polly" Heuchera (coral bells) starting to fill in and produce their delicate wispy blooms.

Many varieties of hydrangea won't bloom this summer because of the brutal winter we had, which killed off all the over-wintering buds. But these Endless Summer varieties are just beginning to bloom and I'm so happy to see the lush foliage and blue flower heads.

This mountain laurel was salvaged during the backyard renovation project a few years ago and I'm so happy I kept it. It's in the perfect spot now and it's soft pink blooms are such a welcome sight in June.

This spot along the back fence gets a good deal of morning shade but enjoys some afternoon sun. Because of this, the blue hostas, viburnum and variegated red twig dogwood all get along swimmingly here.

 And of course, the carpet rose. Carefree, abundant and repeat bloomer. I just love this plant.

In the front yard, the pink lychnis (rose campion) is in full swing and mimics the color of the Salvia involucrata 'Mulberry Jam', to the right.

Along the sidewalk, the purple salvias are still putting on quite a show, the yellow daylilies (Hemerocallis 'Happy Returns') are starting to bloom and in the back, the blue tradescantia and white daisies are making their presences known.

Ah. And my much beloved shade garden that I created last summer. Look how everything is really filling in and growing so lush and healthy. I just love watching this garden unfold and morph into itself.

And so that's what my garden in June looks like! Let's hope next month is just as lovely!