The garden has been very happy this year. The weather has been pretty steady this summer and no really long dry spells. I’ve been spraying neem oil on my peonies every week or two and so far (fingers crossed) no signs of powdery mildew.

This week’s pictures will be mostly closeup blooms. Hibiscus pot:

The calycanthus shrub:

It looks like there was a stray hair or something on my phone lens. Sorry about that 🙂 Since this shrub died in the middle, I’m going to take it out, chop off a good part and put it in the back to see what happens. It will be replaced with a beautyberry, I think. Still mulling that over.

Tall heirloom lily:

This plant blooms for quite a while. Several weeks. It is tied to the pole to keep it upright.

Closeup!

My zinnia crop is kind of lame this year. I don’t think I got the right seed because this is not one I would have chosen on purpose:

This one I like, which is called Cupcake:

It’s on the shorter side. Again, not a lot of these actually grew.

Yarrow:

The yarrow definitely need a cage support for next year. These are in the bird feeder bed and the squirrels run amok through it, which knocks them over.

Lantana:

I don’t usually have much luck with lantana as an annual, so it’s nice to see this one doing something 😀

Potted geranium:

Geraniums are so easy to grow and they flower all season, so I always get some.

More gladiolus:

These are blooming later than the others, probably because the bed gets sun later in the day. So pretty.

The shade bed is looking nice and full this year, thanks to my plethora of violets and my giant hosta:

I am now really feeling the itch to get in and start moving things around in the garden. I am feeling pretty much back to normal now and ready to go! I have a garden notebook and this weekend I will be taking notes for what I want to do with different areas. Then popping over to the nurseries to see what’s on sale!