Interesting When Wet , Photos by Amy

This Mammoth Pink Chrysanthemum looks fresh as a daisy!

Asparagus Berries hold on to those water droplets.

The end of the pink poppies and the beginning flowering 'Autumn Joy' sedum are a sure sign of fall.

Our new great  lobelia flowers are a beautiful shade of blue except for the plant that turned out to be white.

The red hibiscus may be blown over, but it still blooms on.

'Stardust' chrysanthemum's fluted petals hold many water droplets.

 A fossil on top of the wall shines neatly when wet.

Could be lichens or perhaps some fungus, but this stone is almost completely covered with growth.

No wet garden post is complete without a picture of lady's mantle.

A bumblebee takes advantage of the lull in the rain to visit mullein flowers.  It's good Amy went out to visit the garden when she did. We are back to rain again.

No Rain in the Garden!

Yesterday was a great day to spend in the garden. We didn't see much of the sun, but the grey clouds kept the rain to themselves. We have lot to do. Ed spent time digging and dividing iris. Susan and May stopped by to trade plants.  Two different iris that were from Susan's grandmother's farm are now at Stone Wall Garden. I weeded around the lavender hoping it would dry off so that I could cut it. I have my ribbons all ready to make lavender wands. I didn't get around to trimming the lady's mantle so it still has it's after the heavy rain look.

Without the rain this "Sundown" cone flower had a visitor .

 It was so nice to see a honeybee on the milkweed. I wish you could enjoy its fragrance that dances through the garden on the wind!

 The A. curviceps, swamp milkweed, is blooming too. Ants seem to be visiting here.

 I took great delight in watching this bumblebee wriggle and roll around in this pink poppy.

But the best fun was watching the antics of this male woodpecker and his offspring. Dad does feed the baby, who is almost his size, but there seem to be rules. Baby seems to get fed after flying, and definitely gets fed after pecking on the locust tree branch. Here at our garden playground work does get done, but stopping to enjoy what is going on around you is job ONE!

June is Busting Out...

New flowers are coming on all over the garden. When I left the catchfly growing where it self seeded next to the lady's mantle, I'm not sure I envisioned the hot pink and chartreuse that would come. Oh well , color in the garden is a good thing.



The weeds are growing too. This basil patch was in serious need of weeding. Ed did the job today along with the carrots and the new lettuce bed. We had the arugula from the overgrown spicy mesclun mix in an arugula and nectarine salad with toasted walnuts and raspberry vinagarette for lunch. YUM! Tonight for dinner some of that basil and the Oregon giant snow peas made for a lovely pasta primevera. Sometimes the garden can seem overwhelming, but its rewards are many. No one eats better than a gardener this time of year!