Morning in the Garden, Rain in the Afternoon

It's been so very hot and dry in the garden. Even the usually indestructible Gloriosa daisies look singed.
It was delightfully cool and cloudy this morning. Ed and I went out to spend some time in the garden. It's still too dry to weed close to the crown of desirable plants, but some  of my most detested pernicious weeds pulled out easily. I got Ed's big black wheelbarrow and filled it to overflowing. It felt so good to get some of those weed seeds out of the garden and into the rough compost pile.

Amy's "Sugar Baby" is coming nicely. It's almost a big as a softball and beginning to get its stripes.

For weeks with no rain, the yard long beans have been just sitting  there. They haven't begun grow or to vine yet, but the first blossoms have appeared. I think the lavender flowers are exceptionally pretty for a bean blossom, but if the beans develop from these two flowers, they will lay along the ground unless the rain brings some real "Jack and the Beanstalk" action.

Now this is something you are never supposed to see. Every thing I have read about my tree peony says not to let the flowers , in this case flower, go to seed. I didn't mean to leave it, but tucked under the leaves I missed it. Today I lopped it off, but I didn't throw it in the compost. I put it in my garden cart to inspect later. I can't help being curious to see what the seeds of a tree peony might look like. I have no idea where the closest tree peony grows. I have only this one. Perhaps the pods will be empty. I love a garden mystery on a rainy afternoon.

I've been waiting so long to see the garden through rain covered windows that I just couldn't resist changing the header. For those of you who are suffering from drought , I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Glorious Garden Glut

This is the time when the garden is a little overwhelming. The first shell peas went in the freezer this morning. The second and third pea planting, while planted weeks apart, are coming on fast. There will be snow peas with shrimp and green salad for lunch. The garlic needs to be harvested early. The abundance of rain has had an impact on it. New flowers are blooming every day. The weeds are always waiting. Lavender is ready to be cut...





The gloriosa daisies look so cheery. It helps to make up for the lack of sunshine. There has been no rain so far today, but it's cloudy and looks ominous. So it's make hay while the rain holds off, since sunshine is too elusive this year to rely on.

A Few Late Bloomers

It's getting late, really late, but there is still time for a single pink poppy. The rest went to seed weeks if not months ago .
Most of the gloriosa daisies are dried up and brown. This one is gorgeous! Several of the plants that should bloom next year are giving it a go now. Will they bloom again next season?

One remaining flower stem on the Stella d'oro lilies is blooming.

This mallow is looking great. You might say their timing is off. Perhaps these particular blooms have a big ego and wanted to be noticed, and so they were!

Gloriosa Daisies

It's easy to see why these gloriosa daisies are so popular. They put on a spectacular display of color in the garden. This particular strain came from Elle. I almost lost them because I had them in Ed's vegetable garden and most of the small plants got weeded out. This plant is usually a biennial so the small plants from last year must be left to bloom the next year.

For whatever reason, Ed's super soil ,or the weird weather caused these to bloom the first year. They are a bright spot in the garden and bloom for a long time, You can start them from seed or buy a plant at a nursery. They look their very best in the evening just before sunset when they glow with color.