June 26, 2016

Today I strolled through the back garden and snapped these photos. It’s been a perfect summer for gardening in the DC area. Too much rain in May, yes, but since then the weather has been warm and summery but not unpleasant. Bouts of humidity have been balanced by dry breezy days. I almost don’t recognize my hometown.

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It’s made the hydrangea happy as can be. I’m not sure why two plants next to one another should be pink on one side and blue on the other. Perhaps it was Morty’s helpful digging around the roots?

I stuff planters full of lily bulbs and cut them freely to bring into the house.  I overwinter the planters in the garage, bring them out in the spring and they flower again. Year after year.
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I have a few pepper plants. Happy to see my first jalapeno.IMG_1075

I planted two varieties of hosta, with blue green, thick, corrugated leaves. The flowers are scented.IMG_1076

This hosta walkway celebrates the yellow green hosta family, the plants on the right receive more sun than the ones on the left (the same variety).IMG_1077

The lilies are coming. Yellow and orange day lilies, tiger lilies and then the 6-foot Casa Blancas. July is lily month.IMG_1078This “Lady in Red” red-stemmed fern is vigorous. Wonderful addition to a vase of flowers. At some point, the neighborhood cat (who hangs out in the backyard at night) will make a cat-shaped impression in them, but for now, they still look pretty good.
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On the left, Annabelle hydrangea, a  plant that is cut to the ground every fall and returns with these massive white blooms every summer. On the right, the flowers of the oak leaf hydrangea, aging from white to rose.
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Climbing white rose, boxwoods and a lace cap hydrangea surround the shady nook and guard the back gate. On the other side of the gate, the beech tree, a gorgeous specimen.

Happy Sunday, friends. Get outside in the garden today.

xoMrsW

5 Responses to “garden walk. high summer.”

  1. Janis

    I want to live in your garden. I always bond with my backyard no matter where I live. It is the most important space to me. Backyards are the soul of the house.

    Reply
  2. Amanda W.

    Beautiful! It has really been a remarkable summer in DC. I am thankful for it every time I get out in rock creek park. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  3. Betsy Garside

    LOVE the lilies-in-planters idea. I always feel so torn cutting lilies to bring them inside. (And P.S. — in downtown DC, June is lily month. Microclimates rule — or maybe it’s just heat-effect from more pavement.)

    Reply
  4. Laurie Lou

    it looks so nice and peaceful and maybe not as hot as here in your garden. The lily’s are blooming here too in Tx, we’ve got orange ones. My grandmother always had hydrangeas that were blue or pink, it was something about the soil being acidic or alkaline that made them change the two different colors, but I don’t remember how it worked exactly. Lot of help there for ya, lol. Take care, LM

    Reply

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