Here in the frozen north, June is the best month in the garden. Just about all our perennials and shrubs are in bloom at once, and there’s generally just about enough rain to keep them looking good without having to worry about watering from some other sources.
In my garden, June is when the hydrangeas really start to shine and they generally continue until later summer.
The above hydrangea is my absolute favorite. It’s an old-fashioned type that blooms on old wood, meaning in years with late frost and snow, I don’t see blooms at all. This year, the plant has quite a few blooms and I am just thrilled.
This area is coming along nicely although the rabbits are eating all the dianthus this year. You might think all the clover and violets we grow would be enough for them. I guess not. They like variety in their diet.
Luckily the bunnies haven’t found this area yet. Maybe the sign about the schnauzer security system is intimidating to them.
And of course, the most spectacular of all, is this container of annuals that I planted, not to sit here in this spot but to be further along down the lawn. It was to go in a place where my annual containers regularly get backed over by delivery drivers, newspaper drivers and clients of the Spoiler. That’s why the taller hibiscus in the middle–I thought it might be visible from vehicles as they reverse out the driveway.
I quickly discovered that I can barely see it from my smaller SUV–so I refused to put it where it was just going to be just another casualty to some buffoon who doesn’t know how to use a backup camera–or is in too much of a hurry to do so and will flatten this container like all my previous containers have been flattened. I don’t think I have ever had one make it through the month of July.
And this one is too pretty to wind up like the rest (at least I think so). Of course, I thought that about last year’s container too and it was so flattened that there was nothing left to pick up. You see that I am learning my lesson: if what you are doing isn’t working, change what you are doing!
I called this post “Love Letter to the June Garden,” but I should also be thanking my sister who spent almost 3 weeks here while I was recovering, making sure that there would be a garden for me to return to whenever I am able. It was lovely to spend time with her–but she did so much more than just visit and cheer me through this!
Gardendaze 