Saturday, June 23, 2012

June's Bountiful Blooms

Lest you think I have fallen off the blogosphere, I thought I'd post some pictures of my June garden before the month is over.

Welcome back to my garden!


Enjoy the tour...


The shady backyard is full of colorful foliage and varying textures:   
Ferns, Japanese Maples, Leopard Plants, Caladiums






The front perennial beds are in full color this month.


Bee Balm, Daylilies, Ox-Eye Daisies


Purple Coneflower, Catmint, Salvias, Mexican Milkweed




The crape myrtles are in bloom, too



Caladiums, Summer Phlox, Canna, Oxalis, 
and Creeping Jenny add color to the front walk.

I'm sure enjoying the fountain I purchased earlier this year!


I love the spikes of  'Morden's Pink' Loosestrife 
against the dark foliage of the 'King Humbert' Canna


The Rudbeckia and Cosmos add a little yellow and orange 
among the pinks and blues.


I'm having the best green bean and tomato crop ever this summer.


Last year at this time we had already begun our journey to a summer of record-breaking temps and drought.    But this year we have had milder temps and ample rainfall.   Sweet relief!  No complaints from this gardener :-)

Happy Summer!

Toni :-)

12 comments:

  1. Your gardens are like visiting one of these large arboretums. You have such lovely long and deep garden beds, and wonderful design detailing. Alistair needs to see your sculpted grass garden, edged with the beautifully planted paved path. It shows how the grass plays an integral part of your design. I loved your tour of the garden this June, Toni.

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    1. Wow, thank you for your very kind words, Donna!! That is quite the compliment. I have gotten rid of a lot of grass over the years (in fact, this is the first year in 14 years that I have not ripped out more grass), but I do like to have some left to give the eye a rest. As the shade increases in my backyard, I may not have a choice about the grass someday, but for now I appreciate having some.

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  2. Toni, your garden is amazing! I had the same thought as Donna while looking at this post...it is like visiting a botanical garden! Your blooms are all so lovely but what really struck me was all the foliage. It really does add a lovely texture and color to a summer garden. It seems so cool even on the hottest of days. Love your new fountains! Do you use some type of solar pump for them?

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    1. Thank you, Karin :-) I always tell my clients with shady yards that they need to learn to appreciate foliage (when all they want is a lot of blooms). There are so many interesting, colorful, and dramatic foliage choices, and they tend to look better for a longer period of time than blooming plants, especially in the shade. No, the fountains are run on electricity. I could probably use solar in the front because I have sun, but the back is too shady for a solar one. Thanks again for stopping by.

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  3. Beautiful. I love the stone paths. Wish you were up here...I'd like to see you get on the garden tour! Weren't you on your own local tour this year? How did it go?

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    1. Hi Professor, Believe me, if I lived up there, I'd love to be on the garden tour :-) And yes, my garden was featured on a local tour in May. It was the most fun for me! What a great day, sharing my garden with about 800 other plant nuts. What more could a gardener ask :-) Oh, and we had great weather to boot.

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  4. What beautiful colors and harvest for the month of June! Thanks for sharing :)

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    1. Thank you for stopping by, Rebecca. The tomatoes are coming on fast and furious now, and we've had four meals with beans and more on the way. I don't grow enough to can or freeze them, but we do enjoy them for the season.

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  5. Toni... your yard is absolutely stunning! It was worth the wait to hear from you again... just amazing. Also a question... we are in the midst of a drought and I fully expect to lose much of my grass because I can't water it all... it's that bad! Are you aware of any drought tolerant lawn grasses that would live up here? I know you've experienced some pretty major droughts in the past few years.
    I find myself once again heading towards perennials... it seems to go in cycles with me... your gardens are a major inspiration!! Larry

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  6. I agree with the others--your gardens are as lovely as a public botanical garden! I've always liked Caladiums, but I acquired a special appreciation for them after visiting New Orleans. I'm in the same situation as Larry--the grass is in bad shape. I worry about some of the bushes and perennials, too. Thanks for the tour of your lush, colorful garden!

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  7. You are so lucky for having fine weather and rains. Many of your plants are here with us in the hot tropics too, but at the moment we still don't get rains despite the official rainy season starting in June. You have a wide enviable garden, i love most the colors of your caladium. I only have one color in those you posted. They are always beautiful attractions.

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  8. As I was looking at your wonderful garden I was thinking that you must be getting more rain than last year! Everything is fabulous and a real testament to the beauty of foliage as well as flowers. We have had very hot temps and little rain this month. We did have a shower this afternoon, which lasted about five minutes!

    By the way, thanks for pointing out that my 'grasshopper' is in fact a katydid!

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