How Does Our [Flower] Garden Grow? Part I

 All winter I dreamed of spring and summer, and what the yard would look like in shades of green instead of gray. It seemed like it would never stop snowing, never stop raining, never turn warm enough to green shoots to arise. But finally they did, although the rains continued in May and June until we thought we were sloshing our way into summer. The back yard is ofen at its most verdant in mid-May, and this photo taken on May 18 shows it off. 

 An early sign of spring is of course the azaleas. Ours were full of blooms this year, even though I forgot to give them Miracid last year. The hydrangea is just starting to put out a few leaves on last year's stems. We found out the hard way that it won't bloom at all the next year if we cut it down in the fall. 

 May also brought roses. The pink Carefree ones are not entirely carefree-- they tend to develop black spot in the humid summer, but in the spring they were lush and glowing. 

 The yellow rose is a re-bloomer, but the first blossoms are often the largest, and the most pest-free. This year in July, as last year, this bush became a banquet for Japanese Beetles. As I write this in August, the beetles have finished their business and we are hoping for more blooms in September. 

 One of our favorite perennials is this red and cream columbine. It blooms for a long time and this year lasted well into the hot weeks. We hope it reseeds and comes up again. 

 As summer began to take hold in June, we decided to add some vinca plants to the flower bed in the wall by the front walk. Norm carefully set each little plant in between the fading bulb foliage, using the bulb planter. At this time the scorching heat had not yet arrived, the grass was growing as fast as you could mow it, and foliage was everywhere. It was a lovely time, before insects appeared and the rain clouds dried up. 

The first planters we set out on the porch had these sprightly violas, or Johnny Jump Ups as they are sometimes known. After it got hot, we replaced them with vinca in shades of rose and pink, and those are still going strong.  Every year we welcome the day when the front porch can become an extension of living space. It's a place to drink morning coffee and read the paper on the shady side of the house, a spot to watch the hummingbirds divebomb each other for control of the feeder, a refuge at evening for listening at first to silence, then the cicadas in June, and the tree frogs starting around the 4th of July. All of that happened this year, and then the Big Heat arrived.