All's Right With the World

The hummingbirds are at the feeder, the monarchs are in the garden, God is in His heaven, and all is right in my world.

 I spent the whole morning in the garden, one of the first warmer days I could do that. Since it's July, my plants are behind in their blooming. But that doesn't make it any less enjoyable...maybe even more so, as we've waited so long for them. I took a few snapshots this morning of the things we're enjoying.
First is the golden chain tree. In other climates it grows really large and beautiful, but here it has barely grown in the last five years, and I've been patiently waiting for a year that the blooms would show up. This is that year, and the bonus is that the blooms last a long time. I've been enjoying it from my office window for several weeks now.

 I have a late rhododendron, that is just now (July 2nd!) in full bloom. And even more incredible is the bleeding heart bush blooming in front of it. Two spring blooms, that are just ignoring the calendar. This is my first year to try foxglove seeds, and as you can see that was successful.

 I have several native geraniums that are dependable, and grow large. This one likes the shade under the bleeding heart.

 And all along the the patio in that area, are several groundcover rock plants that are in bloom.

 In our area roses are hard to grow. I have several old fashioned climbers out front and they are just making an appearance.

 I have a couple of large snow-in-winter plants, and they look so pretty as a back drop to other blooms in the gardern.

 Rock Garden

 Herb Garden

 Fresh strawberries, yum! They made frosted mini-wheats a taste sensation for breakfast this morning on the deck.

 On our back patio the sun is so intense that no matter what I try the blooms die. I went with three boxwoods in a planter this year, just to have something green, living and cooling. We'll see how this years' experiment fares. If they survive, I'll plant them in the landscape this fall.

 I added a couple of heather to a rather barren garden bed, where I am coaxing along some blueberries, and red and black currant bushes.

 The top photo is of a new bed I have started this year, and it's coming along nicely. There are lupine, russian sage, phlox, cosmos from seed and dahlias coming up.
The bottom is a bit of baby's breath, which is always so nice in arrangements.

 We got some old wagon wheels from a friend, and they have added quite a bit of nice structure to our back fence area. It's too shady to grow any climbers there, and not much else will grow there either. So, I'm enjoying the new look. I think we added 7 or 8 wheels of various sizes.

 It's daylilly time...both for Julie and me. So bright and cheery!

And finally, a bit of 4th of July cheer and my potted basil. It would never have made it in the garden, but is thriving in my pot, and will soon outgrow it. So wonderful with fresh corn and cherry tomatoes. Have a great day!