June

Happy vacation to me. Until almost the end of August. I'm trying to prepare for knee surgery hopefully this fall and want to get my house in order. Especially my bedroom. Declutter and get a mini fridge, ice maker, and possibly small microwave for my bedroom which should help so I don't have to keep climbing up and down steps. Never thought I'd get a knee replacement, but my quality of life has become a factor along with pain all day and night every day. Not to mention the disability that comes with arthritis. I'm still gardening.

My cabbages are actually starting to make heads. This picture was taken last week. This week the tiny heads can be seen. My containers are at my sister's house. I followed the sun since there is dappled shad in my yard. Swiss chard is planted on the side. I also sowed seeds of small round carrots but only one seedling came up. 

Four tomatoes and three hot peppers. The eggplant is my sister's seedling.

My sister's lily. Such a beautiful color.

Started out with that many cabbages but let them die. What would I have done with that many any way?

Swiss chard was planted in my yard and hasn't done well with little sun.

My peppers made it and are planted at my sister's house although I had a problem with spider mites on them. They lost all their leaves and blooms but they grew back and now are making peppers.

Shade planter out front.

My dragon wing begonia seedlings. They haven't bloomed yet.

I like the ruffled edges. Color like my chocolate mint coleus seedling without the ruffles

My chocolate mint coleus seedling.

I'm lost for words for it's name. But you know what it is. (dahlias)

 

Zinnia and nasturtium seedlings.

Bee Balm

Coreopsis

Can't remember which daisy this is.

Sunflowers are getting taller.   

Hollyhocks planted last year. What is going on with that container? Don't know. Nothing has done really well in it this spring. We had a soaking rain this morning and all the plants are dry.

The yarrow gets taller each year. This is the second year since planted.

On the porch.

Hoya and ric rac cactus are back on the porch for the summer.

What is summer without a fern.

Currently reading a few pages each day. I like it. Also bought Viola Davis's new book to read this summer.

Sorry for any blurry pictures in the yard. I have a love hate relationship with my yard. It has eaten up lots of money in plants that didn't survive dry dappled shade. Finally found a hydrangea that loves it here. Our native smooth leaf hydrangea arborescens. Ordered one last year and 2 more arrive next week. Impatiens and discounted brunnera to go in the containers on the table. I'm learning that everything won't live in dry dappled shade. It has it's advantages though. It's always cool under the shaded trees and attracts loads of birds and wild life. I've heard many new unidentified bird sounds this spring. That's been exciting. Spotted the first catbird in the yard looking for insects, hopping along. Maybe it's making all the new sounds. I won't start feeding them again until the fall but until then they're enjoying the bird bath and digging for worms and insects. The yard has lots of earth worms. This spring there were lots of robins feasting.

Lady hydrangea. Love that it can be cut to the ground in fall and it grows again in the spring. Hopefully the blooms will be as large as last years.

Flower bed needs to be dug up again and the bricks lined up. Planter on the fence needs to be replanted as the pansies have died. Two box woods need to be pruned to have a shape. And I'll add a little color with impatiens and begonias waiting on the porch.

Several plants died in my blue container since planting early this spring including foxgloves, pansies, and columbine. Hopefully columbine is only sleeping until spring. I'll get around to adding impatiens, another hardy fern, and brunnera. There are also 2 oakleaf hydrangea that are doing well but growing slowly in the cedar container near the fence. Asters are next to them. They bloom in the fall. Hope you're having a good time in the soil.