July has been very quirky this year with some days near a hundred and some mornings and evenings so cool I had to wear a jacket. What little rain we had was usually a heavy downpour, much welcome by my newly planted garden. The wildflower garden fronting the property is blooming nicely and passersby comment on how great it looks. Only Mother Nature could design such a dazzling array of colors and textures. I'm still battling with rabbits and deer even though I've planted what they're not suppose to like and try to keep spraying with repellents to discourage them .
The guest room /flex room addition to our house was supposed to be a two week project but it turned into a 7 week one due to a permit not being obtained by the previous owner for the existing deck . We are burned out with home improvement at this point, having done it non-stop since we moved in last November.
I love getting up early and walking around the garden in the cool of the morning. The well traveled road in front of our house is lively with joggers and walkers and many will strike up a conversation when they see me tending the garden .
Everywhere you go you are greeted with the lovely sight of Crape Myrtles in pink, purple, white, and red and the great thing about it is that they will continue to bloom for 100 days. I finally found the 'Burgundy Cotton ' cultivar I had searched for so long and two ' burgundy plums ' and added them to the front entrance garden . I inherited two old Crape Myrtles and am trying to rejuvenate them.
I was also thrilled to find Viburnum plicatum ' mariesii ' which will look like the mature specimen below in a few years .
I've added Bears breeches , Lantana, coreopsis, more ferns, and Sweet Woodruff to the woodland garden . Looking for Lily of the Valley to colonize there as well. Added more varieties to the succulent garden and plan to go to the big container sale at the garden center this weekend to add one or two there as well.
My next project is to fence in the backyard so that I can garden without worrying about deer eating my plants.
