The gardening season this year began in February and since then many plants have bloomed much earlier than usual. The asters were very early as were the mums, pictured above. The red autumn sage bloomed in early March and has been in continuous bloom all summer. The hummers, of course, love them.
I love blackeyed Susans but the variety 'goldstrum' gets too leggy by the time it blooms in July. I found two new varieties -one petite and the other named 'American goldrush ' at the local garden center. I'm going to dig out all the blackeyed Susans and transplant them to the roadside meadow garden this Fall.
The coneflowers I planted last year are blooming beautifully and need little attention. I have them in pink, yellow and orange.
When I planted 'sunshine' privet a few years ago it was hardly noticeable. I love the way it has grown rather quickly and the color it keeps year round adds lots of color and cheer all season.
I'm trying to add more silver accents and the Spanish lavender ( foreground ) seems to like it on my rocky slope as the soil is well -drained.
For reasons unknown the Japanese beetles seem to be less this year , which is a miracle as I'm usually fighting them for most of the summer.
July is the rainest month of the year here in central North Carolina but this year not so much. A few days ago we had a deluge of 2 " !
I have a lot of birdhouses throughout my front forest and backyard garden and love watching them build their nests and raise their young. Some of the birds are on their 3rd family.
