A RARE DAY IN JUNE

 

"And what is so rare as a day in June?
Then, if ever, come perfect days;
Then Heaven tries earth if it be in tune,
And over it softly her warm ear lays:
Whether we look, or whether we listen,
We hear life murmur, or see it glisten."
- James Russell Lowell, The Vision of Sir Launfal

Gardening is the slowest of the performing arts.   This once blank slate in a corner of my garden will take time to fill in and once Fall comes I'll be adding more plants as well.  This has been a very topsy-turvy Spring with either too dry weather and hot or too rainy which is tough on the plants.

I added two new vines -the crossvine and a Japanese hydrangea both on my fence above.  The hydrangea vine can reach up to 50 ' so I'm planning to train it on my neighbors chain-link fence .  This corner gets morning and some afternoon sun but also period of light shade.

The potted tree in the corner is my Korean maple which I grew from a very small  seedling.  This Fall I plan to plant it in the ground.

Above is a remarkable plant, Woods Aster, a native which blooms from late Spring thoroughout the summer.  Last year the bunnies devored them but they're making a comeback.  I've been sprinkling lot of stinky repellent around them and also letting my mini-Schnoodle patrol the garden more frequently to try and deter that rascally rabbit.

On to July, the rainest month of the year in North Carolina.

MAY'S GARDEN - NATURE'S ORCHESTRA

 

Birdsong fills the morning air,

A gentle rustling, beyond compare.

May's garden hums with life anew,

Nature's orchestra, fresh and true.

May is a really eventful month filled with birthdays and holidays.   Two of my children and I are born in May and then, of course, there's Mother's Day so a lot of celebrations and presents.  I'm not hard to buy for-a gift certificate to the local Southern States garden center is high on my list and I usually score a lot of them.

My goal of using living plants as mulch is still in the works and I'm buying plants to fill those empty spaces where a weed can sneak in.

I'm very fond of 'ascot rainbow ' Euphorbia as a filler but it is a very challenging plant -starts off great but in a lot of cases declines just as fast, despite good drainage and ample sun.  

I use  lots of chartreuse and purple in my boulder garden and soft silver plants as accents.

My front woodland bed is planted with ajuga and 'ice dance ' carex.  In the background is my favorite viburnum plicatum ' mariesii ' and 'prague ' viburnum.

This area is prone to flooding during our heavy rainfalls in July so the grasses help absorb excess water.

My garden is planted for the birds and bees and I have pollinator plants that bloom very early to very late to feed them.  Autumn sage is an early blooming favorite and Hellebores as well.

May is very busy in the bird world as well.  I love watching them fill the many birdhouses I put up for them.  The blue birds are my favorites but there are also robins,   Carolina wrens, Blue Jays, Mockingbirds, Woodpeckers and Cardinals.   I am also visited by many hummingbirds later in the season.