Six Years

The Heat Wave may be on, now. The sun has come out perhaps to stay. The June thunder clouds roll in late in the afternoon, rumbling into the night threatening rain, hail, and other storm relate mayhem. Sometimes they turn loose of rain; other times they just make a lot threatening noise. The sky darkens and we put way our hoes and water buckets and head for the house. Another day in the garden done.

The Head Gardener has missed out on great gardening weather over the week-end, but he is taking a much needed break and having  a great time camping with the grandsons. This is 6 year old Nathan's first camping trip with grandpa where the boys will shoot their bows at fake animals (as Nathan calls them.)

The HG earned his weekend away. There has been so much work to get done this year since he worked part-time last year for the company from which he retired. Jobs really do get in the way. I do have a couple of projects on my list that I need help with. This one, for example. I am moving my strawberry bed to a new location for a couple of reasons.

The Egg Production Project has expanded with the addition of Chanticleer, a rooster and his aggressive hen that picks on the other hens. We needed some sort of holding pen/quarantine place that now seems a permanent home for Chant and his mean old lady. 

The strawberries winter killed, so a new spot was a good idea.

We removed two clumps of iris, hauled in new top soil (saved from when we dug the water garden hole), added commercial top soil, and compost. Now I need to buy strawberries--this afternoon when I am done blogging.

I planted strawberries in my hanging baskets for the pergola. They did well last year. I like seeing the red berries trailing from the hanging pots.



Originally the hen house was a garden shed for potting plants and such. Now we have a mobile potting bench. How handy is that!

Strawberries planted and hung. 

I feel a bit foolish that I should have listened more closely to Judith at Lavender Cottage to not get in a hurry to replace seeming dead roses that looked like they had winter killed. She advised that perhaps they were just slow to wake up after a long, hard winter. Truer words were never spoken, for some have indeed awakened.

A rather blurry photo, but Veteran's Pride blooms happily, though not with large flowers this round. In fact the first buds were frozen in a Mother's Day freeze, but she is coming out of it. Now she has a sister.

First Prize is rewarding my lack of patience with small, but splendid pink blooms. She, too, has a sister.

And would you look at Gertrude Jekyll, for is producing her lovely pink swirls. I do think I have lost Shropshire Lad just around the corner from the girls. He is sending out tall, lanky shoots like the other roses that reverted back to their wild beginnings. I'll give him another few weeks.

Right now the lad is having to wade his way through the profusion of peonies. There are 3 three here ordered 3 years ago from White Flower Farms under the simple title of Old Fashioned Collection. The heads are so heavy that they droop miserably.

Miss Eastern Red Bud finally has proven that she is hardier than I gave her credit for. She comes out the winner of the Best Surprise award this year.

I think this is Dark Knight (or is it Night?) I had iris planted in the back that grew so huge and out of control that I had the HG help me move them last year. We got in a hurry and didn't get them all named when we divided them. So far only one of the 4 has bloomed. So dark and purple, he looks black. I am glad that he is back.

Here is a profusion of Pink:

Even a pink water lily. I was so glad to see them bloom this year. All accounted for and blooming finally after the water warmed.

The coral bell blooms, too. I had to take this shot using the 75-300mm zoom taken through the long leaves of the Siberian iris. 

The hay looks fabulous, chest high on a short woman. 

Years ago daughter Heather gave me a white Siberian iris that we planted at the Old House. It bloomed maybe once. I moved it to the Garden Spot 6--nearly 6 1/2--years ago planting in two places: in the garden behind the house and out in the iris patch where we planted all of the "I don't know where to plant these because I have too many of them" place.

Do plants have telepathy, I wonder, because I had determined that I would dig out this iris because obviously it wasn't going to bloom and it is right in the middle of the perennial bed, taking up a lot of good real estate just sitting there soaking up water, taking up space, annoying me.

Well, I guess I have changed my tune.

The mosaic will appear in Monday Mosaics hosted by Judith at Lavender Cottage. Be sure drop by the see the other mosaics. 

Have a wonderful week. Lots to do this week. We will take the boys back to Denver Tuesday then hit the garden work hard again. Love it. Thanks for stopping by.