Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Summer's Arrival in the Garden

What better way to welcome summer than with the first daylily bloom of the year. The blazing orange of the blooms reminds me of the sun at high noon (not that we've had much sun).

The lavender was looking pretty woody and straggly this spring. I thought it might be time to replace it but in full bloom it looks amazing.

The foxglove is new to the garden this year. My daughter picked it out last year after I relayed the often-told tale that the blooms make the perfect-sized gloves for foxes.

While the foxglove is standing at about four feet tall, the foxtail lily is towering at upwards of six feet. Whereas last year I had only one spire of flowers, this year I have two.

While I can't help but be impressed by the heights reached by the foxglove and foxtail, one of my favourite plants of all time prefers to stay a little closer to the ground: the veronica spicata "Royal Candles" (shown here with some geranium clambering up its side). All in all, it has been a fabulous start to the summer.

5 comments:

Connie said...

Things are looking beautiful in your summer garden!
When lavender gets woody, you can cut it back in the early spring before it starts growing and it will come back with nice tender green growth. I did this to mine this year and it is looking so much nicer.

Gardenista said...

Yes, I think I even dug out a lavender plant or two because of its ugly woody mess in the spring. Some I left as it and others I cut down. All look good, though I think that in our climate (cold/harsh) the only new growth comes from the bottom anyways.

Tira said...

Those are beautiful "spire" flowers. I don't think those will grow in my climate, so I have ordered some echium seeds to get the spire effect.

Iowa Gardening Woman said...

Lovely photos, my first day lilies opened this week also.

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