June was a very agreeable month for weather. I spent the majority of my time outside. I did manage to finish a quilt and even had a garden location perfect for taking a photo.
The quilt pattern is, "Duet," from Villa Rosa Designs. Finished size is 55 x 74-inches. Creeping thyme is making it's way up my rock slope. About nine years of growth to get two feet of rock covered.
The rest of this post will be garden photos and will mostly serve as a little journal for my future reference.
The stars of my perennial beds are the eight Blue Himalayan Poppies that are split between two beds.
The were the third plant to pop into bloom this year.
They've been blooming for a little over two weeks so far.
I have at least two poppy plants that look like they need to be divided! I need to find a good location for those new plants. Not sure if I will get them divided this year.
The next big bloomer in my garden this year was creeping thyme. I've planted a lot of thyme over the years.
It's such a slow process...
I've got a lot of rocks to cover. Though only two areas in my garden where the thyme is really covering rocks.
Here's a close up of the thyme flowers/
Another good creeping plant is Soapwort. I have had some success starting a new plant from cuttings. Perennial shopping in our area is a little challenging. You find a plant that works and then you never see it again at the local nurseries.
This orange plant, Fire Storm Geum was a risky perennial I bought at Lowes and it has survived for seven years! I had three but one didn't make it through the first winter.
And a local favorite....irises!
I also have some miniature irises in a tub...they just don't bloom long enough!
I almost didn't plant Blue on the Mountain, below. Beautiful plant but it is ginormous and quickly takes over an area.
I feel like perennials that do well in my area are mostly purples and blues. Love it when I can find other colors to add to the beds. I bought these yellow and pink columbines at the end of the season a couple of years ago. They are so fun!
I also bought these Coral Bells in the color "Firefly," at the end of last year's planting season. I was so excited to see they made it through the winter and are thriving.
I am most excited this hedge-like shrub looks so great. When I bought it last year it just looked like a stick in a pot. I searched all over the area for this plant, a honeysuckle that will thrive here. This is Arnold Red Honeysuckle. It has pretty berry colored flowers. The shrub is supposed to get 10 x 10 feet! I put it on our property edge to create a little privacy hedge...I planted two of them.
I suppose that's enough plant photos for one post.
No recent critter photos, except my three next to me as we spend the day inside.
Much needed rain has arrived.
