I cannot believe summer is half over with already, can you? I know I say it every year, but summer just goes by way too fast.
So another month went by and it's time for another garden tour. The garden is fuller, greener, and has transitioned from the pastel colors of spring to the hot, vivid colors of summer. Hollyhock, Asiatic Lilies, and Day Lilies are the stars of the July garden. So let's begin our Mid-summer garden tour shall we?
This year I got a big surprise, all this hollyhock sprouted up in a very inconvenient space (right next to the steps leading down into my garden) and you know what? Instead of moving it, I just left it there. It was happy, so why not?
I have had this Yucca plant for YEARS and it has never bloomed until this year. I would have gotten rid of the plant, but it's impossible to dig up. So I left it, and I was thrilled to finally see it bloom.
A close up of the Yucca plant bloom. Quite pretty and original I think.
My Endless Summer Hydrangea blooms pink instead of blue.
When we were in Medora, North Dakota last year, we visited a "Wind Spinner Garden". It was a lovely space filled with wind spinners of all shapes and styles. I never even heard of wind spinners before but I really liked the concept because it's soundless. I do enjoy a good garden chime, but I also love hearing the natural sounds of the waterfall and birds singing, so wind spinners seem more practical to me.
Here's a short video showing the wind spinner in motion. They are quite fun to watch, and they all make different movements. I bought this one at Hobby Lobby at 50% off, but I hope to add more to my garden as the years go on.
A bright fuchsia Astilbe.
A white Asiatic lily.
A white hydrangea bush. This is my favorite hydrangea bush. The blooms last all summer, and it just keeps growing, and growing, and growing. I have dug up several shoots to get other bushes growing around the yard.
Red day lilies and orange asiatic lilies in my southern garden bed.
Bee Balm with a little bit of Delphinum in front.
The Purple Coneflower just started to open up. They make a nice contrast with the red day lilies.
The septic mound garden.
A hot pink Spirea bush.
More Bee Balm with a yellow Asiatic lily in front.
Tall orange Asiatic lilies.
Evening Primrose
This year, I decided to try tall snapdragons in front of my house, and boy have I been pleased! I have tried snapdragons before, but they were the 12 inch tall ones...they bloomed once and were done. These beauties keep growing and blooming all summer long. And I love how tall they grow. I need tall blooming annuals for my garden because my yard is so big. Tall annuals are hard to find. My only complaint, is that they have to be staked, but I can live with that. Next summer, I'm buying a full flat of these beauties!
A light pink Astilbe in my front yard garden.
A light pink day lily with purple coneflower in the background.
Purple Campanula
A banana cream daylily growing right next to my pond.
And finally an assortment of all the other Day Lilies I have growing in my yard.
The Vegetable Garden is doing well. I have harvested most of the broccoli and cauliflower already and I am just growing broccoli side shoots now.
Jackson continues to enjoy strolling the gardens with me each day.
I ate all the spinach, lettuce, and radishes already, and had to reseed so I can have more salad greens in a few weeks.
The Broccoli was really healthy this year and I didn't have to deal much with the dreaded cabbage worm at all.
A cute little snowy white head of cauliflower poking out.
After three years, I think I finally learned the secret of growing peppers. Just look at the size of this pepper! And they are delicious! What's the secret? Place them in the hottest, sunniest part of your garden and give them plenty of space to grow. In the past, my peppers would get swallowed up by other vegetables, but not this year! I planted them where nothing else would interfere with their growth. Next month I'll show you a garden picture of my pepper and tomato garden.
I ran short of kale last winter, so this year I planted three types. This curly leaf kale I planted last fall and somehow it survived the winter.
Kale Premier, my favorite.
And Kale Lacinato...a pretty kale, but not my favorite.
My favorite part of squash and zucchini are the blooms!
This year I planted zero green beans because we still never finished eating all the green beans from last year. In its place I planted peas! I think peas are pretty fussy and difficult to grow, so I planted a lot of them. I squeezed them in wherever I could fit them, and I finally got a good harvest. I think I filled this box three or four times before my harvesting was done.
We planted two full beds of potatoes, plus I threw a few extra in pots and my regular garden. They are growing so well. I've never had a bed so full and lush like this before.
Here are the potatoes growing in pots. I learned about this technique on YouTube. Everyone there swears growing potatoes in pots is easier and more prolific than growing them in the ground. We will see! I think the potato plants growing in the ground look better than the ones in the pots.
Well I can't finish a garden post without including a picture of Jackson in the garden. Here he is enjoying a spot of cool shade underneath a kale plant and some sweet peas.
And finally, here is a video I made for Instagram that is why the footage is upright. I am walking through my Garden so you can get some perspective of it's size and layout. Be sure to have the sound on so you can hear the waterfall and songbirds...that's the best part of my garden!
I hope you enjoyed my Mid-Summer Garden Tour. I will see you next month with a final farewell to summer!
Have A Great Day! Amy
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