As we join Cathy at Words and Herbs for this week’s Tuesday View, we see it’s rained again… and continues to rain. Non gardeners are complaining, but just look at that green lushness!
Pink coneflowers (echinacea) and the mauve cloud of Russian sage (perovskia) bring the most flower color, but the first sunflowers are opening and that should bring big changes!
I kind of forgot how things get a little out of control in this border during the summer. The annuals start to pick up steam and I do prefer plants which you don’t always have to bend over to examine, so things are stacked in favor of disorder.
The far end of the border is taking on the colors of ‘Limelight’ hydrangea and variegated giant reed grass (Arundo donax). Both are 6 feet and climbing 🙂
I like it well enough and hope it keeps getting better. There are problems of course but for the most part the rain keeps washing them away (except for the slugs of course), and when the sun comes out I swear things have grown by another inch.
There’s always hope after the rain.
I’m just sitting back and enjoying it. Over the weekend I sat in a nice clean garage and watched the latest downpour coming down on the driveway. That was pretty much it and it reminded me of all the reasons summer is awesome.
Have a great week!
sorta like suburbia 
Love the sunflowers and Echniacea. That front border is very zingy!
I love a little summertime zing!
This afternoon I had two monarchs, a tiger swallowtail, and a couple other smaller butterflies floating about. It made me feel good about the plantings.
LOL! I think only gardeners (and farmers) are happy when it rains! It look fabulous Frank – such tall healthy growth everywhere. My Perovskia has been flattened by heavy rain in the night, but yours seems to be standing up to your rainshowers well. Love the golden highlights from the grass and hydrangea (and is that the comfrey at the front of the second photo?).
The perovskia has its floppy parts as well, especially this year with all the growth and rain. Also since I started mulching with shredded leaves each spring the perovskia and some of the grasses have really appreciated the extra humus and have become much floppier.
Yes thats my lovely comfrey in the second photo. I’m really pleased with it this year 🙂
Oh, that rain is doing its magic. Borders look perfect.
Isn’t rain in the summer so much nicer than drought!?
You are right your border looks fabulous. I don’t mind the bedlam of your border, color, texture, chaos at it’s best.
I’m also a garden-chaos lover, but I suspect several of my neighbors would prefer much more mulch, and lumpier, more rounded plantings. I’m nearly 99% sure my one neighbor is out with nail clippers touching up his topiary balls each morning to make sure they don’t run amok. Sounds like a personal problem 😉
You finished cleaning the garage! Hurray for you! All of this rain has been great–I’m not missing dragging the hose all around at all! And of course, your border looks fantastic!
You should see the garage, I’m afraid to walk in there with my shoes on lol. In fact today I planted a few things and had to throw the empty pots next to the driveway rather than risk any schmutz getting on the floor.
Lush and green! Love the way your Limelight stands out. What a beautiful rainbow, too.
‘Limelight’ is a favorite, but there’s a little ‘Vanilla strawberry’ coming along and it has me thinking I might need to explore a little deeper into the world of big puffy white hydrangeas!
I read your ‘garden tour’ posting this morning, Frank, and now this new post: What a gorgeous garden you have! I didn’t realize just how large it is. Love your ‘Limelight’ — I bought an unmarked hydrangea (cheap) last year and it’s coming into bloom looking like it may be ‘Limelight.’ I hope it is and looks like yours. BTW — I’m sick of rain! P. x
Thanks Pam!
I hope the hydrangea does well for you. I really love these big midsummer white paniculate hydrangeas, they really put on a show. Funny how you thought the garden was smaller, I always feel like I try to make it look bigger than it really is. Funny how our perceptions work!
I may have heard the rain coming down yesterday and thought to myself ‘ugh, rain again?’… but I’m still not going to complain after the last few summers, that is I’m not going to complain until the mold and mildews and fugus start.
How gorgeous with that rainbow! The border looks great. I love those sunflowers! We’ve had a lot of rain here, too, which is so great after last year’s bad drought.
Isn’t the difference from last year amazing? I always get a kick out of the sunflowers. It’s always a surprise as to what shows up since I’ve never actually planted any. They’re all just birdseed which the birds just spread around.
I noticed the arundo and the Limelight before I read your comment. And there’s a yellowish something in the border’s curve, and the comfrey at the end–it really does draw the eye through the border. Well done!
I do have a weakness for yellow foliage. This spring I even made myself put several yellow-foliaged plants back on the shelf because I’m afraid it’s getting to be a little too much!
If it’s a choice between July rain and July 93F… bring on the precipitation! 🙂 Your border looks fantastic. 🙂
Thanks! I haven’t missed the heat at all, even while fogged in up in Canada alongside a frigid Atlantic Ocean!