mybristolhouse

The North Border has been a riot of flowers. Hello everyone! July has been a very hot, and very busy month for me here in Iowa. Weeds seem to spring up and grow to chin height in just a few weeks during this time of year -- they are a constant challenge to gardeners, as is the muggy heat index that makes us want to avoid all work outside. But there have been some moments of beauty in our hot summer gardens, and I've been able to take a few photos of them, usually in the somewhat cooler evenings. Here are a few scenes: The new Scented Garden around our patio has been a lovely place to sit in the evenings. A closeup of scented sweet peas, petunias and snapdragons. Black-Eyed Susans in the Yellow Garden. And some with green eyes as well. The latest pot display near my front porch: Papyrus, a Mediterranean Fan Palm, Agapanthus, white petunias and blue-flowered Plumbago. The White Garden, with 'David' phlox, Casablanca lilies and white coneflowers. This is the first time I'v...

My patriotically-colored flower pot display in front of our porch. This is the first year these Agapanthus , which I have been overwintering for two years, have bloomed! I thought that they and the Cyperus papyrus looked like fireworks, and the red-white-and-blue pinwheels were fun to add to their pots. They compliment the white Petunias , red Alstroemeria and blue Plumbago . Festive fun! Happy Fourth of July! I hope you are enjoying high summer in your gardens. There are many things blooming here, and the extreme heat of a few weeks ago has moderated a bit, so it's been nice to spend some time outside again enjoying summertime. In my last post, I showed some Before and After photos that showed some pretty weedy, unkempt garden areas, before I eliminated them. I promised I'd only show nice, flower-filled areas in this next post, so here are a few flowery scenes: Volunteer hollyhocks in the Front Border, with farm fields in the distance. Bachelor buttons in our front yard. The...