In bloom this week: July 2, 2016

Lupine and delphinium 

Where did June go?? Writing about what's in bloom each week is a daunting task when it seems like my whole yard is in bloom, so I've decided to look at one or two areas at a time. The good news is that I am keeping up on weeding and watering pretty well. But I'm looking forward to the perennials that I've planted this year growing big enough to shade out the weeds.

I've ventured into planting in pots for the first time in many years, just a few annuals near the house. When we get a new shed, I want to grow clematis in the big square pots (I have two of them), but annuals are good for now. Finally got the hanging baskets up this week, they're still pretty small.

I've mentioned that my vegetable garden is being taken over by flowers.

Vegetable garden, from above

Nasturtium

Dahlia

Hollyhocks

Onion, gone to seed

Cosmos

The vegetables are growing nicely this year too, they don't seem to mind the cooler weather (at least cooler compared to last year!) and I've still been watering every day.

Pickling cucumbers

Pepper and a late bush bean, most of the bush beans are almost ready to pick

Volunteer tomatoes, came up from seed from last year

That's enough for today, I could keep going forever and I then I wouldn't get this posted. What's blooming in your yard this week?

In bloom this week: June 13, 2016

Hollyhocks

I missed a couple of weeks, was out of town and things got a little hectic when I returned. My garden continued to bloom without me, and surprisingly, the weeds haven't overgrown everything (yet?).

All of my lavender is blooming, in my rose garden and on the sunnier side of my shade garden - along with peas, yum!

Lavender and peas

Fern leaf lavender

White lavender

Hollyhocks are growing just behind the peas (on the sunnier side of the shade garden), and in the back of my vegetable garden.

Hollyhocks in the vegetable garden

In my vegetable garden, I'm letting a few onions go to seed. I doubt that's going to result in large onions, but I wanted to see what they would look like.

Onion blooms

Also in my vegetable garden (which perhaps needs to be renamed), more lupine and delphiniums are blooming.

Lupine

Delphinium

Here's one actual vegetable in flower - bush beans!

Bush beans

On the sunny hillside, salvia 'hot lips' blooms have turned from mostly red to mostly white. Harebell (campanula rotundifolia) and yarrow are also blooming.

Hot lips salvia

Hot lips salvia

Harebell

Yarrow

When I was digging up that part of the hillside earlier in the spring, I scattered wildflower and various poppy seeds in a strip across the bottom. Even a month ago, I was afraid not much was going to come up. Now, everything has taken off!

Wildflowers

Wildflowers, many colors of California poppies

Wildflowers, bachelor's button?

In my tiny native meadow area at the bottom of the hill, brodiaea coronaria, which was an accidental purchase, has lovely blooms.

Brodiaea coronaria

Of course the roses continue to bloom and I just deadheaded a lot of them so will have many more soon.

The new groundcover plants in the rose garden are growing slowly but steadily.

Heron's Bill

Yarrow

Creeping Bellflower - just planted this month

Catmint

That's more pictures than I thought I had! What will bloom next? Lots of shasta daisies!

Daisies