Summer Scenes in the Garden
Sunday, June 9, 2019 at 10:30PM Summer is here, and the deep greening of the garden has begun. A few perennials and annuals celebrate our heat and humidity and provide splashes of color, but these hot months are all about foliage in its myriad forms and variegations.
First, some color: This tropical hibiscus is so beautiful that I plan to bring it inside later to overwinter. For now it sits on our patio, and I have a good view of it from our kitchen and dining room.
Here are a few more June blooms:
The large top photo is from my new pollinator garden, with purple Veronica and perennial Helenium. Do you see the bee? Small photos left to right: Hummingbird plant, Dicliptera suberecta, is also known as Uruguayan firecracker plant; One of the very best yellow reblooming daylilies is Hemerocallis 'Going Bananas'; Hydrangea quercifolia 'Snowflake' has double blooms, unlike the common oak leaf hydrangea, which has single blooms; 'Anthony Waterer' Spirea has May - June blooms but will produce more flowers if spent blooms are removed.
When the day is nearly done - but not quite - the sun sends shafts of light through the woodland garden. It is my favorite time of the day. Sparks flash under and over and through the foliage; and like a soul lifted out of darkness, the garden is transformed. 
Here are closer views of some of the woodland plants:
Clockwise from top left: Breynia disticha is called Snow on the Mountain bush and also Snowbush. It is not hardy in my area. It is in a pot, and I will bring it inside for winter; Hosta 'Rhino Hide'; Cercis canadensis 'Whitewater' is a weeping variegated redbud tree; Zantedeschia albomaculata, or White Spotted Leaf Calla Lily; Fatsia 'Spider's Web'; Bird's nest fern (Asplenium nidus) is another plant in my garden that is not hardy. It is in a pot so I can bring it in for winter.
Clockwise from top left: Peacock moss (Selaginella uncinata) and Athyrium filix-femina, commonly called lady fern, grow next to a mossy rock; A close-up of the Peacock moss; Native Trillium and Autumn Fern (Dryopteris erythrosora);Hostas are beginning to bloom - I don't remember the name of this one!
Finally, here is a Daddy Longlegs, stretched out, taking it easy on a hosta leaf. This non-venomous insect has 6 legs and is not a true spider:
Happy Gardening!
Reader Comments (12)
Your garden is growing luxuriantly and all of those lovely blooms are like icing on the cake. I too love certain hours in the day to view the garden. Early morning gives that soft light that not only awakens the garden but it stirs the soul.
How lovely all of the green is, giving the illusion of a cool place in the garden. Always enjoy seeing what's going on in your neck of the woods. xo
Your woodland garden is very enticing! I love all the cool green foliage and the dappled light. Summer arrived here yesterday by my reckoning and the cool shady spots in my own garden are few and far between.
Oh thank you, Deb. This is such a beautiful, magical post. I know what you mean about the angled light in the woodland--so special. I really like the birdbath with the moss and the glass globe--really nifty!
Enjoyed chatting with you through the curtain this morning! Your blog is lovely and the photography beautiful. Looking forward to enjoying this for a long time to come.
Lovely summer scenes Deb!
Hi everyone! Thanks for stopping by and taking time to comment. I appreciate you all! Sara, I enjoyed talking to you today! Thank you for your kind comment about my blog. Best wishes, Deb
The flowers are beautiful, but I especially love your fabulous variety of foliage.
Your blue bridge is a new darker colour, or that the effect of evening light?
Crystal ball is a perfect finishing touch!
Deb, this red hibiscus is awesome. How did you manage to plant it? Definitely you have to overwinter it inside, in my climate it also wouldn't survive. I love late spring and summer because the whole garden is blooming. And I also love taking photos of mine flowers but also of the flowers I come across. The owl's claws (helenium) is the plant that I grow since few years. I order its seeds from https://gardenseedsmarket.com/orange-sneezeweed-owls-claws-seeds-helenium-hoopesii.html and it is definitely better that to buy seedlings. I love its intensive yellow colour which looks perfect not only on photos!
Hi Pola, thanks for stopping by my blog! The hibiscus is planted in a pot, which I can easily move inside when the time comes. Best wishes, Deb
Look like i'm in the garden of Eden if i staying in your garden.