Thursday, July 12, 2012

june blooms...in july

june blooms 2012
A look back on the flora (and fauna) in our yard before the heat wave killed all the plants and the thunderstorms/wind destroyed what wasn't already brown...

To be honest, the plants in our yard are up against a bigger challenge than temps in the triple digits: my brown thumb. I kill everything. So the blooms I am sharing are very hearty souls and have thrived throughout four years of neglect. The survivors:

Rose of Sharon. This plant (bush? tree?) is kind of a jerk. We call it the "dirty kleenex tree" because it drops the dead flowers all over our patio and they dry up and look like wads of used tissues:
june blooms 2012
Lilies. Lilies, lilies, lilies. Are lilies an invasive species? Because they spread like crazy. My mom pulled these double orange lilies out of her neighbor's trash (YES!) years ago, planted them in our yard and they've taken over and killed all other flowers in their path. Good thing they're pretty:
june blooms 2012
june blooms 2012
Hydrangeas. These guys were past their prime when I took the photos, but at their peak my hydrangeas are the most intensely blue hydrangeas I've ever seen. I got them this way by...doing nothing:
june blooms 2012
june blooms 2012
I think this is another variety of Rose of Sharon? (Wrong! My friend Matt just informed me that this is a Mallow Tree.)june blooms 2012
Yellow Lilies:
june blooms 2012
Parsley. I know you're not supposed to let herbs bloom, but this is curly parsley and we don't eat it:
june blooms 2012
Daisies! I'm actually really proud of my daisies. They've grown bigger and more impressive every year and I estimate that I now have well over 500 blooming at any one time in my yard. If you have a brown thumb and a sunny patch in your yard, I highly suggest growing daisies. They evidently love being neglected:
june blooms 2012
june blooms 2012
Stonecrop. Planted these this year. Predict they will be dead by next year:
june blooms 2012
Coneflowers. When we moved in, the purple coneflowers were nearly as impressive as the daisies, but they've been crowded out by other plants. Hope to plant some more because they really are beautiful:
june blooms 2012
And now for some fauna: Larry calls this guy the Vulture Cardinal. I don't know why he doesn't have feathers on his head, but he is freaky:
june blooms 2012

1 comment:

Sarah said...

So beautiful! You have so many lovely flowers. We only have one or two things. Probably for the best because I am an expert at killing plants/not taking care of them. But! My tomatoes plants are going nuts. I will have to take a picture for the blog. Seriously, they are out of control. I should have Gravy over to snarf on them ;)