Points for the reference.
Our high on Sunday last – 32.5C, or about 90.5F. And only 10% humidity so…yay!
We had a bank holiday this Monday, so I spent all three days outside. I am super proud that I didn’t put on a pair of shoes for three whole days! Yes, my feet were filthy. Yes, I loved it.
Got lots of garden-work done. I think I’ve finally finished ripping all the grass and weeds out of the annoying and awkward strip to the left of our driveway.
I goofed – thought these were nicotania. Foxgloves! Gifted to me by iDJ’s uncle who is also mad for gardening. Behind them, wild ivy and my not-sweet pea from seed I gathered in the US many years ago. It always comes back, and doesn’t spread. Once again I’m trying to get it to flop over the wall instead of smothering plants on this side. The ivy helps by giving it something to hold on to. But the wind usually comes straight at the front of the house, so every year it is a losing battle.
But I’m optimistic; so right below the pea, I planted broad beans. Silly me!
At the other end of Awkward Strip, I dug out my purple callas finally – after 10 years – as they hated it there (now potted, and in a sunnier place). Put these yokes in: Aubretia ‘kittie blue’ (look purple to me) as they are meant to spread and bloom for ages. Still some unhappy dianthus there under the roses, but it is so full of clover, moss, and grass that I might dig it out next year, too. Depends on if the dianthus makes an effort this year or not. I used to like it, but it’s just not been happy the last few years (it got mowed two years ago and never forgave me).
In between, not pictured – a peace rose, and my first ever peony. Also these:
These are osteospermum ‘cool purple’ and ‘margarita pink flare’. I’m super proud of hubby for picking these out, and after I showed him how, he planted the pink flare all by himself. I think of it as his plant now! I really hope they both get well established and come back next year as they are meant to (I don’t really do annuals).
Some foxglove close-ups, as you do!
It’s a bee-butt! This welcome visitor showed up while I was taking snaps. She sampled just about every flower!
My first rose of the season! Yes, the bush has a terrible case of black spot, and possibly orange rust. May have to hack the hell out of them this winter. I’m too timid with the pruning.
Damn Duggar flowers are everywhere.
The Sweet William has lost its sweetness for me as it also gets everywhere. But the top one isn’t a variety I planted. It’s evolving. Triffids, I tell you!
The blue Primrose, after looking a bit raggedy, has come back for another show. It also is looking more purple than blue, but part of that is the camera. It just can’t get a good pic of this beauty.
The mini irises out front are going strong. They are so tiny! And in another annoying spot in the background, my massive hostas.
But the real show-stopper this year is…
Now, I can’t seem to find the post where I planted these to find out what the heck they are! Four different bearded iris, but only one came up into bloom this year. I love it! The one stalk had eight flowers. Wow! They are massive blooms, big as nearly both my hands.
I have more, of course – but think I best end with the best.
heretherebespiders 
Your garden’s looking splendid! I have a soft spot for traditional cottage garden flowers, and won’t hear a word against the Stinkin’ Billies or the heartsease. And I have serious iris envy. My garden is probably a dead waste by now, since I haven’t been able to get out there and take of any of it for a good while, and it’s another two weeks on top of that by the time I get home. The watering system’s been playing up (not a problem in Ireland, I understand!), so I’m dreading the sight that’ll greet me. Ah well, if I have to start again… And as for 32.5°C and only 10% humidity, you don’t know you’re alive. Try that with 82% humidity, green ants in the grass and welcome to the tropics, baby 🙂 !
Ha! Now I can figure the stinkin billies, so the heartsease is the violas? My biggest problem with the violas is they attract aphids like mad. Second biggest – them growing everygoddamnwhere is the biggest!
Oh, believe me I know the value of that 10% humidity! Florida was not my kinda place. I am thrilled that I sat out (no sunscreen) in that all day and barely got sweaty.
Wish I could help with your garden – I know technically you are winding up for the year, but it is still hot during the day. Poor plants! But hey, I’d rather you come back next year in full bloom!
Yup, heartsease is the little violas. The name dates back to Elizabethan times.
My worst fear for my garden is that lots of stuff is in tubs and pots, and if the watering system has gone down, so have they… We shall see.
Beautiful!
I AM BLINDED BY THE ULTRAVIOLET
Are you a bee? 🐝
Looking good!
On the point of Black Spot on your Roses… I was plagued by this for about 5 years. Every year it would come back and make the whole plant look tired, anaemic, listless and basically crap.
Flower buds would be dead before they bloomed and new growth was always lacklustre.
What I had to do was be drastic, cut off all the leaves that showed ANY sign of black spot and trim away any stems that had it too. Also don’t allow any leaves with black spot to fall to the floor, when they rot they will release the spores back near the plant. I have to say that last year I felt I was torturing the poor plant myself than the black spot was! B-(
After all that during the growing phase I gave it quite the brutal pruning over winter. I also gave the soil around the base a tickle and removed any and all leaves that were on the floor, be they Rose or not… EVERYTHING was cleared away just in case.
I also sprayed it with an anti fungal Rose Black Spot spray thing, bottle, contraption…. Thingy… *sigh*. Words…. I Can’t even English this morning. >.>
Which of the bits actually worked? I honestly think they all did in their own way. Some was preventative of re-infection and some was to treat the issue. But in the end it worked because you saw my rose bloom yesterday! B-)
And Osteospermum is a wonderful plant. We had LOADS when working at the Council and they never failed to impress.
It was your saying that about hacking them back that makes me think I have to try it! I already do the rest, and spray the anti-fungal all over the ground and walls, etc. It’s not helping, I think I am going to have to try the big chop. My massive white rose is in really bad shape, and last weekend I did take out about half of it. There are still several branches over 12ft! And the first bloom opened today 🙂
Awesome that you got your first bloom. Have you been cutting back the infected stems too? I didn’t know about that until someone told me. I was just snipping off leaves and leaving the infected stems and that was spreading it out again.
How can you tell? Are they the blotchy-looking-ones?
Wow, that is hot! We’re due 32 degrees here today but they it is southern France 😉 Your garden is obviously loving the heat.
Pretty! I would keep an eye on how fast these plants are evolving though…don’t want an Audrey 2 situation.
One of these days I’m going to have to come visit your garden in person, it always looks so lovely!
Grand. Really! I love flowers and I use to do nice little flower beds all over the yard. I even had two runs of pots that were wide enough to have one type of flowers in the front and a different in the back so that the front ones fell like a waterfall over the front and the ones in the back seemed to stand up tall and bright. A lot of people don’t realize the work of it, and as you say, it is hard work. I have found hanging baskets to be some what easier. Anyway, I can’t do them any more, but it is wonderful to view yours. The feeling of growing things.. I can’t explain it, but it stays with you and makes you want to do it. As I walk around I realize how individual flowers can be, no flower bed seems to be the same as another, and all seem wonderful. Do you prefer the English flower bed idea of mixed flowers in no order, or the kind where the flowers are all in rows and clearly separated? I never could remember then real names of the flowers I bought… when asked I just tell people its color as its name. I was never smart enough to remember the official name so I just bought by color and size and how much sun it needed for the spots I had. Thanks for sharing. Hugs
I keep the tags so I can look up what they are. Eventually I can remember the name after many repetitions. Sometimes! Some I don’t bother with – white rose, pink rose, lavender rose 🙂
You actually did a better job than I do. I’m very much the “hmm, where can I stick this one?” type of gardener. I don’t have a lot of room so a lot of things are in pots.
Do you do houseplants? They don’t require as much work.
I use to have house plants and I had a room in the house with lots of windows and light so I did the starter garden plants for the family. However some how I became allergic to almost all growing things. So we had to stop having plants in the house and I started really doing stuff out side. Right now I don’t have any flowers out, but I talked to Ron about starting again. See I will need his help to get them started and he is really busy right now. 🙂 Hugs
That would be my nightmare, to be allergic to plants! Or cats. I’d be so sad.
Beautiful mosaic of colors and shapes (Your irises almost look like showy fan dancers)
All the rain really bogged the flowers down here. Now it’s about the same temp as you’ve got – baking. Impressed you did that weeding. Once it get into the 90’s I’m inside.
One of my elder aunts loved those litle violas. Apparently she had them in a garden as a child. I would plant a couple in a little pot and take her when I visited. She’d put them on her window sill and just smiled. They never lasted all that long in the senior citizen center, but it was OK as she forgot about them quickly as her mind wandered. Often thought I was her daughter which was OK as we were about the same age and size. Whatever made her happy was fine. Nice how when we age, flowers hold and bring back old memories.
It’s the 10% humidity that makes a world of difference! I was sweaty just staying still and reading, but it was a good sweaty, if that makes sense! It’s cooled off a lot now, sadly. The plants won’t mind but I do! Except when trying to sleep – no A/C here.
That is a beautiful story and it makes me like mine a bit more. Now I’ll think of this woman who smiled back at the little cat faces.
That’s exactly what she called them “little cat faces”. A lovely frail lady cheerful her whole life – maybe a little bit of fluff with not much going on up there even on her younger/good days, but that smiling made up for it all.
Now I really feel as if I knew her. Thank you.