Bringing the Heat

 We had our first over 100* day for the year yesterday. I was surprised by how well some things were still looking. In a gardening book I’m reading, 52 Weeks in the California Garden, it says the next two months are ideal for planning while sitting in the shade. That’s definitely how I’m feeling these days. My favorite nursery sent me a coupon though, so I might buy something to plant despite myself. 

The violets surprised me, they have been extremely hardy and bloomy.

A marigold that seeded itself…at least I think that’s what it is.

The trellis fell a bit, but the clematis took it in stride.

I love seeing the life cycle of a plant, especially one so tasty.

My baby usually eats all the strawberries as I pick them, and quite a few have been enjoyed by a few slugs and pill bugs, but the ones I manage to eat are delicious.

Full view of the yard with the chairs in the pool because the water is still cold even being so hot outside.

Love the Zwartkopf, Salvia Alba, and oregano combination especially this time of year. I didn't water the gladiolus behind enough for it to bloom, though the foliage is still enjoyably architectural, maybe next year we’ll have some lime blooms too. 

The kid garden is looking a little overgrown, but sweet. That is the native sunflower we got at a garden talk in Winters.

The Scabiosa is fully recovered from transplanting and loving the heat.

Snapdragons in the setting sun.

They’ve been buried in sweet peas for a couple of months, but they are back and beautiful.

The Dianthus continues to amaze me. 

Some of the last sweet pea blooms of the year are still surprisingly vibrant. I found the pink bloomed first, followed by lilac, then salmon, and then this deep purple has been last and last to go.

Lots of Dianthus setting seed. I’m letting them scatter, but I might collect a few if I find the time.

More sweet pea blooms looking a little less crisp.

The lilies bloomed without me, but I hope to get a good shot in the next few days. I didn’t get out there until sunset and they were already closed up for the night.

Long shadows of summer

The next few are from that morning before it was too hot to be out taking pictures.

I divided the yarrow last year and two of the divisions still bloomed this summer. It surprised and pleased me. That raspberry color is my favorite right now.

My baby is growing up too, and she likes to copy me. I think this is what I must look like as I potter around out there.

The side yard is looking lovely right now, and I might water it once a week, but sometimes I forget, so it’s not as bloomy as it could be. I love the random canna lilies that I didn’t realize where there when I planted it out originally. It’s a reminder to wait a full year before planting anything permanent; you don’t know what might be until you take some time to observe.

The gladiolus, and a naturalizing iris that I forgot I planted ended up too close to the fence. I struggled to get a good shot. There are a few more attempts to follow.

We get about this many strawberries every day right now. This day my baby didn’t come outside to pick with me, so they made it to the table.

The Coreopsis is even better in person. This time of year I wish it was my whole lawn.

Here are the last pictures of the sweet peas before the heat came and shriveled them up.

This was the first Gladiolus bloom. I planted them in three groups of three.