To a garden party is one place. This is the time of year to have your friends over, however formally or informally and show off your garden, if you are wont to do so.
The peonies are blooming their hearts out at this very moment. There is a massive bouquet in the living room and smaller ones scattered about the house. Their scent is heavenly and the impact of those blowzy blooms is not to be denied. I have a bed containing 10 of these lovelies and they are underplanted with late forget-me-nots. I know these are ubiquitous but the combination really is quite winning. Both are as tough as nails and seem capable to enduring our winters most successfully. I have interplanted campanula glomerata "Superba" (a deep purple) and thalictrum aquiligiifolium (pink). These plants should visually break up the solid mass of the peonies.
If you haven't planted any thalictrum (meadow rue) may I be so bold as to suggest that you give it a try. They are a very hardy and elegant perennial. The aquiligiifolium is readily available but look for others such as T. rochebruneanuum, just to keep you on your toes.
The shrub border that I planted along the fence is actually looking like a border. The carragana have filled out and the Snowmound spiraea that are happily living at their feet are in full bloom and doing the job of covering up the bare ankles of the carragana. Quite lovely really.
The Dropmore honeysuckle, a vine, is already in bloom. This is early but I am not going to argue with it. I thought this plant would not survive the first year and this is its fifth. It is climbing on two trellises on the west wall of the house.
The Theresa Bugnet rose, a rugosa, is covered with deeply scented blooms.
Yes, it is definitely garden party time.
On to the vegetable garden. The broccoli is harvestable. I have been planting Packman for years. It produces a large central head and when that is harvested, side shoots develop. I can be harvesting broccoli from now until the snow flies. It freezes well, which is key. I like to stuff our freezer with our own vegetables and this is a real winner.
The salad greens have been rolling in for months. I am so deeply grateful. We just had nine house guests (simultaneously) and there really were enough greens to make three huge salads and still have enough for the two of us. I have been cutting the lettuce, chard and spinach at the base and letting them grow back. It seems to be working. I have also been reseeding the lettuce and spinach. The spinach is looking like it would rather not play that game, we'll see.
I have never before in my life had to water the greenhouse twice a day. Reality is here. I still cannot believe that there are studies being conducted for zillions of dollars to study global warming and all that really needs to be done is for someone to talk to a gardener. Twice a day. Good grief. But the cucumbers are huge and excellent. There is nothing like eating a just picked cucumber while sitting on the porch watching the swallows feed their young. Excellent. The cherry tomatoes, Sungold, are almost ready to pick. We go out there a thousand times a day to see if the first one is ready. Any minute now.... The Brandywines are still setting fruit and they are looking quite excellent.
I tried a different cantaloupe this year, Minnesota Midget. Supposedly the fruits are small, one per serving. I know that the plant is smaller and that was what I was looking for. Something that would not overrun the greenhouse.
For the first time ever I planted the basil into the bins of the greenhouse instead of in pots. I will never go back to pots. Those basil plants are so happy I can hear them singing. I haven't had to buy any at the Farmers' Market (Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.).
The corn is gorgeous! I can hardly wait! I think I can't miss making a meaningful harvest this year. It is growing like the pushki! Really, I just threw it in as an afterthought.
The vegetable plot is being watered once a day. I really don't do much watering for the perennial beds. Food is one thing and flowers is another.
We are still trying to give our trees five gallons of water a week. Supposedly, they only need this attention when they are young. So when are they no longer young? That could be a really long time. But the attention has paid off for the native spruce that we have planted between the house and the street. They have been growing between 18 inches and two feet a year since we planted them. Excellent.
Note: On July 25 the Homer Garden Club will visit the gardens of Brenda Adams and Colleen Riley. Meet at Homer City Hall at 2 p.m. or McNeil Canyon School at 2:30 p.m.
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