June is really the best month for my yard in terms of perennial blooms. For the in-between times I usually , by now, have put in a ton of annuals plus I would have done my pots for the patio (Here's last year's pot post https://steemit.com/gardening/@gardenlady/anyone-looking-for-a-little-pot)
But this year we are doing some work on the house and we've been away on weekends and I was running a fundraiser for the local education foundation, so I just haven't kept up this year. C'est la vie.
Thankfully there are the perennials.
This one below is approximately same place in the garden as my @gardenlady blog photo. But wow, what a difference a few years make! The hachinachloa has gotten ginormous, the woodland blue phlox didn't make it through the winter, and the heuchera is also ginormous. I didn't even fertilize this year! I also see astilbe, goat's beard, iris and hosta. I have to say that the hosta definitely reacted negatively to no fertilizer...usually they are the ginormous ones.
Below is the same bed from the other end. You see the daylillies, astilbe and goat's beard. Still to come in the bloom-department is the monkshood, sedum, and caryopteris. I have nothing growing on my etegere - def need to get a pretty clematis there. Or any other ideas?
Here is the wonderful cotinus! AKA smoke bush. This is along my driveway. The plant had gotten uncontrollably large plus had damage from the early April snow storm, so it was cut down to almost the ground. Look how full it is! It will probably grow another 3 feet or so this summer. HOWEVER, by cutting it in the spring, all the 'smoke' flowers have been sacrificed. My advice is to cut this plant down everyother year to keep it under control and also to enjoy the 'smoke'.
Okay, now I'm just being a show-off...I highlighted the hydrangea yesterday (https://steemit.com/gardening/@gardenlady/hydrangea-macrophylla-aka-mopheads) but they are irresistable!!
