The Flower Garden in June

Woah, June. That was a long time ago. But that is the way it is these days. Here is what was going on in the flower garden in June.

I often feel like June is an “in between” time for my flower garden. Lots of lush greens, but not a whole lot of color.

Some of the roses are sometimes still blooming, so that is at least a bit of color. The pink shrub rose is my favorite, however, I have absolutely no clue what the name of it is. I inherited this rose from the previous owner. I actually dug out several roses from the yard because they are my least favorite garden plant. Pretty in May, but usually plagued with insects and disease the rest of the year. Not the case with this lovely pink rose. It blooms off and on throughout three seasons and never shows signs of any troubles. It is a real focal point of the flower garden.

We tied up the Cascade hop vines this year along the side of the shed/workshop. The hops really went to town and produced tons of cones. So much so that we brewed with them in August. More about that in a later post.

The daisies were starting to bloom in increasing numbers. I have said it many times – daisies are such happy flowers. Something about that yellow center surrounded by bright white petals. So simple, so pure. Give me a bouquet of daisies any day and it will bring a smile to my face.

The purple coneflowers started to bloom in June. They are a real fav with the bees.

Near the purple coneflowers is the Raspberry Wine Monarda, another favorite of my bee friends. The Monarda really starts to put on a show in late June. My garden path runs in between the Monarda and coneflowers and when you walk down the path you are literally surrounded by bees.

The shady area in the back of the flower garden is beginning to take off. Hostas and Christmas ferns call this little area home. The ferns were so full and green this year.

A new addition to the flower garden this year is Summer Glow Agastache. I like the soothing yellow flowers with the purple bits that attach them to the stem. They aren’t very showy, though. However, I did catch one of the hummingbirds at these flowers at least once, which is always a good thing.

The left side of the yard is the area that was an overgrown mess just a few years ago. Now it is a small border and a decent amount of lawn.

It is definitely not the vast display of plants that you find on the other side of the yard. I purposefully focused on plants and shrubs that would need little care and that had more foliage interest.

A favorite combination here is the Ninebark and the Magic Carpet Spirea. The bright green leaves next to the dark, purplish-maroonish leaves is pretty awesome. It gets even more interesting in June when the Spirea blooms its bright pink clusters.

Another flowering shrub on this side of the yard that is colorful in June is the Minuet Mountain Laurel. I have only had this a couple of years and unfortunately, I am afraid this year might be the last. It seems to have gotten some sort of disease. I will miss these beautiful flowers.

I was a little late getting out the fairy garden display this year. Had to do it, though. It brings out the little girl in me.

The small stone “pavers” are bits of limestone from the Longwood Gardens fountains. They are revitalizing the fountains and unsalvageable parts were allowed to be used in a class that I took earlier in the year.

New to the garden this year is the gnome garden. My younger sister gave me these pieces for Christmas. She thinks I’m a total dork for being into fairy and gnome gardens.

Dork or not, and yes, I probably am a dork, I love to garden. And although June doesn’t seem to be the most floriferous time of year, it is still rather lovely.