June Is in Full Bloom

The Chinese Peony Paeonia lactiflora 'Sarah Bernhardt' is in full bloom with some increased temperatures since the cool weekend.

The double Knock Out roses are cherry red but are called Rosa 'Pink Double Knock Out' perhaps for the center and under sides of the petals. Whatever the color name, the roses look great with the last of the Siberian Iris (Iris sibirica 'Caesar's Brother') blooms in deep purple.

The False Indigo Baptisia australis  and the Catmint Nepeta racemosa 'Walker's Low' and the Hydrangea macrophylla 'Endless Summer' and the last of the Irises (unknown kind from garden club members' gardens) bring blue to the garden.

The lilac blooms are brown, the tulips and daffodils just wilting foliage almost matching the mulch in color.  The violas and pansies are surviving in the shady areas, but leggy in stem and faded in petal where it is sunny. The bleeding hearts have disappeared.  The azaleas look bedraggled with the spent blooms smashed by the rain and then dried like papier mache on the leaves and branches.  Even the heuchera blooms swaying in the breeze look like they belong in a dried flower arrangement.  But most missed in the garden are the baby robins.

The nest is empty.  No blue shells or wide-open mouths trimmed in yellow gold. I hope they made it as fledglings. I'm concerned that a predator found them. Not a snake, but maybe one of those chipmunks I often see in the beds (and today in the garage), could make its way up the columns and under the deck trusses.  The kind of moments in the garden that are not as pleasant to think about...