Dangerously high heat in Maine

At 4pm,  our thermometer read 100F. And the heat index was 110F. 

I spent a total of 5 minutes outside and got dizzy. I found it difficult to breathe due to the humidity. Needless to say, we are running the air conditioner all day long. Tonight, the overnight temperature will only get down to 75F.

Peonies, Irises, Salvia and more!

I have two varieties of Peony plants that are coming into full bloom. This red one is so stunning with its lush, richly deep red color and full flower. I have one of these plants in the center stump garden and one in the garden on the north side of the yard near the azalea. 

My other peony is my all time favorite with its huge pink flowers with a creamy, off white center. 

This peony resides on the north side of my south stump garden near the road.

I planted this Salvia near the pink peony, but on the road side of the stump. The purple contrasts so nicely with the bright pink. Note that I took this photo before moving it to its final location. 

The Smooth Spiderwort is now in bloom next to and under the leaves of the Interrupted Fern in the garden to the south side of the front deck stairs. Yikes...do you see the pollen on all the plant surfaces? No wonder I have so many sneezing fits, a runny nose, and itchy eyes this time of year! 

For the last new plant in bloom, check out this pretty white and yellow iris! It is next to the peony in the garden on the north side of the front yard.

Sweet William

I love the progression of flowers in my gardens. It seems like there is something new everyday as we approach summertime. The diversity of Sweet William flowers is lovely. This was the first variety to appear in my gardens and it is in the center stump garden.

The second Sweet William variety to appear was this white one that exists without the pink lines. This seems to be my most prolific Sweet William. This one is in the sunny garden to the north of the front stairs.

I had to wait a few extra days for this third variety of red Sweet William to appear. I knew that there should be several of these plants as I remember planting it from a cutting of my next door neighbor about 15 years ago. This one is in the center stump garden as well.

I love this stunning variety with its pink center, surrounded by deep red, and fringed with white. It really stands out in the garden.

This pretty in pink variety is one that I just bought at a nursery. Those cute little leaves in the upper left belong to Meadow Rue which I have to separate out before I plant the Sweet William.

Late springtime garden flowers after a rain!

We have had a lot of rain lately and the garden flowers are loving it! My sorta shade garden to the south side of the front stairs has a multitude of flowering plants, most of which will be flowering over the next several weeks although some will wait until August. You can see a huge Interrupted Fern filling a space in the back left of the garden. Most of what you see up front are a variety of Astilbe which have sent up flower stalks with lots of buds. Behind the Astilbe are Meadow Geranium and Smooth Spiderwort (which I have to liberate from underneath part of the Interrupted Fern). In the front in between the Astilbe are Coral Bells and Lady's Mantle. There are more plants in there, but these are the most prolific.

 This lovely Meadow Geranium plant, found in the garden to the south of the front stairs, has the most gorgeous flowers! I love the purplish pink petals, the yellow stamen, the almost candy cane coloring of the pistil!

Also in this garden are Coral Bells aka Heuchera. They haven't bloomed in years since they are covered by a plethora of Astilbe, I think I will trim back the Astilbe so that it can get some sunshine. This was the first plant given to me by the renters that came with our house back when we bought it in 2000.

Right next to the Coral Bells is the Lady's Mantle. It has its tiny green flowers in bloom, but what I love more are the water droplet patterns on the hairy leaves!

The irises are spreading in the garden to the north of the front stairs. I just cannot keep up with them but do not want them to take over this garden. I wish there was a way to contain their spread. The last time I dug a bunch of them up, it was really hard work and it looks like I will need to do this again.  They certainly are so beautiful!

Sweet William flowers are just coming into bloom and these white ones are stunning! Look at all the colors and patterning...unless you look closely you would miss all these fine details.

I am so obsessed with the red Dianthus in Toby's Memorial Garden. It is in full bloom and is so gorgeous!

Speaking of red flowers, I potted some Geraniums on the front deck to give it a nice splash of color up there.

In the backyard, the Weigela and Rhododendron are surrounded by Jewelweed which will bloom in summertime.

The Weigela is in full bloom and the bees and butterflies love its red blossoms.

The Weigela flowers and buds are gorgeous.

My Garden Flowers (at the moment!)

It is no secret that I am in love with flowers...lots and lots of flowers. Every time there is a bit of open space in any of my gardens, I tend to fill it up with a flowering plant. Virginia Spiderworts spread themselves throughout my sun garden to the north of the front stairs. Mmm...they are so pretty.

My lone Oriental Poppy plant produced one flower that the deer allowed me to photograph before they ate another large flower bud that was ready to open. This poppy is in the central stump garden. I love all parts of the flowering process with poppies, from the spiny cover on the flower bud to the naked ovary after the petals have fallen.

Spanish Pink Bells are quite successful bulbs that I have planted in five areas of my gardens in the front yard. I love the splash of pink that they add, and best of all the deer do not seem to like them for dinner.

Another splash of pink in the center garden comes from chives that are concentrated on the street side of the garden. Here is a flower bud that is considering opening gradually in the next day or so. I love plants in the Allium family. 

Speaking of opening... here is a chive flower open for pollinator business!

I have been in love with Columbines ever since we lived in Colorado. 

I bought this beauty this year and also planted it and a few more into the east side of the center stump garden. Such a stunning flower...I enjoy that it faces outward and upward.

And...here is a red, downward facing Columbine. It is more difficult to see into and is notably smaller than the red and white one. But, it is a beauty all the same.

I am a lover of the color purple and this Columbine satisfies my purple addiction.

And, one final Columbine is this very prolific, light pink one that is found scattered in the north stump garden and throughout the long garden that runs up the north side of the property.

Our life wouldn't be complete without the delicate blueberry flowers that will soon give way to the delicious, deep blue fruits!

Tradition continues with the planter of petunias that adorn the top of the well. They give me pleasure all season long and remind me of my dearly, departed sister. My friend, Shannon, gifted me with a planter pot of petunias after my sister died 15 years ago, and I have continued to place a planter here each year.

Another flower that reminds me of Colorado is this gorgeous mountain bluet. I love all the colors and textures!

Speaking of textures, check out this Mountain Bluet flower bud.

Springtime wouldn't be the same without Rhododendron blooms. My Rhododendron took a hard hit this winter and there are very few leaves on it. I just fertilized it with about 6 gallons of rhododendron food, so we'll see if it recovers.

Rhododendron flowers have this "come hither" look about them as the patterning seems to guide bees to gather pollen and nectar.

Planting and Transplanting flowering plants

Today was a busy gardening day. I was so excited to get a few new plants into the ground as well as to transplant a few others. I started off by planting a small Wiggle Worms Hosta that my buddy, Veronica, donated to me from her garden. 

This new hosta is at the opposite end of the shed garden from Empress Wu. Of course, to plant Wiggle Worm I had to dig up a huge section of ferns. That was a lotta work!

Veronica and I do a lot of trading back and forth and it is so much fun to have a friend who is as into gardening as I am. Empress Wu hosta was also a donation from Vernoica, last autumn, and the Empress is incredibly content in her new home. I have a fence around her so that the dogs that we dog sit for don't dig her up. However, each time I go out to gaze upon her, I hear her singing along with Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters as they belt out, "Don't Fence Me In..." So, I will remove the fence tomorrow as Wu will more than fill in all the empty space around her, over time, as she will be huge.

It really is a hosta day for me. The last time Veronica visited, we were checking out some of my azaleas and Veronica noticed a hosta hiding under some weeds. I had planted this hosta about 20 years ago and lost track of it. It had never liked its location and always got eaten by deer, but here it was still struggling to gain a foothold. So, today I dug it up and transplanted it between two mountain bluets in front of the back deck. It will be protected from deer as the backyard if fenced.

I don't know where I bought it from or what variety it is, but I think it will be happy here. I love the patterning on its leaf margins.

I bought a French Lavender variety that I think is Fringed Lavender (Lavandula dentata) from Mid Coast Growers and planted it in the pot that held a hybrid cross between an English and a Portuguese lavender (Lavandula x intermedia) last year.

The flowers on the Fringed Lavender are very different than that if x intermedia, and the foliage is not as fragrant. Next year, I hope to find Lavandula x intermedia again as its scent was incredibly soothing. The flower pot is on the front deck and I tend to run my hand over the leaves every time I pass by.

Toby's Memorial Garden

I finally put our "Toby's Memorial Garden" sign into the triangle garden in the front yard.  When this garden is in full bloom it contains lots of pink Astilbe, Sweet Woodruff, the sacrificial Hosta that the deer enjoy munching on, purple Campanula flowers, Pink Bells, and more.

This is the perfect place for the sign as our big, blind, blonde, beautiful boy used to love to sniff the flowers and do full body rubs against plants.

Here is a close-up of the gorgeous red Dianthus flowers that are just coming into bloom for the summer. 

And, finally...here is a photo I took of the memorial garden sign, when it arrived, with snow as the backdrop to show you the gorgeous details of it.