June has brought warm breezes and refreshing rains. Ah, sweet summertime— a deep breath, a peaceful dream, unhurried gatherings with family and friends . . . the stuff children’s books are made of! The pace of life slowed for me to savor the following “blooms” in my garden and in my life this month:
Summer Phlox ‘John Fanick’ – This plant gets the most attention from summer visitors to my garden. Its pompoms cheer on the summer heat. You can see the tufts of white and lavender from the road.
* Swimming with my boys while raindrops dimpled the pool
Rock rose – This June, this hardy plant has been just as pretty as it is tough. The flowers look like miniature hibiscus blooms.
* Sweet Daddy rushing to my rescue with a key!
Elephant’s ear – These huge, tropical lobes were gifts to me from my Uncle Dean’s garden. He dug up some little bulbs for me several years ago. Look at them now!
* Wading in Minnow Creek
Roses
‘Little Business’ daylily – A like its unique red color with rose pink undertones.
* Singing with my husband on the couch, while he played his guitar
Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer’ – She isn’t blooming as heavily this year, but she is still beautiful.
* Cleaning my eight-year-old’s pet frog’s tank on the front porch, while rain fell all around us
The yellow blooms of heliopsis pop beside purple garden phlox.
Heliopsis (false sunflower) – This plant has been reappearing in my summer garden for a decade. I love this happy little perennial. It comes and goes without making a fuss, and it complements the neighboring plants.
* Watching the squirrel at the bird feeder with my boys
Crape Myrtle ‘Muskogee’– Last year I thought they looked like upside-down wisteria, and this year the blooms look more like swirls of cotton candy.
* Listening to books on CD while the summer sun streams through the car windows
Datura – Its moon-like blooms are pure white delight!
Althea ‘Minerva’
Althea ‘Strawberry Smoothie’
Althea – These bushes have been never-ceasing flower producers this month. Every year, my purple althea (‘Minerva’) is the plant that attracts the most hummingbirds to my garden. Its flowers are ready and waiting for the fairy birds to arrive!
* A day touring gardens and dream homes with my mother
* Eating juicy peaches we drove an hour to retrieve from a peach orchard
Russian sage surrounding Souvenir de la Malmaison rose
Russian Sage
* Picking blackberries with a dear friend, her girls, and my boys
* On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder – Might this be the best book in the Little House series?
Passion vine ‘Incense’ – This exotic-looking flower is actually native to Texas!
* Summer trips to the library
Purple coneflower (echinacea)
* Listening to “A Man Called Norman” – Have you ever heard this? If not, enjoy listening here. Mike Adkins tells the story so masterfully that a deep happiness settled over me while listening, followed by a good cry.
Sunflowers – joyful faces in the garden
Other June blooming perennials:
Butterfly bush – Its plumes are anticipating the arrival of winged beauties!
Butterfly weed
Obedient plant – It is “obedient” because you can swivel its individual blooms, and they will stay where you move them.
Abelia
Penstemon mexicali ‘Pike’s Peak Purple’
Canna ‘Princess Di’
Purple Heart
A Children's Book World 