Early June, Rain and Sunshine

June 5, 2015

Crab apple blossoms

June already; where did May go?!
It has been a really pleasant early summer, weather-wise this year, I'm happy to say.  In previous years it has often jumped from cool single digit temperatures in early May right to hot and dry weather (+ 26-28C) without the warm 20C days in between.  It is brutal to try and do any work in the garden past 10 am if the weather is that hot that early.


We did have about a week like that, where the lawn was turning dry and yellow, and I had to constantly water everything, particularly any new plants.  Surprisingly we did finally get some much needed rain, several times in fact. And there was another thundershower today.

Beautiful aromatic lilacs!

It is so amazing how much everything shoots up to quickly once there's been a good rain. Watering from the well doesn't have the same growth effect as Mother Natures own showers.

Almost all the peonies have buds on them and promise to have beautiful blossoms before too long. My new addition, the Julia Rose peony had its one fat bud EATEN by some passing wildlife before I got a chance to spray it with Bobbex! So frustrating!

The white daisies are starting to open their buds now. I'm always surprised by how many clumps I have even though I dig some out each spring and fall. They look really fresh and pretty at first, but one has to be ruthless about chopping them all off in a week or 10 days before they all start to seed or they take over the garden.

hollyhocks, bearded iris and poeny

The bearded irises are looking good and many are blooming now, except for those I dug out and divided this spring.  I love the purple and white ones, but my favourites were the solid dark purple which were only growing in the wild bed by the road for some reason.  Im not even sure if there are even any still growing there now.
The tall thin Siberian irises are blooming now, too.

Siberian irises, dahlia leaves, daisies about to bloom

The oriental poppies that I planted in my long perennial bed last year are growing and one has a huge fat bud on its stem.

I Bobbexed everything yesterday, including the tiger lilies that are about 8 inches tall now and all the other lilies coming up. I even sprayed Bobbex on the delphiniums, all 5 of which managed to over- winter successfully; unlike last spring where I only had one left!  Thank goodness for Bobbex!

My Forget-Me-Nots are looking really cute, as are the pretty deep blue Persian Cornflowers in the Stackstone bed next to them.

Forget-me-nots & Persian cornflowers

Most of the tulips are done now and I'm letting the leaves die back naturally to add nutrients to the bulbs for next years' blooming.  I do still have half a dozen late blooming pink ones that add a nice shot of colour.

Clematises growing well: Nellie Moser on left, Integrifolia Durandii on right

Looking forward to seeing my clematises grow and bloom. The Nellie Moser was planted last year and is growing well so far. It should get pink and white flowers eventually. The Integrifolia was already blooming big purple 4 lobed flowers when I planted it a few weeks ago. Potentially it should only grow about 6 - 7 feet tall and not overshoot my trellis.

     Morden blush rose

The rose bushes are growing beautifully, lots of foliage on the Morden roses. The Winnipeg Parks rose which is at the end of the long bed is just starting to sprout leaves. I think it needs some blood and bone meal.   The John Davis climbing rose is doing okay as well. Looking forward to the first blossoms.

Swallowtail butterfly in my lilacs

The apple blossoms are all done now. We had a summer storm and it blew off a lot of the petals that were left. The Hyer apple tree is looking really nice. Last year we had almost no apples, but I think we'll have a lot this fall.

The lilacs are looking so gorgeous now! I wish they would bloom for longer. I love their heavenly smell!

American Goldfinches are back!

I love to wake up to the birds singing in the morning, the cheerful sound of the robins and the twitter of all the little house wrens.  :)