We finally had more than a few sprinkles of rain when a front came through last weekend. It brought over an inch of rain with it, along with cooler temperatures. While there is still plenty of crunchy grass around, things are greening up. We did minimum yard work during the heat, so soon, we will have to catch up with several things. In the meantime, here's what I found during my Second Look this week.
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| We have one daylily blooming. |
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However, the four o'clocks are as prolific as ever.
That is if you can wait until late afternoon to see them. |
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| The fig tree is starting to develop figs from the bottom up. |
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| This flower box is entirely self-seeded with moss rose from last year. |
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| The begonias are doing great along the front walk. |
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| However, around the corner, in another bed, the black-eyed Susans don't look so healthy. Fungus and insects have been taking their toll on them. Black-eyed Susan and coneflowers are usually very easy to grow, but they have never done well in this bed. Time to rethink it for next year. |
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| The rhododendron that we thought was suffering from heat and insufficient water is now dead. We'll have to examine the roots to determine what happened because there was nothing on the leaves that showed any problem. Luckily the other two on either side of it still look healthy. |
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Every time this sunflower dares to grow leaves, something comes along and strips it.
It's not looking good for the big blooms promised by the seed package. |
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| However, we have little sunflowers planted by the birds blooming in various places. |
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| The anemones have started to bloom - a few weeks earlier than usual. |
That's about it for this week. Until next time...
You have some beautiful blooms! I adore 4 o'clocks.
ReplyDeleteI'm starting to understand that four o'clocks can take over if you're not careful, but they are very hardy, good bloomers. These came from a wildflower mix and it was just one plant last year. Now they are over they entire bed.
DeleteYou do have a lot of things to see during your second looks! I wonder what's eating your poor sunflower plant's leaves? And yet, the other sunflowers seem to be doing well! How exciting to see the little figs forming on the tree! I hope you have a good harvest of figs!
ReplyDeleteI think a couple of things are eating the sunflower. It looks like an insect is eating the leaves and a rabbit or deer is eating the stems. But we've never caught anything in the act, so it's hard to know. I enjoy watching the fig tree grow, but I can take or leave figs, except in fig newtons. :)
DeleteI've never heard of four o'clocks. Learn something new every day! We've been getting more rain the past 2 weeks and things are greener now than they were in June (when we were in a significant rainfall deficit). It feels like the weather patterns are backwards. I'm thankful that we don't have to deal with the severe heat that's hitting so much of the US.
ReplyDeleteI am also thankful that we are not dealing with severe heat. I know someone who lives in Phoenix whose AC broke and it got to 102 F in his house!
DeleteOn a much less serious note, my neighbor has bright yellow four o'clocks that are really pretty.
My sunflowers have finally bloomed. I didn't have any of the Mammoth seeds for this years planting. the bird dropped seeds always seem to flourish better than the packet sunflower seeds.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that most everything that comes up as a volunteer does well. The bird planted sunflower blooms are only 3 or so inches across, but still they are still cheerful.
DeleteYour blooms are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Danielle.
DeleteIsn't it amazing what a little rain can do for the scenery? Everything is looking green and beautiful.
ReplyDeleteVelva
Yes, it really does make a difference.
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