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...
