Butterflies

My Butterfly bushes and liatris are fully open, and the nectar feeders are loving them.  

Let there be Light

A few days ago the neighbor behind my house cut down two large trees (an oak and a Norway maple), giving me much more sun in the back yard and behind our garage, which means a more productive raised bed full of vegetables.  I'm thinking of setting up a greenhouse/shed combination behind the garage.

Updated Plant List

I finally updated my plant list.  For what it's worth, here it is:

Botanical Name achillea alcea rosea allium aflatunense allium caeruleum allium moly allium schoenoprasum allium sphaerocephalon aquilegia hybrida & vulgaris aster novae-angliae & aster novi-belgii astilbe baptisia australis Belamcanda chinensis Boltonia asteroides Buddleia davidii Campanula glomerata Campanula persicifolia campanula poscharskyana Campanula punctata Centaurea montana Cerastium tomentosum chionodoxa luciliae chrysanthemum Clematis coreopsis grandiflora crocus vernus delphinium elatum delphinium grandiflorum dianthus deltoides dicentra formosa digitalis purpurea echinacea purpurea echinops epimedium eupatorium rugosum fragraria galium odoratum Geranium gypsophila helenium autumnale hemerocallis Heuchera Hibiscus moscheutos Hyacinths Hydrangea iberis sempervirens irisi siberica iris lamium maculatum lavendula leucanthemum vulgare liatris Ligularia stenocephala lilium linum perenne lewisii liriope lonicera lupinus lysimachia Monarda didyma muscari armeniacum narcissus Nepeta x faassenii Papaver nudicale papaver orientale penstemon digitalis perovskia atriplicifolia phlox paniculata phlox subulata physostegia virginiana platycodon grandiflous Primula capitata pulmonaria rosa rudbeckia Salvia nemerosa Scabiosa scilla siberica sedum spectabile solomon's seal stachys byzantina syringa vulgaris tanacetum niveum tricyrtis hirta tulipa verbascum hybrid veronica spicata Veronica teucrium

Common Name yarrow hollyhock allium blue globe onion golden garlic chives Drumstick chives columbine aster astilbe chinensis Blue false indigo Blackberry Lily Starflower Butterfly Bush Clustered bellflower Peach-leaved bellflower Serbian bellflower Spotted Bellflower Bachelor buttons snow-in-the-summer Glory of the Snow chrysanthemum Clematis tickseed crocus Pacific Giant Chinese delphinium maiden pinks bleeding heart foxglove coneflower globe thistle barrenwort Joe-Pye Weed strawberries sweet woodruff Cranesbill baby's breath helen's flower daylily Coral bells Rose Mallow hyacinths Hydrangea candytuft Siberian Iris Dutch & German Dead nettle lavender Ox-eye daisy gayfeather Black Groundsel lilies flax blue lilyturf honeysuckle lupine loosestrife bee balm grape hyacinth daffodils Catmint Iceland Poppy oriental poppy Bearded tongue Russian sage phlox creeping phlox obedient plant balloon flower Chinese Primrose lungwort Rose black eyed susans Sage Pincushion flower siberian squill & spanish blue sedum polygonatum humile lamb's ear lilac feverfew Japanese Toad Lilly tulips mullein creeping speedwell Speedwell

All this in just 600 square feet!

pruning and watering

Another 90-degree day here:  I watered three times today.  Thank you, Portland Water Dept for offering inexpensive rain barrels last year.  I have yet to use the tap, even in this hot dry spell.

Three maintenance tasks accomplished this evening, when it got a little cooler.  I propped up some of the limbs of my peach tree some more, with branches I pruned off of an oak tree a few weeks ago.  My daughter was fascinated with the process.  ("You're propping up a tree with a tree, daddy!").  I pruned my roses, now that they're done blooming.  It was just a light pruning, as they are still young plants, but I just snipped off some of the lateral shoots that were sticking out onto the sidewalk.  This'll bring more light and air into the garden as well.  Finally, I sprayed my fruit trees (peach and cherry) and my grape vine to get rid of those blasted Japanese beetles.  At least for now.

New bloom report: monarda (bee balm), allium sphaerocephalum, rudbeckia, platycodon, and buddleia.  My taller daylilies have also opened (as opposed to the stella d'oros), my perennial bachelor buttons have rebloomed, and my gayfeathers and gladiola are starting to open.

Some pix:

Hot, hot, hot

Hot as the dickens here yesterday and today (and tomorrow, too, apparently). I watered twice today, and added a little extra umph to some of my newer plants to stimulate root growth. They look like their main goal is just to survive the heat.

Moving Stuff Around

A little weeding in the garden turned into a large project of moving plants around, continuing the re-arranging that I did yesterday.  My two hibiscus plants were doing fine, but could have used more sun, so up and out they came, and in they went.  (Deep roots!) My three platycodon (balloon flower) were getting lost behind the gladiolas which are now fully up (though not open), so I moved them to underneath the cherry tree.  And I moved all my salvias from in front of my steps to a circle around the peach tree, which left an empty spot that I filled with three blue fescues, divided in half with a pull saw, much to my daughter's delight.(Those bamboo stakes?  They are to hold up the branches laden with peaches.)  

I pulled up as much of the verbascum that I could find.  It's a beautiful plant, but it sure crowds everything else out if you let it spread.

Rudbeckia are starting to open.  They always look so nice next to the echinacea.