Tuesday, June 13, 2017

June In My Cottage Garden


In June my cottage garden is regal with red peonies and purple alliums. The burst of strong color follows a gentle May with its pure whites of viburnum and bridal-veil spirea. May followed a golden April full of daffodils. The hues of my June flowers put us in the mood for a riot of color that is the cottage garden when it peaks in July. Today we are in the middle of an early heatwave with temperatures in the 90s and high humidity. This is a good day to stay in the air conditioning and write. But first, let's take a walk around my June garden in the comparative cool of the early morning to see what is blooming.

Miniature Japanese maple -- a superstar by Froggy Pond

Purple bearded irisis are everywhere
Clockwise from top left: mock orange, peony, smokebush, lady's mantle, and columbine

Adding to the purple theme, my new smokebush is leafing-out nicely. It has tiny white blossoms -- who knew? You can just see it's delicate flower in the picture above.

Smokebush Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple' and Allium 'Globemaster'

Roses are blooming
The first clematis to flower each year. I don't know it's name.

When describing June in my garden, I have to include rhododendron and mock orange. They bloom early in the month and today most of their petals have fallen. The blooming rhododendron was magnificent this year; the mock orange filled the June air with its heady scent.

Rhododendron 'Roseum Elegans'
Below: Mock orange Philadelphus coronarius

I placed a tub of mixed annuals in pastel shades on the front porch. Their gentle hues offer visitors a sweet-tempered greeting.


Walking through the Serenity garden I am happy to see the climbing hydrangeas have some blooms. I'm not so happy to see multiflora rose beyond Bluebell creek. Its flowers are lovely and its scent is divine, but we wish we could eradicate this invasive shrub, our biggest gardening challenge. I wrote about it in detail here.

Serenity Garden above; Bluebell Creek below.
Bathing in a mound of golden spirea that is just beginning to bloom

We will NOT go into the Woodland Walk since that's where the bear may be hiding out. He came onto the back porch and broke my favorite hummingbird feeder to drink the nectar. 

Black bear leaving my porch and heading for the Woodland Walk.

Finally, let's check out the kitchen garden where the vegetables I sowed germinated. What a miracle it is -- I'm always anxious that they wont and I'm filled with excitement when they do -- it never gets old. Blossoms on the snow peas promise we'll have some tasty meals very soon.



I'm linking with Carol at May Dreams Gardens for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. Don't forget to stop by her wonderful blog on the 15th -- thanks for hosting, Carol. I can't believe that we are nearly half way through June and I'm only just posting pictures of my garden. In my head, I have written several blog postings this month, but the weeks pass before I can put pen to paper (or fingers to keys.) At the beginning of June I visited a fabulous garden that I must tell you about. As a result of that visit, and previous conversations with the owner who is my friend Jenny Rose Carey, author of Glorious Shade, I'm struggling to clarify my feelings about mulch. I may be having a change of heart about what sort to use. I'll put my thoughts in a posting very soon. Also, I've been enjoying some new gardening books that I must share with you. Just not enough hours in each day, but I will endeavor to catch up ...

Oh, and please read my contribution to the Garden Writing Association's blog, GWA Grows, about what makes a great blog. The article has tips from me and from some other bloggers you may know, including Carol from May Dreams Gardens.

Enjoy June, dear gardening friends.

Pamela x

One of my five fairy gardens.



I love reading your comments. I hope you leave one so I’ll know you visited! 
I look forward to visiting your blog in return.

36 comments:

  1. Oh my, EVERYTHING looks perfect ! Don't know how you do it. I could do without the bear...hope you don't get too many.

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    1. Thanks, Patsi. I could do without the bear, too. I hope that's the only one we see in our garden this year.

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  2. Hi Pam, thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting. Your garden looks beautiful as always. I didn't realize you were in bear country! Must have been a bit of a shock to see him in your garden!

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    1. It always is a shock. I garden with a Bobby whistle and a cowbell to hand as they hate noise.

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  3. Awesome! Your front porch makes me so jealous! So beautiful!

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  4. Oh my goodness, a bear on your porch, wow! Your garden is looking lovely, as usual, and I love the rhododendron, the colour is really vibrant against the white of the house.

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    1. We have a very tiny front garden, Jo. I try to have something blooming at all times but it's difficult.

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  5. Your gardens are truly delightful! My front lawn is slowly shrinking and becoming blooms...I'd rather see colors than mow grass!

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    1. I so agree, Kari. Actually, we don't cultivate a nice lawn; we just mow the weeds. I would love to see your garden. Do you have a blog?

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    2. No...I have thought about it. It does appeal to my inner 'writer'!
      I love gardens and my dream job would be taking enthusiasts on garden tours around the world. You can have the museums...all I want is the garden!

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    3. I'm obsessive about gardens, too. And one way to indulge the obsession is to write about gardens. I recommend you start a blog. A garden tour guide sounds like the perfect job to me.

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  6. Your garden is breathtakingly beautiful. I'm hoping to plant a shade garden, covered by part of my deck, with a fairy garden as well, of course! What plants would you recommend for an interesting shade garden?

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  7. Thanks you, Faith. You really must read Jenny Rose Carey's book, Glorious Shade to get the BEST ideas for shade garden plantings. I blogged about the book May 6. Click on May in my sidebar and scroll down, or type Glorious Shade where it says 'Search This Blog.'

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  8. Your June garden is so beautiful Pam. The Peony, Allium and Serenity Garden are gorgeous, and I had to do a double take when I saw the photo of the bear by your porch! Your contribution to the GWA was excellent advice. I read the article the other day and found it to be very interesting and enjoyable. Happy gardening!

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    1. I'm happy you enjoyed this posting, Lee, and my contribution to the GWA blog. Thank you for all your support.

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  9. A bear on the porch...oh my! I noticed that we have many of the same plants--Columbine, Mock Orange, a similar Peony. Your Rhododendron is quite impressive! Obviously, your plants are happy in the garden you've created. (It was fun to do the GWA piece, wasn't it?)

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    1. I planted the rhododendron in 1998 and it has good years and bad -- this was one of the best. (It was fun doing the GWA piece, but I'm not sure I qualify as an 'expert.' Love your contribution.)

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  10. Beautiful flowers!
    I thought I had problems with deer, but bear, oh no!
    Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!

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    1. We have deer, too -- and groundhogs. Always a challenge.

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  11. Oh no, a bear! I would be hesitant to go through the Woodland Walk as well! Gorgeous flowers in your garden! I am very excited about impending snow peas as well. There's something thrilling about eating vegetables that you grow yourself.

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    1. I plant just enough veggies for the two of us. Snow peas are my husband's favorite. From the large number of flowers it looks like we will have a bumper crop this year. I will freeze what we can't eat. Thrilling, indeed.

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  12. Your June garden is a perfect treat Pam, looking forward to seeing July. Admire how laid back you are about the visiting bear, but naw! don't go down to the woods today.

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  13. You have some mighty fine gardens Pam. Everything looks healthy. Obviously the wildlife thinks so too. I am surprised the bear hasn't found your veg garden. Happy GBBD.

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    1. There's nothing in my vegetable garden for bears to eat at this time of year. They like birdseed and have destroyed our feeders in the past. We try not to have anything around that would attract them.

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  14. Hi Pam, it would be very nice to sit on your porch, have coffee there and looking over your beautiful garden. They really look so serene and inviting.

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  15. I sure enjoyed my tour through your June garden, I feel like I was actually there. Funny but that's somewhat how I wrote my own June blog post just this morning. I would never say that my garden peaks in July like you did, I would say May instead. But the garden club is going to tour here in July, so I hope it does something interesting!

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  16. Oh Pam what a stunning garden....more and more beautiful every year...even the bear loves it. And I adore that iron bench full of blooms...what a greeting it makes!

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  17. Thanks, Donna. Glad you are back blogging.

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  18. Hi Pam,
    You're garden is alive with glorious color! I love the way you change
    The way it looks-spectular.
    It was good seeing you and Duane on the MCGC Garden Tour. I hope to see you both again soon.

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  19. Pam, your garden is gorgeous, I know I say that every time, but it is the truth. :-) Our temperatures have been all over the place too, and in true WI form, we've gone from sweltering to winter coats all in a few hours. Right now, it's almost 11AM and only 52 degrees. I'm sure the heat will return, though. I hope the bear moves on, too!

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  20. Pam your garden is just gorgeous! a real dream!Those peonies are splendid, I love peonies but unfortuntely can't grow them in my hot and humid climate.Greetings from Argentina!

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  21. I received this great comment from Jenny Rose -- she said she had difficulty posting it, so here it is:

    Thanks for featuring Northview in your post. Just to add to the mulch debate - I think that even within one garden you may have to use different mulches. I save my leaf mold for my special shaded areas, small river gravel for the 'dry' or rock gardens, salt hay for veg and dahlia cutting gardens - especially the paths - but I put think layers of newspaper underneath - to make a little go a longer way (available in this area and near to the coast). Pine needles are great if you can get them (try a neighbor with a pine tree!. Also wood chips for paths. I do like the licorice root mulch - but again that is expensive so it is only for certain special areas. I also agree with the comment of ground covers - it helps to cut cost, maintenance and it also keeps the roots of the other plants cooler in summer, collects some organic debris which improves the soil and looks good too. Thanks for staring this debate. I hope that your finely ground mulch works out well.

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    1. Thanks so much, Jenny Rose. Your additions to the debate are greatly appreciated.

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