A shower refreshed the gardens during the night last night but sizzling temps made short work of that moisture, leaving plants wilted and panting for water! After my children enjoyed splashing in the sprinklers, I treated the gardens to a long soak. I am water conscious, although we do not live in an area where water is an overly precious commodity. Still, I think it's good for my plants to get good and thirsty before I supplement water. Part of that reasoning comes from my choice of mostly perennial plants. They seem to be more drought resistant, once established, sending their root systems deep into the ground for moisture.
Roughly 20 lavender plants line the path leading to our front door. If we brush against them as we walk by, the aroma lingers on the evening air. I have played in the dirt of that entry garden the past 3 summers now, creating a moon/fragrance garden. Many of the plants are white or pink or the palest of yellow, thus creating a luminous effect in the moonlight. For daytime color, I have interplanted a few bright orange poppies with electric blue bachelor's buttons. Anchoring the garden are mock orange bushes, butterfly bushes, fothergilla shrubs, boxwoods, a coral willow, dwarf Alberta spruce, purple leaved elderberry, Pee-Gee hydrangea, blueberry muffin hydrangea, and an oak-leaf hydrangea. Next time, I will tell you what perennial plants I've tucked into this garden retreat of mine.
And still it is sizzling outdoors! The thunderstorm that's predicted for tomorrow evening will be so welcome! Perennial plants that I've put into my Moonlight Reflections garden are these: white anemone, pink anemone, Shasta daisy, datura, yellow butterfly bush, Bath's pink (clove scented) dianthus, feverfew, queen of the prairie, white swan coneflower, pink coneflower, sandwort, soapwort, honeysuckle (on a bird feeder "T"), clary sage, chrysanthemums in various shades of pink, burgundy and white, creeping phlox, full moon coreopsis and a Fair Bianca rose.
I love sitting on the porch swing, elevated slightly above this garden, in the fading twilight and take in the heady scent of lilac in the spring and lavender in the summer. On nights when the air is still, the subtle scent of the violas growing thickly around the slate stepping stones is can be detected as well.
Comments (5):