The Heat is On

Yarrow

 We finally got the heat the other parts of the country has had. I love hot sunny weather. 
It has been in the 90's many days in the last two weeks.  The hottest we recorded in our yard was 98.  But the good thing about all this hot weather is that we have had low humidity around 40 to 50% most days. It reminded me of Phoenix weather somewhat, although the humidity was usually much lower there. Here is a stand of red Yarrow in the far backyard. The deer won't touch it.

Red Hot Poker

My Red Hot Poker plants are blooming like crazy in the heat and sun.

Highbush Blueberries

The highbush blueberries are finally fruiting.  There are still some green ones near the center of the photo.  The two bushes were in the yard when we bought the house. They don't produce many berries and we let the animals eat them.

Eastern Bluebird

Speaking of blue, we have a pair of nesting bluebirds under the deck.  This male of the pair is sitting on the deck railing. This photo was taken out of my family room door.  Every time I tried to get closer to the window to get a better photo, he would fly away.   

Cosmos 

I always buy a few annuals to complement the perennials in the yard. Here is a photo  of one of several cosmos plants I bought.

 

Summer, Finally

White Astilbe

 

Summer has finally arrived here in northern Virginia. We finally broke out of the low 50's at night and  above 70 during the day. The almost daily rain and clouds seem to be gone. We have had three days of sunshine in a row now.  We have had very low humidity, 30 to 40 percent which is unusual for this area. The white Astilbe has just bloomed under the trees in the side yard among the pachysandra.  The pink Astilbe in the same area bloomed three weeks ago and has just finished.

Hairy Beardtongue

The hairy beardtongue (Penstemon Blackbeard) in the far backyard area has been blooming for a few weeks. I think it is showy, pretty and delicate.

St. John's Wort

There are several St. John's Wort bushes that line the far backyard.  This is a close up of the bright yellow flowers that can be seen out my kitchen window even though they are a half an acre away.

Red Hot Poker

I have three torch-like red hot poker plants (Kniphofia uvaria). This herbaceous perennial likes well-drained soil and full sun.  They are attractive to bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, but not to deer. Almost everything in my yard has to be deer resistant, as the yard is regularly traversed by deer.

Salvia

There are salvia plants in the same garden as the red hot poker plants, and they have finally come into full bloom.

Finally June, Hopefully Summer

Spirea bushes, Catmint plants

 

Well, we had another week and a half of rain, but finally the sun came out three days ago. Now if we would just get out of the low 50's at night and break 70 during the day, that would be nice. All the spring flowers seem to like all the rain. These spirea bushes and catmint plants line the front of the house.

Brunnera Jack Frost

Although the delicate blue flowers have finished their blooming on the Jack Frost brunnera plants, the leaves have greatly increased in size and are the showy part of the plants now.

Salvia



There are a couple of salvia plants in the garden below my kitchen windows that finally bloomed.

 

Pink Astilbe

There are several pink astilbe plants that have just showed up in a shady area among the pachysandra and other plants.