It is sweltering out. But gardeners, we keep on gardening…and sweating profusely. In my case, it is back to the early mornings before the heat sets in.

Daylilies are just beginning their time. I love, love, love my daylilies. I have sourced them from all over but three favorite sources are Applied Climatology at the West Chester Growers Market, Slightly Different Nursery, and Morningstar Daylilies. I also love Blue Ridge Daylilies. I had to thin out daylilies earlier this spring, but I think all that I removed were the natives because they are quite prolific. If some others ended up getting re-homed I am sure they will be loved.

I have a daylily problem. I planted a lot of them, but when they pop, they are so fun! And umm except in a couple of instances, I know these bad boys were planted with tags, but I forget most of their names.

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Also coming into their own? Echinacea AKA coneflowers. My favorite is the giant, gorgeous “Merlot” whose name I actually remember because I was a test garden for her. Merlot came from Applied Climatology and has giant blooms and giant darn strong stems. Next is a photo of Merlot.

Also coming into their own? Gooseberry Bushes I planted a couple of years ago. I don’t have enough to bake with yet or put up in preserves. But someday I will, and right now they are for snacking. I love their sweet tartness. I actually planted a couple more Gooseberry Bushes with a flower bed extension alongside the driveway.

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Along with the Goosberry bushes in this particular bed extension, I planted 3 more of another something I adore: Japanese Mountain Hydrangeas. They came from Wofgang at Gardens Oy Vey in Tennessee. I will also buy special hydrangeas from Kristin at Hydrangeas Plus in Oregon.

The hydrangeas have been holding up fairly well considering how hot it has been. However, the heat is making some open slightly ahead of schedule. But hey there is no such thing as global warming, right?

But I digress.

One of my favorite hydrangeas is the Korean Mountain Hydrangea I bought from Lazy S Farm in Virginia. They described her as Korean, but others describe her as Japanese. Anyway, I just dug through 8 years of invoices from nurseries to see if I could find her name and I did!!! Hydrangea serrata ‘Kiyosumi’ 

I just love my hydrangeas. They are like roses, once you start adding them, you keep looking for places to add them. But unlike roses, they are incredibly self sufficient. Also blooming??? Monarda and zinnias. They make a gardener smile. And my ordinary, plant them every summer red geraniums are just awesome this summer. Fuschias have NOT liked the weather, and I lost a bunch.

Oh!!! One of my favorite native perennials has popped up and open this week too. Indian pinks!!

I ordered another persimmon. You see, they need to be a pair to cross pollinate effectively. I planted one a couple of years ago to see how it would do…and it’s fine but it needs a companion. And because I am a glutton for punishment, I ordered another fig tree. What kind of Italian would I be without fig trees? I am trying a Hardy Dark Berry, a Mt. Etna fig. I do have a place. The place is currently occupied by a volunteer dogwood that I was uncertain about, so here is my excuse. If I get enough root of the dogwood out, I will gift it.

Ok that is it for me. The thunderstorms have been looming and now the deep sky rumble is here so I am getting off line. Enjoy some more photos of my crazy garden.

Happy gardening!