July Glory

Mid-July is always a peak time in the garden. Too bad it's usually too hot to spend much time back there.

[Click on any image for a magnified view.]

The borders are filling in. This year, I've finally got the height I was aiming for. Maybe too much height, not enough middling and low? (Click here to see what it looked like in May.)
































I haven't mentioned the liatris yet -- also known as Blazing Star or Gayfeather. It is an American native. An interesting note: "Another old common name for this plant is Colic Root, alluding to its medicinal use as an antispasmodic for the intestines among other uses." I'll be sure bear that in mind.




















The daylilies are in full-throated chorus. I don't know why I love these guys so much. I'm so happy I found this particular yellow. The variety is Hyperion, in this case from White Flower Farm.













































The globe thistle is coming into bloom (if that's what you call it -- coming into fuzz?)
















The rose report:

































The sunflowers sprang into life while we were away. Here is one of them.














I always plant the type that have several heads per plant. In their appreciative exuberance, the squirrels tend to knock down the tall, regal, single-head variety. Then there's nothing left for me to appreciate. With several heads per plant, it's just the flower that rips off when the squirrels decide to hang from it as they gorge (and quarrel) -- the plant is free to keep on blooming.


The campanula -- a short variety.















I planted a taller variety this spring, but it doesn't seem to be thinking about blooming this year.

P.S. We've begun to lay out the pavers, with the help of our friend Douglas. The Tower of Power remains, however. It's just too hot to be moving heavy concrete chunks to the front and heavy concrete pavers to the back. But it will get done, eventually ...

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Holy Moley! What's That?!

The Aztecs are coming! The Aztecs are coming!


















No, not quite. But it is our very own tower of power.















I mentioned to Robert about ten days ago that this summer, I'd really like to replace the poured concrete with some pavers I saw on-line at Lowe's. Next thing I know, he's borrowed a sledge hammer and is breaking up the backyard. Then he's gone off to Lowe's. Later, a huge flatbed truck with a forklift hanging off the back pulls up at the end of the street. The forklift leaves a stack of paver-filled pallets, topped with many bags of builders sand, by our stoop. And Robert and a friend start pulling up the concrete chunks with a crowbar. The result -- something prehistoric. Or post-historic, apocalyptic, even.

This is what the new pavers will look like:















I hope the Cap'n approves!



















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