While the early summer has been a touch too warm for my liking lately, we’ve had a good amount of rain to go along with it so the gardens are thriving (so are the weeds – so that’s my big job for this weekend). As a result, there are several new bloomers to show off.

Catchfly, Asiatic Lily and False Sunflower. The Catchfly and the Lily will only bloom for a short while, but the False Sunflower will go almost to the first frost. It’s also a HUGE plant – almost taller than me.

And remember how I was lamenting how almost all my foxgloves were the bright, brash pink. But then one whitish one did come up in the catio (even though it’s really a pale pinky purple)….

Well – I discovered ONE pure white one out front, as well as this paler pink. The paler pink is a bit of a puzzle. It’s a version called Artic Fox Rose…. but I only ever had it out back – not out front. How its seeds got all the way out there is beyond me – I won’t complain! I’ll be spreading the seeds of both of these around to get more!

New Dawn – the Climbing Rose on the catio fence is in full bloom. It’s flowers are small, but they are everywhere!

It will be interesting to see if this one blooms all summer – it didn’t last year, but I believe it’s supposed to.

Out front, the arbour climbers are really showing off too.

Eden on one side.

Quicksilver on the other. I’m amazed how quickly they’ve grown to cover it. I only planted them last year.

The Sundrops have absolutely exploded too! I was surprised. Mom has a sundrop plant and it hasn’t spread like this. Of course, hers isn’t in full sun – and this one is! I am going to have to split this one up much sooner than I thought!

The White Ballooflower is blooming too. I was worried about it because it didn’t do well last year – thanks to Relic and Burton using it as a nap spot. But they’ve left it alone this year and it’s thriving – it’s even coming up in another spot ACROSS the catio yard. Don’t ask me how THAT happened.

Both of the Honeysuckle vines are blooming nicely. I’ve seen a few hummingbirds but no pictures yet, They are elusive little creatures.

This little plant is another of my “curiosities”. It’s a type of Campanula. It’s very small – only a few inches high. You can see it has these bright chartreuse leaves. And then it gets covered in tiny blurple flowers. It’s such a pretty little thing. I had to move it a few times because it just kept getting lost under other plants. I have it at the front of the sidewalk garden and it seems to be thriving there.

And speaking of small…. These little guys popped up in the front garden in front of my bee balm. It’s Annual Fleabane (though I always knew it as Wild Aster). It’s a native plant, and most consider it a weed. But it won’t take over, and it’s good for the pollinators, so it can stay. It’s a pretty tall plant, but the flowers are no bigger than a dime.

And last – I took the advice of many internet gardeners and planted some Borage near the veg beds. Apparently it’s a pollinator magnet, and brings them in so they pollinate it, and your veg. It’s got pretty little blue flowers so it’s a welcome addition.

Now – I better go pay some attention to those weeds….