The summer colour is really starting to show in the garden.

It feels a little early for Coneflowers, but I’m not going to complain. They bloom right to the frost and are one of my favourite long-bloomers.

The Tickseeds are starting to bloom. As you may recall, I have several variants. I thought I lost all the pretty pink ones I had (they are a little more tender), but they just took their time coming back. None are blooming yet, but it won’t be long.

Stella D’Oro has the honour of being the first day lily to bloom. Stella D’Oro is one of the most common Daylilies next to our wild orange “ditch” lily. It’s a smaller Daylily, and it will bloom all summer long. It also needs next to no maintenance, making it a popular choice for commercial and office property gardens, which is where you see it most often around here.

“Tiny Double U” is the first true Lily to bloom. It’s not a big lily, but, makes up for it with colours and blooms – as you can see by it’s bold orange, and double flowers. It’s multiplied beautifully over the last couple of years, so I’ll probably split it up and spread it around after it’s done blooming.

I’ve got Blanket Flowers throughout the gardens, and they always bring a smile to my face.

I love the combination of the pink Pincushion Plant, and Pink sage at the foot of the walkway garden.

And is there anything more cheerful than a yellow rose? Right is Mellow Yellow, centre is Good as Gold, and left is a miniature yellow rose.

Long time readers will recognize Chicago Peace. It starts out a gorgeous deep coral, and blossoms into a big blousy bloom of pale pink and yellow.

The Marguerite Daisies (left) and False Sunflowers (Right) are cheering up the border around Edible Alley. I had to get ruthless with the Marguerites because they tried to take over their corner of the border. They are so cheerful in bloom -and a mega pollinator magnet.

Blue can be a hard colour to get in the garden (most “blues” tend more towards purple). but this blue Delphinium nails it. It’s such a stunner.

Every day I take a stroll through the gardens to see what’s new… and every day I’m delighted. And there’s so much more to come!