Summer continues (!), July 12, 2011.

[mechtild]

It's been another week of lovely warm weather, interspersed with drenching but not prolonged rain. Ah, heaven! The lilacs are completely done, but the roses are just coming out. Even the latest-blooming ones are now showing blooms. Woo hoo! They are small bushes, so much dies back every year in spite of being hardy to this growing zone (4), but they are very pretty, I think.

No big changes other than that. The Dutch and Siberian iris have finished. The yellow day lilies have peaked, but the tall yellow yarrow is opening, as well as the yellow evening primrose. In the sunniest white shasta daisies are just starting to blossom, but otherwise there is no new colour. When something red or orange or purple opens I'll photograph more. Right now, other than the scattered rose plants and pots of annuals, the only new flowers open are yellow.



As you can see, the lilac blossoms that covered the bushes beyond the wooden table and benches are all gone:





View of the patio border of roses, just coming into bloom:





The roses from the other direction:





In the foreground are two varietals of shrub roses hardy to this zone, "Rad-white" and deep red "Hope for Humanity". I have never tried this red rose before. I planted it at the end of May. I am really pleased with it!



Mechtild

Comments

[belleferret.livejournal.com]

When it's a heat wave in the rest of the country, it's pleasantly warm up there! ;-)

You have a lovely garden!

[mechtild.livejournal.com]

Thank you! We have been spared the U.S. heatwave so far. It hasn't got out of the 80's for a high and some days have not got above the 70's. The big heat wave is supposed to be heading up to Minnesota this weekend, but Lake Superior -- a deep, very cold body of water with a surface area greater than that of Denmark -- is supposed to keep it at bay, so that the area right around the lake (including us) should not experience the heat they will be getting just a few miles further inland.

Belleferret, are you from New Zealand?

[belleferret.livejournal.com]

Oh how I wish I were from New Zealand! I spent two weeks there in April, on Red Carpet Tours LOTR tour, and even before I got home I wanted to go back again. If you are interested, all my posts with many many pics are tagged: http://belleferret.livejournal.com/tag/new%20zealand

I lived in Duluth for 4 years in the early 80s and well remember the weather there! *shivers at memories* I'm near Cleveland now.

[mechtild.livejournal.com]

"Shivers at the memories" indeed! Yes, it's horribly cold here in the winter, and the winter lasts and lasts and lasts. But summer, however brief, is very lovely. :)

You spent two weeks in New Zealand? Ooooh, lucky! I've never heard from anyone that didn't love it there, even want to move there. Thank you for the link!

[jan-u-wine.livejournal.com]

i continue to be jealous!!! (but that's really a sign of: I love it very much and wish I were there, breathing in the sweet air, seeing the sun rise and set, watching the mysterious Lake go about her busy-ness......)

[mechtild.livejournal.com]

Oh, you'd love it. It's delightful to sit on the patio on days like these, or go for walks or bike rides. It's supposed to storm on Thursday, but after that better weather, although a chance of showers will remain in the forecast. I am hoping for a few nice days for Mary's visit.

[jan-u-wine.livejournal.com]

i remember those stormy days, back when i'd visit the aunties in the summer......not even hardly a warning, and there'd it'd be, just......raining like the sky'd split its pants and the sun trying to shine through all the while.

and the way it smelled! not like old wet pavement and engine oil like it does out here. No, like fresh green grasses, and little raspberries hiding way down in their leaf-cubby-hole, and earth so dark it was near black and smelled as rich as double-death fudge cake....

SEE what you started!!! lol....

[mechtild.livejournal.com]

I see (smell?) a poem comin' on.... :)

[jan-u-wine.livejournal.com]

i think you may be right......

[yeuxdebleu.livejournal.com]

Simply gorgeous. You really do take awesome photos.

[mechtild.livejournal.com]

Nah, the camera takes good photos. It's such an easy to use little thing, even I can't screw it up. :) And I only post the pick of the litter. The majority of images get thrown out.

[yeuxdebleu.livejournal.com]

I know there are people who still love film, but the digital camera made me love to take photos. The first photo I took with my first digital camera was a closeup of a day lily. My jaw literally dropped when I saw the photo I'd taken. I was hooked...instantly!

I love how you can see immediately whether the photo is what you want. And if not, you can try again. No waiting for film to be developed. What an absolutely marvelous invention.

[mechtild.livejournal.com]

Yes, they're terrific. Real photographers enjoy more complicated machines, with plenty of customizing options when taking photos, but I couldn't be more pleased with the new era of "point and shoot" cameras. Even mine has lots of customized settings, if one wanted to use them, but then I'd have to read the instruction book. That's not going to happen, I don't think. ;)

[yeuxdebleu.livejournal.com]

Even mine has lots of customized settings, if one wanted to use them, but then I'd have to read the instruction book. That's not going to happen, I don't think. ;)

LOL I know exactly how you feel. Mine has a lot of special settings, too, but all I ever use is Normal, Portrait, Landscape and telescope as needed. I did try to read the manual...operative word here is "try"...but couldn't make much sense of it. Trial and error works fine for me.

[mechtild.livejournal.com]

Trial and error is my primary teacher, too. :)

[shirebound]

What an incredibly gorgeous garden.

[mechtild.livejournal.com]

Do you like it? I'm so glad. That's the patio we put in a few years ago. This is its third summer. Maybe I should do a post about it, "before and after". Our back yard didn't have a sitting area before, or all those gardens and only a third of the shrubs. I had a lot of fun designing it. It's so nice to be in now. The only drawback is how little of the year we can enjoy it. ;)

[lavendertook.livejournal.com]

It's so lovely with the roses, too.

In the second pic, what are the two trees to the left of the birches--the low one to the left of the umbrella and the good sized one to the right of the umbrella?

[mechtild.livejournal.com]

The littler of the two trees is a Haralred apple tree (hardy for this zone) we planted nine or ten years ago, pruned to a low, spread "basket" shape, the much bigger tree an elderly flowering crab. It was here and mature when we bought the house eleven years ago. They were featured in flower in my June garden post:

http://mechtild.livejournal.com/125663.html

Scroll down to the first photo. It shows them both in flower.

[lame-pegasus.livejournal.com]

Gorgeous garden, of course... and now I want such a lovely garden rocking chair! (The first time ever that I see one!)

[mechtild.livejournal.com]

They probably make them in Europe, too. They're what I think of as the sort of old-time wooden furniture that still is used in some state and national parks. Very sturdy, fairly comfortable, rustic, plain, cedar furniture. You just leave it out all year. We don't have anywhere to store the stuff so we didn't want to buy the modern furniture, which requires being brought in over the winter or put under elaborate covers. You do have to stain or paint it every other year, but that's all it requires.

[maewyn-2.livejournal.com]

Your garden is looking gorgeous! It all looks so lush and green!

The red roses look a lot like mine, with multiple flower heads on one stem - I don't know what variety they are, though. :)

[mechtild.livejournal.com]

I can't wait till the orange day lillies and red monarda come out. They add so much colour. You might have the same roses, who knows? This one is featured up here because it's hardy to zone 3. The challenge for us is finding plants that grow up here, but many -- most? -- that do are more than happy to grow in a warmer climate.

Maewyn, as I recall Laurie had knee surgery in the spring (our spring, your autumn). How did that go? Is he recovered? I may have missed mention of it in your LJ.

[maewyn-2.livejournal.com]

It's been 2 1/2 months since Laurie had the operation. His knee didn't return completely to "normal". It's a lot better - not needing support with a stick, but he still has a little swelling and discomfort. If it gets really bad again, he may have to get a knee replacement. We don't want to think about that!

[mechtild.livejournal.com]

My mother in law (84 years old) just had her left knee replaced today. I'll let you know how it goes, further down the road. :)

[maewyn-2.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I hope it went well for her. I look forward to hearing the outcome. :)

[mechtild.livejournal.com]

She says she feels great today. We visited her this morning, the day after the surgery. But, she hasn't stood up yet.

[mews1945.livejournal.com]

Your garden is so lovely, and your roses looks wonderful.

[mechtild.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed looking. :)

[not-alone.livejournal.com]

So now you're having lovely summer weather while we just get grey, chilly days interspersed with the occasion bit of sunshine!! I know you've had some rain, but I always love summer rain - all those gorgeous garden aromas it brings out!

Your garden is looking absolutely beautiful and that red rose is so gorgeous - there's something quite unusual about it, not sure what but it just looks a bit different to other red roses:)

[mechtild.livejournal.com]

It's cooled off quite a bit today and storms are expected tomorrow. Can't complain about getting everything watered naturally. My complaints are about cold. It should be warm, but not hot, this weekend. Yeah!

I think that red rose may be different because of something Maewyn pointed out. Its blooms are formed in big clusters on the ends of stems. Maybe that's what makes it a stand-out.

[frolijah-fan-54.livejournal.com]

What a lovely garden - you have a very green thumb!!

Thanks so much for sharing the pics - I have no luck growing things myself so enjoy seeing how well others can do!! I'm glad you're not part of the heat wave that's making so many parts of the country miserable.

[mechtild.livejournal.com]

Hi, Frolijah Fan! Actually, the heat wave got here today. I think it reached nearly ninety, which is very hot for here -- and very humid. The dehumidifyer in the basement is going great guns. But the plants are loving it. The big orange day lilies are opening as I watch, and the red monarda (bee balm) are unfurling as well, so I'll be taking new pictures later this week. There's supposed to be a big thunderstorm tonight, which makes sense, the air is so soupy and warm, but we'll see. They were forecast all weekend, but, in spite of intermittent overcast skies, no storms materialized.