July, I love you

sunflower
Originally uploaded by ingroid.

It's hot and sunny, and all the plants are busting out all over. I love July. I've been keeping up with the watering for the most part, and so most of my plants are surviving. Plus, after weed-fest all of the water is going to the actual plants that need it, and not those pesky weeds, too.


This sunflower to the right is growing in a patch of sunflowers I planted in with the bamboo. I figured I'd put some nice tall annuals in there until the bamboo fills in. They are all blooming right now and are a nice greeting as you come up the driveway.



I've gotten a few more zucchini, and more are on the way.



This is a picture of my with a couple. Happy, happy!

I planted sweet peas from seed this year and they're going like gang-busters:



They keep on blooming and they smell light and delicious. Perfect for a little juice glass-type vase setup.


The daisies, such a simple, cheery, unassuming flower, are going absolutely nuts right now in the best way. They don't need a lot of water, but love the sun, so they're having a field day right now:



A couple of my faves in the "dry garden" that I set up on the hill are gaillardia (the red flower in back) and spring onion (the white flower in front).





The hotter it gets the more I'm really appreciating the more drought-tolerant plants that I put in the yard.

One failed experiment this year is the cascading hill of strawberries. I didn't set up a good irrigation set-up for them, so they turned into the cascading hill of brown dead plants. I'm planning to relocate what remnants I can to a spot where I can give them more attention, and instead fill in that hill with a nice succulent garden that doesn't need so much attention.

Oh, Todd and Mel gave me a TON of tomato plants. I plopped them in the ground last week with a little organic fertilizer and compost mixed into the soil and lots of love. How exciting to have some fresh delicious tomatoes at summer's end!