Heating Up

Honey bees

Last summer was so hot, it made me ponder relocating some place cooler.  But the extended growing season, the drought . . . well, maybe give the area another year.

Here we are, not yet end of May (month, not PM) & already it's too hot for me.  At least things in the garden are loving it, including some honey bees that swarmed next door.  They sent scouts out & about, raised squeals from various neighbours.  There were probably a good 100 bees in my shed which I evicted by using the tadpole net.

The bee guy came & all is well, but the heat is still with us.


1.  First rose.

Our front garden is a swath of grass big enough to bury maybe 2 mortal enemies, but the border next to the footpath has several mature roses w/stems the size of my big toe.  The buds suggest they're all different colours.  The red one opened this week.

Bud & flower.

There's a thin brown line on the buds when they're closed - more visible on the bud in the background.  Not sure if this is a feature of this rose or a sign of something unhealthy, but it does make the buds look very pretty.


2.  Front mystery

A mystery plant grows in the border next to the front of the house.  I've seen it in other gardens, but never lived with it myself.  Guess it's time for an introduction.

Stranger in my bed.

In the photo below, this stuff grows around some dead stalks.  Am I right in thinking this is the new growth of the same plant?  Some junk tree seedlings rampage in this part of the bed so it's possible someone took a bit of weed killer to everything living there, with this as the result.

Same thing?

3.  Yellow Queen Columbine

Last year - their first w/us - these ladies grew in pots.  This year, they're in the shady bed.  Their blooms are bigger, but not as intensely yellow, which is a bit disappointing.  Their wonderful 'dove' shapes, though, are just as elegant.

Faded queens.

The softer yellow probably goes better with the rest of the bed, though.

In situ.

4.  Geum

A plant with a sense of humour.  The buds start out dark yellow . . .

Geum amongst the curry plants.

. . . then open red.

True colours.

This geum was something inherited in a former garden, not a pest but prolific enough to allow one of its progeny to come with me.  I've assumed it's Mrs Bradshaw but could be very wrong.


5.  Stump garden.

There was a stump in the middle of the lawn when we moved here, surrounded by light coloured square rocks.  A bit of weeding unearthed a brick circle around the stump, giving me ideas of a flowerbed.

In the lull before the corn plants arrive, I've been tackling the overgrown bricks.

Bricks & a bit of stone.

In the process, I discovered that the stump is not a stump at all, but firewood.   The brick circle is a fire pit.  Or more accurately, was.  It has purple columbine growing in it, probably self seeded from my neighbour's garden.  Some of my annuals will soon join it.


6.  Rodger

First time ever meeting a rodgersia pinnata, 9 or so years ago => I stepped out the back door of our most recent new house, saw him blooming in a flagstone bed, & thought, 'If that doesn't make a person believe in magic, there's something wrong.'

Bronze peacock.

On my most dismal days, if I look at Rodger, that feeling comes back to me, even if he's not in bloom.  There's nothing so healing as a garden, & perhaps we all have our magic plants.  For me, it's Rodger.  Hate his name, love his magic.

And that's my #SixOnSaturday.

It's way too hot to work on the bricks, so think I'll join Mlle DoodleFace in the hammock.  I do hope you go check out Jon the Knife whose avoe today will be spent executing the Chelsea Chop.  His kinder more gentler side lets all us SoSers post links to our blogs in his comment section.  There's gardens from all over the world, so go take a look.

Living is easy.

Thanks for stopping by!