Bloomin Friday Morning

      Just a little walk around the back garden before breakfast.  And then the sun popped above the trees.

See the moon just above the sunflower?

Joe Pye Weed

 

Bicolor Day Lily

Day Lily and Phlox

Phlox with African Daisy in the background

African Daisy

Volunteer Salvia with Bee

Salvia again

The Start of Tomato Season

      Is there any garden time more pleasing than the start of the tomato season?  That time when you have enough tomatoes just to have one for a snack.  I relish the first picking of sustainable bounty.

Early start to tomato season,  July 22nd, 2013

      Sometime soon there will be lots and lots of tomatoes.  So many that we will need to freeze some and give extras away.  There seems to be no lack of willing recipients out there when tomatoes are up for grabs.

June Floods, July Flowers

      Aren't April showers supposed to bring May flowers.  Well this year June torrents have brought in July flowers.  I won't even mention the July weeds!!  Well maybe just a little.  Lots and lots of July weeds.  A never ending supply.  With the ground so wet, at least the weeds pull easily.

Porch View,  July 5th, 2013

     We have been really enjoying the view from our back porch this year.  My garden is in the foreground, our neighbor's yard is in the back ground.  The color schemes match because a great deal of their plants have come from my garden.  That was not a planned thing, but the result sure is pretty.

Not raining, but terribly humid

Moth Mullein

Volunteer salvia and purple coneflower

      And this last one is cleome, my wife's unfavorite plant.  Left to form seed pods, it will go invasive in a year.  Left to grow tall, it will develop thorns as a self defense.  But tenacious thinning of babies will keep its numbers in check.  The pom poms behind the cleome are the leek scapes.  The scapes if left to mature the seeds, will fall over and may start tons of leeks.  But that is a good thing.  Easily self perpetuated leek beds.

You Know It Has Been Wet

      You know it has been wet when even the gardeners at the park quit using the back access road.  You know it has been wet when you have to drain the plant saucers of excess water that begs mosquitoes to lay their egg rafts.  You know it has been really wet when your dog creates rooster tails running across the back yard!  Even after a day of no rain.

Rice at the park!

       You know it has been wet when a gardener at the park has actually planted rice!

       And you are certainly allowed to complain about the incessant rain when even Accuweather agrees with you and confirms the obvious.  It was wet.  An all time record June wet.  And good old Wilmington was right there at the top.  Nearly 14 inches!  Enough already.

Actual Rainfall Totals From June 1 to July 1 Compared to the Percentage of Normal Rainfall

City	Rainfall Total (Percentage of Normal)
Wilmington, Del.	13.74 inches (342%)
Raleigh, N.C.	10.80 inches (296%)
Hartford, Conn.	12.07 inches (271%)
New York City, N.Y.	10.94 inches (242%)
Philadelphia, Pa.	10.81 inches (304%)