Hi! Yes it's June and yet another Friday. "The years go so fast but the days go so slow..." --a quote that always resonates with me. Readers ask if it's warm beach weather yet. Well, no, not unless you wish to swim in 55* water.
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But the world here is greening up and the wind died down enough one or two days for me to get my seeds planted.
Despite nighttime chilly temps the sun has been bright, the soil is warm and most seeds sprouted in just 3 days. I love seeing the tiny green leaves peeking out.
Day One
The yellow coreopsis is so rewarding and pleasing. It self-seeds, grows quickly, and is the first to bloom.
Sadly the pansies are dying back, especially the first planter I bought in March. They cannot tolerate the intense sun. But worth having for the three grey months of spring.
As always Mo is very interested. He know---remembers--that afternoon ice cream will appear soon.
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Meanwhile he and I have been doing some garden peeping. Mo is 9 now and cannot walk as far, plus I can no longer carry him home, sadly for us both. That doesn't stop us though!
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We don't walk as far as we once did but enjoy noting all the pretties, despite local reliance on shrubs instead of flowers.
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I do enjoy the wonderful mix of greens , color and textures, that is spring's strong focus here [prob due to easy care and professional gardening services being the norm.]
This shrubbery next door always intrigues me. Beloved of sparrows and mocking birds, it is a franken-shrub, part euonymus, part bayberry, part rhododendron. The blooms appear oddly out of context.
End of May also means roses.
Dunes
And cultivated dune-type roses. [Penny or Mel will know what these are, I think.].
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I love this floribunda rose.
One of my childhood homes had a deep gully/ creek running between our house and neighbors. My dad preferred hedges to fences and he put in quite an extensive mass of these pretty roses, which grew quickly, providing nesting space for his birds, a delightful scent, and kept the rowdy neighbors at bay effectively.
His roses also produced copious amounts of beautiful tiny red rose hips; we'd harvest some and make wreaths, fill crocks, and add to the Christmas mantel greenery---but the variety I see here doesn't produce hips. Too bad as birds and creatures love them too.
Iris near a bench that Mo and I sometimes enjoy a brief rest.
Gorgeous rhododendron., brief but delightfully showy.
Snakewort / spiderwort--ugly weed with gorgeous too-brief flowers.
My gardener friend's first peony. He was so pleased.
I spent a fun couple hours with him last week, sowing all his collected heirloom seeds. He always starts his garden very late [imho] but in the end the long growing season gives him massive amounts of flowers and veggies anyway. This year he is adding a butterfly garden and a pickle garden. I can't wait to see how things grow for us both.
Off topic, if you made or are making the TQC micro mini quilt, pls send me a pic for my upcoming post. Need not be finished, of course.
And a spring-y recipe, not new but has become a staple in the kitchen this year: Lemon Parm pasta with spring Asparagus and Tiny artichoke hearts. You can add bacon or grilled chicken, if you want more protein.
Have a great weekend and welcome June! Enjoy these longest days---three weeks/ 21 daylight minutes/ until Summer Solstice.
love
lizzy
gone to the beach...
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