June brought with it several more days of cool, clear weather. Flower colors were crisp; no plants were gasping for water; no gardeners were complaining about heat. It was glorious. The first of the summer daphnes bloomed with their delicate fragrance, not enough to detect when passing by quickly, but a delightful, clean smell like an early spring morning. Yucca season arrived. We have a trio of spikes on an unidentified yucca, obtained by us as Y. rostrata but when compared to our towering plant in the scree makes us suspect a mistake in labeling. The earlier, shorter one bows to us each morning while the taller one looks down from a great height. Many roses continue to bloom while masses of once-blooming plants have settled into their normal purpose as “just shrubs”. Late spring annuals including larkspur and love-in-a-mist, are still at their peak. Chinese lilies, unnamed and purchased at “big box” stores, bloom profusely while the more delicate, fragrant regal lilies, Lilium regale’, put them to shame with their elegant, restrained beauty.

We are planting annuals and perennials, mulching with last fall’s shredded leaves, and weeding. We love the rain but so do the weeds and this year will see another battle to protect our smaller, slower growing summer plants and young perennials from their neighboring, aggressive weeds. Where does so much crabgrass come from? We find it next to the lawns but also in the middle of the garden far away from mown or wild places.

Rain lilies have begun and will be with us from now through summer, even until frost, so we have our annual challenge of keeping them in their places. Some appear in the field next to the nursery while others appear in gravel or color gardens, and other species’ pots. One might think it is autumn with Prospero autumnale and Cyclamen hederifolium blooming ahead of schedule. Daylilies are well-budded and remind us of generous friends, who have shared their special forms. I always think of my mother, who never left a spent bloom on a plant. She went through her garden each day and picked off the old blooms while saying their names. Gardens are filled with memories.

Summer is almost here

MONTROSE