It has just been so frazzling hot here, with humidity at 68% early in the morning, it is hard to get out and get some weeding done. I started early one morning, and had to come in after only an hour, in desperate need of a shower. Even though the temperature was only 70°F, combined with that humidity was miserable. The flowers seem to like it for the most part, and I shared the garden with a number of large honey bees that morning too. Picture heavy post coming today.
The white lily gave us two blooms this year. I think this may be its fifth year to bloom in the garden.
I kept a few of the ruffled edge day lilies, but I think I’ll move them out of the primary bed this year. I’m just tired of them.
The light peach one is pretty with its yellow throat. These will bloom daily for about a month or so.
I didn’t even remember this one.
The hydrangea is spilling over the steps and railing with multiple colors of blooms, mostly this lovely lavendar.
Some of the blooms are a clear blue. No pink so far this year, which tells me the soil is going back to its more acid pH state. I need to add some lime to get pink ones again.
I think this is a white daisy, huge in comparison to the little plant I put in last summer. It is just now starting to think about blooming, so we’ll see.
Now I can’t remember what this is. Did I plant it or is it a weed? I looked back on the gardening posts from last year, one benefit to writing a blog, LOL!! Could it possibly be the pink daisy from last August? I’ll leave it for now and wait to see what it does.
Out on the feeder, the goldfinches had a gathering for lunch one day. Perhaps somebody had a birthday and they decided to celebrate together with a meal out.
Several house finches are stopping by regularly. Unfortunately, we had to take the lower feeder down for a while because the doves discovered it. The stupid doves do not scare easily, and will sit on the feeder and sleep to try to guard the food for themselves, the pigs. So I go out and run them off, but they just go sit in the closest tree and wait. The little birds come back, then half an hour later I have to run the doves off again. Taking this feeder down, the little birds can eat from the caged feeder that the doves cannot get to. We’ll put this one back up in a week or so, once the doves move on.
I had to include this blurry photo, the only one I have managed to get of the male ruby throated hummingbird who began visiting this year. Up to now, I have only seen two females, so I was excited to see the flash of red.
We had a flock of robins visiting, hard to get a photo of them, they tend to spread out. There were about 2 dozen of them on the ground in the meadow, and this guy in the tree.
The turkey continues to visit, mostly by himself. On this day, however, he was preening for two females in the meadow. I’ve not seen this in summer before, usually he only struts like this in early spring and in the fall.
This guy defies identification. Multiple runs through my bird book and searches on the internet have failed to identify him. The blue on the wings and tail, along with the white eye ring and a speckled breast seem to be the identifying features. Update – It is a juvenile Eastern Bluebird, thanks to helpful readers!!
The torenias are flourishing in the heat, as long as I keep them watered they will thrive.
In the pots under the mosaic tables, the bargain impatiens are blooming. Somehow I managed without trying to get each pot to have only one color. How’d that happen?
The third table pot has this lovely color, a pretty lavendar pink with a darker throat. I like this one a lot!!
The squirrels looked hungry so I gave them my leftover french fries from lunch out one day. There were four of them, and each one grabbed a fry, and ran off to gobble down the prize.
On the vegetable front, results are mixed. The tomato in the pot is going great, getting huge and producing flowers. The other two are fairly scrawny so far. One squash plant has died, and three of the basil plants died. The last basil isn’t growing very well either, so I will move its pot to a sunnier location. DH is in the process of painting the veranda, so things will get moved around a lot this week.
The cleome is doing beautifully. When it gives me some seeds, I am going to scatter some in the meadow. We are only mowing it once a month this year, to give the pollinators more flowers.
The birdcage planter is beginning to bloom with the yellow bidens.
Yellow torenias spill over the large coffee cup planter I got at a thrift store in Nashville last year.
I cut back the geraniums as they were looking a bit scraggly with spent blooms. They will bloom again soon. Did you know that this week is National Pollinator Week? There are events all over the country this week, all to help add more flowers to our environment, and help the populations of the critical pollinators that help provide 1/3 of our food supply. We need them, and their numbers are decreasing.
What is going on in your garden?
From My Carolina Home 
I’ve sent the picture off to son-in-law….works at Cornell on bird related stuff. We’ll see what he says…good luck!
What a fun set of photos! So many pretty things. I googled juvenile bluebird, and they similar to what you have there.
Hi, Carole,
I think you second unidentified plant is a coneflower. They do have pink flowers and it looks like there is a bud developing. Sorry, can’t help with the bird ID.
We’re very dry here and high temp yesterday (first day of summer) was only 70°. But two days last week were in the 90’s. Off to a quilt retreat this weekend.
Pat
I totally agree that your unidentified plant is a coneflower. Mine have just started blooming here in IL. Bees love the flowers and the finches love the seeds in the flower heads after they’re done blooming.
Beautiful! Love seeing your garden and bird pictures. We are in Texas Hill Country and are in a fraught for several years, so very very hard to grow even. Also for last 7 years have been on water restrictions.
How about a juvenile gray jay?
The colors are all so pretty and it’s fun to see the plants growing. We are still waiting for some heat here – maybe next month.
What’s blooming in my garden? Well, I already mentioned my coneflowers in bloom in a reply to Patricia. Other than that I’ve got a 2nd blooming in progress on my clematis, daylilies are happy, the pink honeysuckle (a hummingbird attraction) is climbing up the trellis, and the black-eyed susies & shasta daisies are just beginning to open. In the bush dept, my spirea needs a trim after its bloom and the oakleaf hydrangea is in full bloom. Sweet 100 cherry tomato plant has blooms and some-bunny has been nibbling on my beans! *wink*
Here’s what he had to say:It’s a juvenile Eastern Bluebird.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Bluebird/media-browser/63740041
Thanks for the help!
A delight to see your flowers, and colour in the garden. The shortest day has gone, a milder 5 Celsius this morning, and the 185 bulbs I planted a while ago are all showing their small green shoots.
My daughter identified it as a juvenile bluebird.Checked out and identified as a juvenile bluebird of VA in photos. Jeannie
Splendid blooms Carole, and wildlife photos as well. We have those red house finches too, and I just love watching them. My irises are finished for the year, so I have just the two pots of pansies. The ones in the planter are recovering after their run in with the deer. The basket is somewhere in the tomatoes. I t it there to get watered and then it began to rain. We got four inches over 3-4 days which means we are googling gopher wood suppliers and updated ark plans! There’s more coming so we are now on flash flood alert until late tomorrow. We’re in the 500 year zone so not too worried, but this is when unattended kids and the creek are a deadly combination. I feel for you with that humidity.
Hello from Ga.,
Hope ya’ll are surviving this heat wave, it has been something else, hasn’t it? Your flower garden has really produced for you this year. My mothers lilies are blooming up a storm. I’m going to have to thin them out this year for sure. Plan to put some of them into large pots and use by the stairs going up to the front porch. Also need to replant some starter butterfly bushes into some large post to use both in the front and back yard , I do so enjoy the pretty butterflies when they visit. My mama grew cleomes and and she gave me some but I didn’t seem to do something right with them and they didn’t make it, have wanted to get some more but never remember when I’m out to get any. Haven’t seen any finches here in a long time, they are so colorful and fun to watch when they are feeding. Such busy little birds. My squirrel is about to drive me insane. I have some tennis balls I throw at him when I see him up on the porch in the birds food, almost got him good the other day, only about ½ inch more and I would have had him, one of these days, he best watch out. I’m going to take some pictures of my orange lilies and will send you a picture of them and if you would like to have some of them when I replant them I’ll send you some. These will multiply and don’t take any care. The stalks have 4-6 flowers on each one and they are so pretty when they are blooming.
Have seen a lot of robins here in our area, lots of cardinals but the little titmouse and chickadee haven’t been around much, don’t know what is going on there. I miss them, they will come to the feeder while I’m sitting there on the porch in the morning with my coffee. My hummingbirds are always here have one male and a couple females. Have a few other birds that have made homes here, one loves to really sing, especially in the morning and the evening. My son has 3 tomato plants he grew and brought me a tomato the other day and said to make myself a tomato sandwich will be making that a little later for supper, can’t wait to try it, it smells so good. Best be closing so I can get some more work done so have a great weekend and stay cool.
Beautiful flowers in your garden and it is lovely to see the birds.
Was in Canada a couple of weeks ago and saw many beautiful humming birds.
Your garden is beautiful, Carole. I love your bird cage hanging basket – such a clever idea, and looks great. All your blooms are making me jealous – not a lot in flower here at the moment. After months of dry weather, we have finally had some rain. Not much, but enough that it’s lifted the garden. The nights have been cold (for us) – 0ºC (32ºF), but the days are lovely – 17ºC – 20ºC (62ºF – 68ºF). The humidity is low, though, and I’m rugged up with several layers on while I work in the garden.
Beautiful flowers, I am glad the spring has been relatively wet, keeping everything healthy and green.
Awesome flora and fauna photos Carole! Your garden is just gorgeous.
Your garden is looking wonderful. Love seeing the wildlife, too.
Carole, I had planned to weed this morning, just too hot and humid! I always enjoy your garden posts with your wide variety of blooms. The bluebirds have invaded our pergola and patio this year! Thanks so much for sharing with GRdens Galore!