FLOWERS

Here are a few older pictures from earlier in the summer before the worst of the drought set in. This drought and heat wave is the worst I ever remember in all my 51 years. People are saying it's the worst since some time in the 1950's. Even though I took this picture quite some time ago, you can see that my yard beyond the garden is brown already.

Even during the drought, my hollyhocks, favorites of mine--and Eileen's from my book, "A Sturdy Fence," grew and blossomed profusely. Eileen tells Luke that hollyhocks are not flowers you'd see alone in bouquets like roses or carnations, but they do best blooming where they're planted, against sturdy fences, or in my case, where they volunteer--against farm buildings. Our temperatures were in the upper 90's and low 100's for days on end. This hot trend continued for weeks and hasn't actually let up yet. We've had only the occasional cooler day. I am ready for fall after all this!

This is a picture of white sweet peas against an old bed frame at the back of the English garden. The drought had not taken its toll yet in this picture. I do have a soft spot for "garden junk!"

Daylilies in profusion surround my front porch, back deck, and some places in the English garden. Normally they bloom repeatedly all summer, but this year in the drought, they bloomed once and I am concerned that I may have lost many of them after that. I cut them back this evening and am hoping for a 'rebirth' of flowers now that we've had a little rain, but we are still way, way behind normal rainfall and the leaves on these pretty flowers are all yellow and brown. We'll see. I originally started all the many plants from one start given to me by a friend in Iowa. I hate to lose them after all that effort of splitting and waiting for another season!

One more random picture from the English Garden.

Hoping your area is experiencing good weather. Blessings, LORI