Sometimes you have bad weeks...

Today was the first day of summer. In reality, it's been summer for weeks already. We've reached the point in the season when the gloss comes off and everything starts going wrong. This unrelenting heavy rain has done some serious damage to our garden. Our eggplants keep dropping buds and our tree peonies have contracted a fungal condition called "peony measles." Apparently it won't kill the plant, but to treat it we're going to have to cut off all the new growth and spray it with a fungicide like Actinovate, which is organic and safe but not cheap (I bought it anyway). That means probably no flowers from "Blue Butterfly" and "Green on White Jade Tower" next year. I'm trying to suck it up, but Kristen is really devastated.

The oriental poppy I bought two weeks ago also has some kind of fungus from being overwatered at the garden center (though I'm sure the rain didn't help, either). I bought that plant specifically because I wanted an Oriental Poppy bloom this year. Now it's going to lose its only bud...

The three Oriental Poppies I bought from Select Seeds are doing what they're supposed to do and going dormant now. I hope they come back next year. If my calculations are correct, if I take care of "Lauren's Grape" and "Imperial Pink" I should see flowers in three weeks. We'll see. "Imperial Pink" has grown very large. It should flower, but knowing my luck something will off it before it blooms...

On the bright side....yes, there is a bright side, isn't there? Kristen was weeding in the front yard last night and found (and I still can't believe this) a tiny vine shoot from our dear departed clematis "Lemon Chiffon." The one that was allegedly killed two years ago, and replaced with "Gillian Blades?" I never thought that after all this time it would start to come back. I guess it was damaged so badly that it just needed a while to regenerate its roots. Clematis, how I love thee!

Also, "Pink Delight" continues to flaunt its flower spikes, like awesome pink Christmas trees. Butterfly Bush, how I love thee.

Little flower buds on "Miss Ruby" and "Peach Cobbler." I found some aphids on "Moondance" this morning. "Dead for a ducat! Dead!" I declared as I hosed them down with insecticidal soap. I always say that when I kill bugs. I guess that makes me pretty weird!

I've also been writing and working on rerooting my Ex Cute Raili with Restoredoll Saran in Noir.