Some of the July garden

 It's hard to believe we're already this far into July!  It has been a fun and busy summer, seems like there's barely been a day without something going on.   The temperatures finally warmed up in July and the watering has begun, nothing like what many of you other gardeners are going through though.  We've had quite a bit of thunder and lightening, not very usual for our summers.  It's kind of fun listening to the thunder rumbling while the doors are open.  It's also finally been warm enough to sit outside in the evenings.  Recently we heard an owl up in a tree right by us.  I knew there were owls around, but we've never heard one here.  We also found a small fire pit for the front yard and had fun roasting marshmallows and making s'mores.

Here are some pictures of what's been happening in our garden:

 Asiatic Lilies have already bloomed, at least the ones the squirrels didn't steal the bulbs of.  This one was my favorite.  Purple Canterbury Bells are blooming behind.

 I planted several Astranias last summer, some were on a clearance table for just a couple of dollars.  They are the coolest flowers!  I found a light pink one this year to add to the garden.

 Campanula 'Samantha' is covered in flowers for months.

 The path garden is mostly filled with green this time of year, except for the Hydrangea 'Pia' in the container on the deck.

 This is the back corner behind the pond.  The Clematis 'Ville de Lyon' is finally blooming.  To the left of it is a very tall Bugbane (Cimicifulga or Acataea).  It's probably close to 8 feet tall, I had no idea it would get that big.

 Echinacea 'Sunset' or 'Sundown', I can never keep it straight.  It has reseeded and I'm so happy to get more of these flowers!

 The front Butterfly garden which is more full of territorial hummingbirds than butterflies right now.  They are busy fighting over the tall Monarda 'Jacob Cline'.

 Daylily 'Strawberry Candy'

 Gernaium 'Rozanne' is now my go to plant for any area that needs space filled in quickly and something that blooms for months.  I planted this as a gallon plant about a month or so ago, it's huge now!  To me it is worth every penny.  I have some climbing up in and around roses and they looks so pretty, especially the lighter pink roses.

 So many Sweet Peas!!  I planted them months ago and after thinking the first set of seeds rotted, I planted more.  I think both sets germinated and it's so pretty and smells delicious!

 A new Echinacea 'Hula Dancer', I love the skirt.

 Gracie is plotting her next escape here.  Originally we had climbing roses in the blue pots on either side of the gate, they hated being there and were moved elsewhere.  I now have a Clematis in each and they are doing great.  I think they grow a few inches every night.

 Gladiolas are starting to bloom.  The Clematis texensis on the fence has only been there one year.  It has been growing and blooming for months, I love the bell shaped flowers.

 The Hydrangea 'Preziosa' that I moved last year when we did our front garden is looking the best it ever has.  It's difficult to see the flower color here, it's a light lavender that continues to age to a pinkish color.  I think it was in too much sun before and seems to love being under the Dogwood tree.

 Daylily in the backyard.

Sweet Pea with Sunny.  Sunny is a Brown Leghorn and seems to be the only chicken that doesn't mind being picked up.  She is also the one that sneaks into the blueberry bushes every time they are let out.  We are hoping we'll seem some eggs in the next couple of weeks.  They are almost 18 weeks and that is the early side of when they can start laying eggs.  As a new chicken owner I can still say they are so much fun, not much work and really one of the best pets I've ever had, and believe me we've had them all - dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, fish, hermit crabs, hamsters and gerbils.

Hope you are enjoying your summer!

All words and photos in this post are property of A Gardener in Progress.

Bursting with Flowers (and Chickens!)

 You know it's been a long time since you last posted when you start getting emails asking if everything is okay.  I appreciate those of you that were concerned with my whereabouts, it's nice to know that there are people out there that care!  Luckily everything has been fine.  Just busy with kids finishing up school, but luckily the summer break has now started and I hope to have time to blog and blog visit!
Our weather has been mostly wet and cool.  We have had the odd sunny day here and there, but they seem to be spread pretty far apart.  Over the weekend we had what the weather people are calling a "squall, much like you would see on the east coast".  It poured and poured and the wind blew and the power went out.  Then after a few hours the sun was trying to break through.  The day after that big rain storm the sun came out and I thought I would take some pictures.  Luckily just a couple of days earlier I had been out staking up many plants.  They are so top heavy and the rain keeps flattening them down.
These are just some of the "highlights".  Right now roses and Clematises are two of the types of flowers at their peak.

 This Lavatera was just planted last summer.  This was the only plant request my husband had for the front yard.  I think he made a great choice!

 The unknown pink rose which I'm pretty sure is 'Heritage'.

 'Lady Emma Hamilton'

 'Gertrude Jekyll'

 'Honey Perfume'

 'Kimberlina'

 'Julia Child' (with all the rain blackspot has been a problem on some of the roses)

 'Harlow Carr'

 'Benjamin Britten' (yes the color is that coral, and it smells so good, a new one this year)

 Clematis texensis

 Geranium 'Patricia'

 Geranium 'Johnson's Blue'

 Veronica

 Calamagrostis acutiflora 'Karl Foerster'.  I planted these last year and am amazed how huge they got their first year, I can see why everyone raves about this grass.

Today we had some sun and thought it would be a perfect day for the chickens to have some time out of their coop.

 Tina Fey and Chirpy enjoying some wheatgrass.

 Is it just me, or are chicken butts really cute?

 The two younger chickens would not come out of the coop so the rest ventured around without them.

Sweet Pea decided that her rabbit Blackthorn needed a bigger hutch.  We put it together and then dug down about 4 or 5 inches and lined it with hardware cloth so he can't dig out.  He's been enjoying digging around and having more space.  It was so much fun spending time doing this project with her.  It was all her idea, including making the little walkway to his hutch.

We are looking forward to spending time outside as much as possible this summer.  The girls have many plans for what we should do, so I will try my best to post and to get around and visit your blogs.  Hope your summer is going great so far!!

All words and photos in this post are property of A Gardener in Progress.

And now it's June?

 This year seems to be absolutely flying past!  It's hard for me to believe it's already June and that summer is just weeks away.  I've had a little time here and there to spend in the garden.  I'm trying to take advantage of any free time (which is little) and pull weeds that are slowly trying to take over.  There seems to be something new blooming everyday, so it's fun finding what the newest flowers are blooming.  The weather hasn't been all that great, lots of gray skies and cool for that time of year, although really this is fairly typical for June in the Seattle area. 
Here's just some of what's happening in the front yard"

 Roses, Peonies, Irises, Alliums and Erysimums in bloom.

 Unknown Irises and Peony 'Festiva Maxima'.

 Lupine started by Sweet Pea at school last year.

 Oriental Poppy 'Princess Victoria Louise'

 Rose 'Abraham Darby' has it's first flower.  Last year I don't think it got more than one or two flowers.  It was damaged during the previous winter and took all year to recover.

 Spanish Poppies and Red Valerian with Lamb's Ear.

 The Delphinium that came back!  Not as tall as I hoped, but it survive the winter and slugs.

 'Eden Rose'

 Geum 'Double Bloody Mary'.  By far the best Geum in my garden.  Lots of purple Columbines.

 Raised beds are filling in with veggies and herbs.

 Fuchsia, Heucheras and more around this sweet angel.

 Rose 'Gertrude Jekyll' and Geranium (I think 'Patricia')

 The chicken feeder planter that I filled earlier this spring.

 A Siberian Iris that I found blooming recently.  This is it's first bloom and it was given to me by a fellow blogger, Linda of Gardening by Trial and Error, who passed away around this time last year.

The driveway garden is doing really well.  We finally dug up the Magnolia that wasn't doing anything and found it's rootball hadn't grown at all.  We have potted it up and are hoping we might be able to "fix" it.  It was replaced by a 4-way grafted Apple tree.

School for both of my girls is wrapping up in the next few weeks.  I'm always surprised at how quickly the school year goes by.  It seems each year is a little busier than the last as they get older and are doing new things.  Luckily I can usually find some time every week or so to unwind and relax in the garden!

All words and photos in this post are property of A Gardener in Progress.