First Week of June 2013

**The Forecast:  No Mercy.  We're getting ready to dig into the party ice fund for the chickens.  And G got out the mister and the fan.  OMG.  It feels way too soon to be struggling like this.  :(  She coiled the soaker hose under the apple tree, and threaded it back through the sun chokes.  We'll have to keep an eye out to see if the chickens will go too far and endanger that potential shade thicket.  They are up to 2-3.5'.  I suspect that if we keep them watered, they'll stay just slightly ahead of the hen hoard.  I'm sure there is a terrible homily in there somewhere... we're trying to keep them from killing off potential shade/ comfort.  O Mankind, take heed.


**About promiscuous seeds:  where the chocolate flowers started, where they are now.  They certainly don't fill in neatly.  Ditto: spurge (I'm basically "weeding" that out all over the place.)  The big rangy sunflowers (weeds, weeds, weeds!).  Penstemons (sp?)  Echinacea....  They don't end up where I wanted them, and often get establishing somewhere that is flat out surprising. Oh, and the hollyhocks.  Not enough water off the roof this spring for them to germinate on the west side.  Sad.  But the one beside the underwhelming (sterile male?) wisteria will probably bloom this week.  (How on earth did it get there?  I want to say it's a medium red?)

**Not in chronological order:  did I ever post photos of the irises?  They were stunning this spring.

**Calendar for things blooming in early June:  it feels early, but a couple of the Echinaceas unfurled blooms yesterday.  G's pink/white standard rose bush blossomed.  Maybe the spring has been hard on bugs?  It has historically been covered with aphids, but seems to be devoid this time.  This morning there were probably half a dozen blooms open.  Very handsome.  2 yellow coriopsis blooming away.  (one of them new, to fill the hole left by the baffling loss of a sage I originally transplanted from my time in the little house downtown. :(  The lavendar bush had a hard winter, but should bloom in the next couple of weeks.  (I can see little blossom stalks.)  Last weekend--first weekend in June--the Bird of Paradise bushes exploded.  (SOOO gorgeous and exotic.)  Oh, and the Jupiter's Beard up front by the front gate.  Hard to keep her watered, but if we manage it, she'll be gorgeous.  The purple salvias, which have been so gorgeous, are fading fast.  And the heat is gradually choking off the pansies that have been so splendid this year.  Hate to see then go.

**Glad I transplanted a bit of snow in summer from the front bed.  It didn't come back this year, for good.  So the bit in a pot outside the front door is all I have at the moment.  Such a pretty plant.

**A time-lapse sequence of the silly shade plants?  The little coleuses finally seem to have gotten their roots under them.  (They should get pretty big?!)  And the impatiens have started to fill in.  They looked so naked at first... it was painful.  In another couple weeks (provided we keep watering!), they should finally look good.