Early Summer Blooms

The showiest among them have peaked already, and as the solstice clock now begins winding downward toward darker days, I can't believe we're already half-way through the year.  Gone are the peonies, irises, daffodils, tulips, lily-of-the-valley, the hyacinths and the early roses.  There are things to be pruned back, and a few remaining new plants to go in, where I've focused on native plants and hopefully, hardy perennials that in the future won't require too much attention from me. 

An apothecary rose, the last to bloom and the slowest to grow.  Its rosa rugosa mates are more than triple its size.

Foxglove

Clematis

Lupine

Clematis

Clematis

Spiky sea holly (ouch!)

Yarrow

The Illusion of the Simple Life

Although not truly 'vintage,' (although some might disagree, 1978 was awhile ago,) this is one of my all time favorite articles from Family Life Magazine, an Amish and Mennonite publication by Pathway Publishers that I used to subscribe to.  This was reprinted in the January of 2013 issue. 

While living on and working a small family farm with an Amish made wood stove, a fireplace insert, more than a dozen sheep, half a dozen goats, geese, ducks and chickens, home schooling, gardening, knitting, sewing and gluten free baking, I could relate. 

I still think of this article with every, single change of season and it always warms my heart. 

Always especially timely about now as Summer begins, because things are just growing enough to become over bearing, and time consuming, and there are moments when I wonder why I didn't just settle for astro turf throughout the yard instead of an endless array of plants, herbs, fruit trees, nut and berry plants, rose bushes, clematis, and a host of other growing things.