...Cloudy Morning

Today was a pretty cloudy day, but a walk back into the garden was rewarded with some great surprises, too.


The showcase bloom of the day is easily the first of the picotee cosmos, ringed above with a distant halo of yellow snapdragons.

The white globe allium, about five inches off the ground, was also pretty fancy looking.

And I'm happy to say it wasn't long at all before my nose detected that most heavenly scent of the heliotrope blooming at the garden's entrance, a swag of pink foxglove in the distance behind it.

The African daisies (osteo spermum) are also flowering heavily, loving the cooler temps and great moisture of recent rains.

In fact, almost everywhere you turn your eye in the back garden, there are new glimpses of different colors...and in many cases, similar hues. I love the way this pink clover echoes the pinks of the foxgloves and cosmos.


In a sharp contrast to the pinks, but matching the color of yesterday's Atlantic poppy blossom (still blooming today, but a little camera-shy on the morning's breeze) was this first orange calendula blossom.

More evidence of the power of our rainy week is that I'm finding seedlings everywhere, the result of some Memorial Day weekend seed-sowing. Here's one of the distinctive cosmos seedlings.

I've also been spotting some zinnias and the morning glories...and also plenty of allyssum and other things I've not yet had the chance to identify.

It was a short visit this morning, but also a working one, as I had taken delivery yesterday of some lily bulbs I ordered through one of the school kids this spring: three tiger lilies, two Oriental stargazers and a bleeding heart root. The latter didn't appear too healthy, but I planted it with a few good words and will hope for the best. The lilies all were sprouting in the bag, since they never really go dormant, so I planted them carefully and we'll see what the season brings.

Meanwhile, I was happily surprised to discover our gangly little peach tree (I've been pruning it a little bit each year, to bring it to some tidier shape) was heavily laden with a potentially great fruit crop. Of course, the little peachlets are about the size of a fig just now and who knows who many will survive to ripen...but so far, so good!!

As I was leaving the garden, it began to shower a bit, but never really rained especially heavily. Later in the afternoon, we saw a little bit of the sun, and it sounds like tomorrow will be one of our nicer days.

I discovered this rose campion blooming behind the restaurant this evening. Great little flower, isn't it? I think I collected some of this seed last fall, but it may be a little while before I see the results of it at home. It's definitely a nice addition, if a little floppy. In the right location where it can range around amongst other tidier plants, I'm sure it'd be great!