Wildflowers Steal the Show

After all my work to grow pretty flowers, it hasn't escaped my notice that the wildflowers are putting on a better show. Where my little spoiled darlings require weed-free soil, quantities of water, dead-heading and lots of praise, their country cousins are making it on their own.

These tiny Deptford Pinks were brilliant in fields, making me mow around them. Fortunately a big clump of the little flowers have set seed. I shall have to try and grow a patch next spring.

Potentillas or cinquefoil were scattered in the fields, too. I saved lots of seed, but they do a much better job of finding spots for themselves, competing nicely with grasses.

Best of Show, however, went to the wild Monardas. The wildflower book calls them horsemint, but to me they are Bee Balm. Unlike the domesticated ones I've tried to grow in the past, these guys seem immune to the powdery mildew that plagues the red varieties. They are if not head and shoulders above the other wildflowers, at least their heads are. I didn't notice any shoulders. They are four feet tall. This year has been especially good for them. They are now blooming in the woods, unmowed fields and everywhere but the yard.  Too tame, they say, so I'm not even going to try and collect their seeds.

When I'm bothered by mosquitoes, I rub a monarda leaf on my ears. The herbaceous scent keeps me free from those pests and I smell divine.

It just shows to go you (as we say in Missouri) that Mother Nature is the best gardener. I only wish I understood what She has in mind with all that rampant poison ivy.

Dog Days Slay Cats

We are full of energy now that the temperatures are above ninety and the ground is once more hard as rock. The cats, Oreo and Bogie, look like still life paintings or roadkill but prefer to stay outside. The other cat and the dog stay in the AC like big sissies.

July and August are not for planting, I remind myself. They are for watering. Time for me to sit next to the OTL's in the evening shade and enjoy their lovely perfume. Sitting out in a shady spot with a good book and iced coffee makes for a wonderful mini-vacation.

The front flower bed is starting to fill in with the zinnias just coming into bloom. Painter's Palette Gaillardias are getting established, and the pincushion plant in the upper left has broken out in flowers again. They all know how hard I worked to make the ground free of grasses and are putting on a lovely show in gratitude.

These are Will Rogers Zinnias. The primrose marigolds, my favorites, are going to be quite showy. Behind them are the Prairie Sun Rudbeckias. The transplanted hollyhock has straightened up and agreed to be in the picture this time.

Peeking out from the annuals are the orange butterfly weed plants. This is their first year, so they are small, but they surprised me by bravely putting on blooms.

I found this butterfly weed plant growing in the far field when I mowed the path up the hill on Rosie. It was so bright and beautiful that I hiked back up with the camera later.

The sun is intense even early in the morning. Since I am a shade-tree gardener, I moved to the hot but shady workshop. Yesterday, I gave a coat of white paint to a shelf. However, today it objected to a second coat, saying it was much too hot.

My Quiet Fireworks

It's time for the city folks to come to the country to make a lot of noise. I always pray for a rainy Fourth of July, but rarely get it. This year, at least  it's  not on a weekend. It probably never occurs to the invaders of peace that some of us live in the country because we love quiet.

No pyrotechnics for me, but I do have rather a colorful display here on Independence Day.

These beauties cause me to have a sharp intake of breath.  Oooh, ahh!

These Asiatic Lilies always bloom on the Fourth. This year, they are a little smaller because I transplanted them last fall and they haven't gotten as tall or bushy as they will get. The one in the foreground is a daylily that didn't want to be left out of the picture. Daylilies are getting to be the answer to the grassy weeds problem here and I no doubt will be planting more.

This clump of daylilies left by the former owners will be divided in the fall and planted with the ones along the cow fence in the garden. They are prettier than fireworks.

Red, white and blue, so patriotic.

These are flowering tobacco, Nicotiana sylvestris, called Only the Lonely in some catalogs. This is a triumph for me, because my efforts to start them here for the last several years have not been successful. Once they get going, they will self-sow. Since I am a short woman, I'm impressed with tall flowers. They look like fireworks displays to me, and last a lot longer. They will bloom until frost. A much better value for the dollar and forty-five cents that I spent on seed.

Some of us really know how to celebrate the Fourth of July, although there are people who would argue that I didn't get a lot of bang for my buck.

P.S. The fireworks display from a town twenty miles away was awesome when viewed through my 4-inch telescope. The booms arrived later and only sounded like distant thunder.