The Fifth Of July

'Ramona' 

June wasn't bad.  'Ramona' Clematis flowered after a slow start--I worried it wasn't going to start at all.  It did.

 A comment from Monty Don on a recent 'Gardener's World episode snapped on the lightbulb in my mind.  He said Sweet Peas love water, so never let them dry out.  Oh. No wonder mine die in late May or early June.  It just happened a few were growing in a wet spot near a slightly leaky hose bib and were still looking good--even today, July 5, still showing pretty flowers.  Now I know where I'll plant them this autumn.   

Climbing with a Clematis: 

Huh.  This daylily is prettier than I remembered it being:

I bought an Agapanthus at Heronswood Garden in 2024 labeled as 'Martha Stewart'.  'Martha' was described as a deep rich true blue flower with the noted feature that the flowers stand high above the foliage.  They certainly do that on my plant, but "true blue" they are not--instead they are a near-black purple.  Stunning, but not Martha.  So it's name here will always be:

 'Not Martha Stewart'

'Storm Cloud', always the last Agapanthus to flower, is flowering.  The Agapanthus started earlier this year because of our very warm disappointingly dry March.  

My better care this spring of the Cosmos grown from seed is paying off.  They are doing well.

Supporting a tiny native bee:

 Tiny native bee resting on one:

Two variegated house plants for bargain prices snapped up at Trader Joe's:  a variegated Monstera and a Philodendron.  I tucked them in with the Sanseverias and Aspidistra already living in the shaded corner by one of the back gates:

Oh, that Bromeliad is in bloom:

And very suddenly, in just a few days, Leucadendron 'More Silver' died.

It's not supposed to be brown: 

I was thinking of taking it out, actually, but it was so healthy and appeared to be thriving, so I didn't.  Then it died.  Hmm.

At least the Agave titanota 'White Ice', somewhat hidden by the Leucadendron, can now get extra attention:

It whitens up in dry summer heat, blues up in winter rain.

The leaf impressions are impressive:

My little (very little) project lately is figuring out what heat-loving summer annuals I can add to the garden to fight the summer heat despair.  The Cosmos are a success.  Last year's Marigolds and Zinnias failed badly while some of the Catharanthus worked. Dahlias were a disaster.  

I didn't realize these Marigolds (cell size) purchased at HomeCheapo for a bargain price were the super dwarf types that seem to have taken over everywhere.   

It took serious TLC to get them to grow, first potting up to quart size so they'd have a real root system before putting them in the ground.  Even then it was daily watering and frequent weak-liquid fertilizer applications that got them going.  Seems like a crazy lot of effort for Marigolds.  

Two six-packs of larger Marigolds got the pot-up-to-quart treatment, grew some good root systems, and six went in out front, by the mailbox.  They've all failed except for a lone survivor, despite a week of daily waterings and several times a week watering after that.  There may have been a rabbit sampling them also.  The soil there dries out too quickly.   

In less harsh spots, with steadier moisture, they've all survived, but haven't done much yet.  

OTOH, at least they're alive: 

 Also pot-up-to-quart six pack of Coreopsis (all survived, planted, and doing well).  Coreopsis is a perennial but a six pack of perennials--a great deal--I had to buy it.

 Also Catharanthus and Zinnias.  Two weeks after the pot up, they'd shown lots of root growth so I planted them in the ground on the 4th.   

The Zinnias in empty spot by the front door.  I put four small Echeveria 'Imbricata' rosettes there.  They rooted but looked bleached, so I moved them to the edges of shady bed with the new TJ's variegates, and put in three of the Zinnias, all with ivory flowers:

There's an 'Indigo Spires Blue' Salvia and red-flowered Pentas behind them, so a nod to Red/White/Blue, I guess.  No enthusiasm to celebrate a day that's being celebrated in some places with bragging, hate, greed, and arrogance.  

Catharanthus went in where the orange Gazanias flowered so gloriously all winter and spring.  They were suddenly bedraggled and exhausted, so I pulled them.

I like the lavender flowers with the dark black/purple of Mangave 'Night Owl' and the blue of the Agapanthus.

There's also a Marigold in the upper left, maybe starting to do something:
 

All of this is really trivial in the scheme even of this unspectacular garden, but gardening is a craft as well as an art, and craft means learning, thoroughly learning and perfecting all sorts of skills, and this is an instance of that: planting to keep the gardener's spirits up during the ordeal of summer heat.  Perhaps craft become art, if there is time enough.