The Spring and Summer colors of the garden are starting to fade.
But , much to my delight , the Hollyhocks are continuing to bloom . In spite of the fact that I have been doing battle with insects that I think are Japanese Beetles.
And, the White New Dawn Rose is going strong with continual beautiful blooms.
With the extensive work in the garden this year I have changed a few things around . When cutting back the Ivy (which I have almost finished) and hopefully removing the nasty wild invasive sweetpea I decided to change the location of the Gazing Ball.
Perhaps you can see that there are about five Lily of the Nile plants near the gazing ball. Well, they have never bloomed in the past. However, there was one nice flower this year. I may be moving them into more sun. I' m not sure.
This cement pedestal is one I have had for a long time and I just painted it lavender but it looks blue in the photo . In the past I used an upside-down tomato cages to support it among the Ivy . Now the ball is in the long flower bed along the pathway.
Let me say a little more about the purpose of cutting back the Ivy . When I moved here many years ago , the whole area was covered with Invasive Wild Sweet Pea. I managed to eliminate it and started some Ivy which I have been very happy with. For years there were no problems with a return of the unwanted Sweet Pea until about two years ago . The time had come to act on it or I may find myself "in the land of no return".It seems to grow enthusiastically naturalizing in open fields and in abandoned gardens where it quickly gets out of control. The plant propagates easily from seed . It is usually a purplish pink, but occasionally deep purple or pure white. Admire it from a distance, for it is both toxic and invasive.
The ever faithful Sedum has been putting on a beautiful show - changing color from white to the soft pink. They sure seem to be a sturdy plant and I like that.
I enjoy being outdoors so very much. The time I have spent in my garden has helped me so much to return to a more balanced person following some very difficult years. Of course, there are other facets to this renewed and refreshing feeling.
For all who are being affected by the many unusual circumstances and difficulties that are happening in our current world, I wish you strength, comfort, resilience and love.
Mary
As always your gardens are lovely. Watching gardens change over the seasons is a great experience for we gardeners. I have never heard of invasive Sweet Pea. Does it have a fragrance? It sounds like Morning Glory vines down here in Southern California. While the flowers are stunning, the vine is incredibly invasive and will cover everything in its path within a year.
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