Flowers

59 and clear; heavy dew last night.

I worked in my largest flower garden yesterday morning instead of stringtrimming like I have been doing most mornings this week. This cool weather, what a blessing! We may pay for it in September but after all the heat, humidity and rain, I am enjoying this break.

Of course, now I may have to water the flowerbeds,  which we haven't had to do all summer. Things dry out quickly on this hill even after years of mulch. But the beds look better than they ever have at this time of year because of the heavy rains, and because I did some midsummer planting, which I rarely have done in the past.

This is a new area of the large flower bed. There had been two overgrown evergreens here. Larry hitched the tractor to them and pulled them up, revealing some really nice, rich soil.

I have tried some new to me plants here, like the pink pentas, which is native to places like Africa and Madagascar.  I planted it in several places and am very pleased with its hardiness and flowering.

I don't know the name of that dark red-leaved plant, but its another that I will look for next year. Both are annuals which I don't usually plant but maybe I need to change my ways? 

In the photo below are red Monarch or bee balm and butterfly bush, both also new this year in my garden. I have had the purple bee balm but have always wanted this red variety. It struggled for a while and did need a good bit of watering to get established. Tbe butterfly bush took right off with no pampering at all 

Wormwood has always done well here. I had a different variety years ago and can't think why I never planted it again. Such a pretty silvery accent.

I also planted lavender in this new area, and so far it seems to be doing all right, but will it winter over? That has been my problem for years now. I plant it every year, trying different locations but so far none have survived. I used to have several plants that were so hardy and last for about 10 years but have had no luck since. It's a shame since it is probably my favorite scent, so I keep trying.

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