Garden Journal July 16 update
Garden Journal July 16 update.
Garden Journal July 18. Have you missed by Garden Journal? I know I have been so busy in the garden, among other things, that I have failed to keep up posting about it. There is a video of each week so I will link to those at the end if you want to see the whole of July in the garden.
Actually this time of year I just want to be outside every minute. Taking the time to sit down to write a post is hard. Even when it is about the garden.
Summer is Really Here
It has gotten hot here in the mountains and with a forest fire to the south of us we are getting some noxious smoke drifting up. It makes it harder to work in the garden when you can feel it burning your lungs. Thankfully, it clears fairly well by evening and I can work in the garden some.
The hummingbirds have kept me entertained for weeks now. I have posted a few videos on my Instagram page and over on the post about the hummingbird fountain . This little fat gal has been hilarious to watch, she chases away everyone else then sits lazily on the back fence to sip from the flowers.
And there are plenty of hummingbird favorites blooming right now. They have enjoyed the Larkspur so much but much of it is going to seed. I can cut it back hard and it will rebloom but until then they have plenty of other flowers to sip nectar from. (You can see a photo of Larkspur in my Hummingbird Flower post.)
Summer Flowers Are Blooming
My Hyde Hall David Austin Roses along the back fence are in full glorious flower. They will bloom prolifically right through the hottest part of Summer and on into late Fall.
Though this Trumpet Lily is just barely opening it is already perfuming the entire garden, this was taken today (Friday) and the video was taken on Tuesday so it isn’t as open in it.
The Echinacea is getting going. I have a few different colors that I shared more of in my post dedicated to coneflowers. They are tough, drought tolerant perennials and I have seen many of the hummingbirds stopping by them to take a sip of nectar. The bees also love these.
My Crown Princess Margareta David Austin rose is nestled sweetly in among my Warsaw Nike blooms along the back deck stair case. This rose is nearly smothered with purple.
The trumpet vine is flowering in such rich colors. This one is on the left of the side entrance to our wrap around porch and the other on the right is not blooming at all. I dumped a 5 gallon bucket of compost from a local organic turkey farm on this one and it is rewarding me with tons of luscious blooms. Now I know what a difference a 5 gallon bucket of turkey farm compost can make.
Maintenance
I am mulching most of my garden with the compost now. I will see rich results in a few short weeks.
The daisies are full and lush but they soon will be needing major dead heading. The black eyed susans last a bit longer but also require deadheading to keep them in flower until frost.
My Dahlias are just beginning to bloom and promise to be a highlight for the rest of the summer. 
There is so much more to share but I will save that for the next time. We are heading out for an Anniversary trip to Monterey and Filoli. (a house and garden I have wanted to tour for a long while). I will send everyone who is sweltering some cool thoughts. (the high temps in Monterey are supposed to be in the 60’s).
Here are the links to the rest of the July Garden Journal Videos:
July 2nd
July 8th
