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| Glads, happily blooming in an old whiskey barrel, on the deck. |
Just a sprinkle. This, on the heels of 2 consecutive, afternoon rains has me hopeful the tide has turned.
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| Clematis drape across the other side of the deck. |
By all outward appearances, it has not been a good summer.
Oppressive heat, our western landscape so deadly dry... We went for 37 days without a drop of rain.
And, then. A rash of scary wildfires. Too close for comfort.
The wind carried ash in the breezes and left a reminder of this danger, as a layer of dust in the garden.
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| Sky Blue Flax, a volunteer wildflower, makes her home in the raised veggie bed. |
The smoke. The heat. The... oh, give me a second and I'll come up with another excuse..
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| Penstemon, Primrose, & Geraniums |
I've been calling this my non-gardening year.
And, it's all because of.... a brand, spankin' new drip irrigation system!
Every single summer day, schlepping hoses dominated my life. Moving sprinklers, to and fro, caring for my flowers.
This year, I threw in that proverbial towel and automated the joint.
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| Catmint & Valerian |
Oh! Joy! Free Time???
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| Plentiful designer weeds |
In fact, I never really minded, since I love putzing with my flowers. But, it's given me the freedom to experiment with all kinds of precious posies I shied away from in previous years.
So, there ya have it. I've been a lazy gardener. And, a lazy garden blogger. Heck, I've been such a slacker I forgot to celebrate my 6th blogoversary (May, 2012.)
Here's hoping you're having a wonderful growing season, too.
Happy Bloom Day, Everyone!
Pay a visit to Carol @ May Dream Gardens to visit more flower lovers for this Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day monthly meme.
Follow @Kate_HAGardens
Well I for one am envious of your watering system.LOL! It is doing its job because your garden looks beautiful in all of this dry and heat. Kate I just adore that Glad. How beautiful. And the Blue Flax is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteour growing season is about 45 days late because of all the rain and cold weather. My clematis has no blooms yet and the begonias are just now blooming. We haven't had the heat the rest of the country is getting and that's fine with me. Your flowers are beautiful as usual.
ReplyDeleteYour watering has paid off. The flowers look lush and healthy. We have been having a heat wave too but it rained all afternoon. Bliss. Valerie
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the anniversary and the irrigation system, I am envious...the garden looks fabulous. It has also been very dry here, but this afternoon rain has been falling, yah.
ReplyDeleteYour flowers are beautiful! I'm glad you don't have to spend hours watering.
ReplyDeleteHappy Bloom Day, Kaye, and congrats on the blogaversary! Your flowers are very pretty. It's great not to have to schlep hoses, isn't it? I'm relieved to hear the wildfires missed you, it has been such a worrisome summer.
ReplyDeleteWow..that hillside is fantastic! Your blooms look happy as can be...the water system must agree with them.
ReplyDeleteI got cha there when you talk about all the time it takes up. We haul our water right now so we didn't plant a veggie plot, just some flowers and a few potatoes (which the rabbits got to early on). Enjoy your ponies.
ReplyDeletepeace n abundance,
CheyAnne
Your photographs are very beautiful!
ReplyDeleteWow, what a fantastic array of blooms, Kate! You would never know how dry it has been seeing all the color in your garden. I'd say your new drip irrigation system was well worth it! I've been a lazy gardener this summer, too--between 8 AM and 8PM it's just too darned hot outside.
ReplyDeleteNot having to lug hoses around every day sounds wonderful, but if I forked over the money for an irrigation system, we'd probably have the wettest summer on record instead of the driest:)
Kate,
ReplyDeleteYour garden is lovely despite the "slacking". I do so love my drip irrigation (although I am battling leaks and think parts need some work) It really does cut down on the work. Now all I need to do is install a timer.
Yael from Home Garden Diggers
in my country, the season is not great for that, so i follow www.sunpreview.com giving 4 seasons forecast. fingers crossed !
ReplyDeleteAn irrigation system is definitely the way to go, especially in a dry year like this one.
ReplyDeleteYour garden looks great. I depend on the mountain wildflowers for my quota of floral beauty. They never disappoint.
Glad to hear the watering system is working out for you. Love the shot of the catmint and valerian. I just planted valerian this year and wasn't sure how the colour would combine with some other plants but now I can visualize it.
ReplyDeleteGreat pics, those look awesome!
ReplyDeleteWe have had a little rain and it has been like manna....
ReplyDeleteYour garden is absolutely lovely...
Looks ABSOLUTELY beautiful over your way! :-) Have a wonderful day.
ReplyDeleteFrom the looks of those photos, you'd never know it's been a dry summer at your place. Gorgeous! I'm glad you're having fun and I'll keep my fingers crossed that the cool-down heats up.
ReplyDeleteYour pollinators have done their job! How exciting to have seeds that can be shared with the program! I wish I could get this to flower in my garden.Delhi Flowers
ReplyDelete