I DON’T KNOW WHY THIS DIDN’T GET POSTED ON THE 15th – BUT I’M HERE NOW.

The climate is much on my mind as I celebrate Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day here in western Massachusetts. Last summer was very wet, and the wet continued this spring. I lost many plants and I am in the process of re-designing (and I use the term loosely) and replanting. The last three weeks have been very hot (high 80’s and 90) and very dry.  Is this a promise that we will have hotter drier summers? I have had to water the hellstrip which was beginning to get crispy.  Even so, I think it looks lush and wonderful, with lots of flowers yet to bloom.

The daylilies are doing well. I love daylilies because they tolerate wet sites, and they are doing well this hot summer.

Last summer I went up to the  Stone Meadow Gardens in Ashfield daylily farm determined to add some interesting colors to my collection. I was successful. In addition, the owners Phil Pless and Linda Taylor gave me a piece of this  tall yellow small daylily named Elsa’s Mystery. They knew I was a good friend of Elsa Bakalar, as they were. They said Elsa named this daylily because she had lost its real name. I am delighted their collection gave me the richness of color that I was looking for, and a memento of a dear friend.

This phlox is slowly taking hold. I think it might need a little more sun.

The roses are taking a little rest. There are few blooms, but I am hoping that with some deadheading there will be a second flush.

It is hard to remember that those spiky balls are buttonbush flowers. The buttonbush has thrived with all the rain, but you can see that the flowers are getting brown in their centers. I think they will not last long.

The is the most northerly of the three raised planting beds. This section of the bed suffered from the flooding of  the garden. No more perennials or pagoda dogwood. The Aesclpias and not-yet-blooming cardinal flowers and that amazing golden mat of sedum are all that was left of this area. New plants include a quince bush, obedient plants, yarrow and helenium.

I don’t know if it is cheating, but these delphiniums were knocked down in  the wind  yesterday. I had to let you see them. The color is extraordinary!

I’m adding this View from the Office so you can get some idea of most of the garden, including the Center and North Beds.  I’m thinking maybe I will make that area of the Center Bed a cutting garden next year.

I thank Carol over at May Dreams Gardens for making it possible to share our gardens and see what is blooming all across our great land. Go on over to see it all!

More pix – just for fun