Six on Saturday – mid summer on an Island

I haven’t been updating the 2018 Island page as much as I should this spring and summer but I’d like to give you an idea what it looks like right about now.  My Island is the oval shaped garden that’s enclosed by the driveway – about 60 feet long and 40 wide, with some decent sized trees along the back side.

It’s awash now in purples and whites, mainly, with splatches of yellow here and there.  Unlike the past few years we’ve actually had some rain this July which has helped some things – sunflowers, evening primrose, Echinacea – grow really really huge.  This weekend it needs weeding so as soon as I’ve done uploading this batch of pictures I took around six this morning I’ll be out, in long sleeves, bug spray and a sun hat, pulling and dropping.  Stay cool, everyone!

1 – The wide shot.  I let a half dozen or so volunteer sunflowers stick around and they’re just starting to flower.  It’s hard to imagine a plant can grow 10 or 12 feet in just a few months eh? 

2a – I had to trim off numerous leaves and side stalks to keep this pathway open.

2b – If you look way way up you can see the flowers just starting to open.

3 – Another week or so of daylilies here.  I really really love this one.  It’s like how a Victorian lady may have decorated the common orange ditch daylily.

4 – Looking along a middle ‘horizontal’ pathway – Echinacea and Joe Pye Weed along the back side, daylilies, Rudbeckia and a few new roses along the front.

5 – The same Echinacia, viewed from the front of the Island, In spring this area is filled with Allium, Fritillaria, Narcissus and Crocus

6 – Planted a small pot of Helenium (Sneezeweed) last summer and it appears to be quite happy!