Summer Solstice Flowers

Happy solstice! We are in the longest (and hottest) days of the year, but the flowers in the perennial border are handling it well so far. Here's what we've got right now:


Japanese daisies peeking through the red Heucherella leaves.


White echinacea is starting to open up.


Our stonecrop has pinkish-red flowers along the stone wall.


Red climbing roses are still going strong. We'll need to get them trellised some time this summer so we can train them up the corner of the house for some height.


The only one complaining about the heat is this hydrangea. I should have taken this photo two days ago, before the flower heads started drooping. This is an everblooming variety, though, so even if it doesn't bounce back, we should get some more flowers throughout the summer.


Our shasta daisies are a huge success — and I do mean huge! They are as tall as I am. I will probably have to divide them next spring already.


The white lavender in the foreground is just starting to open open up--and already smells great! You can also see the white rose bushes behind them. 


This is another view of the same general area, but this time you can see smaller daisies near the steps. This is my favorite spot, because I think the different textures are working nicely together. There should be even more flowers here in a few weeks as the day lilies start to open up.

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