June Is Busting Out All Over

Despite the cutworm scourge, the rose slug infestation, and spring's slow, cold start, June has finally arrived. And with that comes lots of color in the cutting garden:


Here you can see yarrow, poppies, and lupines. Those yellow lupines have been a wonderful surprise. I planted them just last year, and this spring they have come up three times the size that they were. They are growing straight and tall, and look really great. There are some other flowers here too, and I gathered up an armful of them to bring inside before the rain comes again:


In the vase are the yellow lupines, pink irises and poppies, white Siberian irises, some red yarrow, and some purple salvia (that last one's in the front and a bit hard to see in the shadow). 

June is the very best time for garden flowers here: It’s the time just in between spring's rain and summer's heat. I haven't added any plants to the cutting garden this year, but instead decided to wait out a season and see what really thrives and what is unhappy. That way next year I can hit the nurseries armed with lots of observational information to make smart (and hopefully long-lasting) purchases. There are some holes to fill in the cutting beds, but so far it hasn't been difficult to fill a vase or two with flowers for the house.

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