Port Potager

I definitely didn't plan this. You may remember that in the perennial border I have a strict white and red color scheme, and in the cutting garden I planted mostly sunset shades. Despite those plans, it was hard to miss the pink and purple fiesta that burst into bloom mid-June: In the foreground is one of our rosa mundi bushes, looking a little bedraggled but still pretty after being picked over to make rosewater . In the background is a container full of bright purple pansies, which finally filled in after a very dry spring.   Here's the reverse view, with purple pansies in the front and roses in the back. Just one bloom of pink and white lupine this year — these are short-lived plants, but still worth having in the cutting garden for their strong stems and tough petals. In the background you can see purple salvia. Here's a better look at that saliva, with some dusty rose-colored yarrow to the left, and the roses and pansies farther in the...

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 seas...

Happy summer! This holiday has been filled with the beach, some touring, and a whole lotta heat. These were all cut back during the cool rains earlier this week.  Delphinium (blossoms pulled from their long spikes). Veronica lupine, white lavender, yarrow. Delphinium, echinacea (a puffy one and "Sunset"). Lavender and calendula heads. Lavender and Shasta daisies.

Another rainy week makes for fewer bouquets — again, it's no fun to bring in flowers once they've been drenched in a thunderstorm. Still, here's what I managed to put together before the lightning and thunder each night. Lupines, delphinium, and shasta daisies. Poppy, Veronica "Royal Candles," yarrow, and white lavender. Veronica, hosta, yarrow, and delphinium. Calendula and Munstead lavender.

Happy summer solstice! The flowers in these bouquets have definitely rounded the corner from spring to summer as well. Fewer formal garden bulbs, more free-form wildflower types. Poppy, salvia, and yarrow. Roses. Peonies. Delphinium, lilies, blanket flower, and rose "Golden Celebration." Salvia, blanket flower, and yarrow. Salvia, lilies, delphinium, and yarrow. Foxglove and lupine.