Sometimes I Just Need a Little Happiness from the Garden

'Immortality' (smells like grape koolaid!)

As is normal during Tennessee summers we have been without any measurable rain for a few months now and the garden is showing the effects; as am I. I've just been a bit bummed out when I look at all the wilted plants and the weeds that simply cannot be pulled due to the hard dry soil; even blogging is not helping my mood when it comes to the garden. However, upon my daily walks through the garden I tend to get happy if not inspired. While I can't weed I can walk and enjoy so here are some of the small things that keep me going during our arid Tennessee summers. A reblooming fragrant iris simply makes me delirious with joy that I have sweet smelling irises in June!

A tiny butterfly that caught my eye on this veronica spent quite a bit of time posing for me. I suspect this is a checkered white butterfly. I take the time to grab my camera and this little butterfly that is often so fitfully flying through gardens sits on its treasure and allows me to snap several photos and I am grateful to it. 

Still I walk through the gardens and I see that the bees are perfectly content with ragged coneflowers despite the absence of the gardener or perhaps they like the gardener?

Or maybe they were posing for me and trying to inspire me to plant some more coneflowers?





Maybe the bees would appreciate not only coneflowers but some more pretty flowers and I begin to envision the garden as it will be when the rains return. I begin to plan for more flowers for the bees.

The bees probably don't have wine bottles in mind when they are trying to inspire me but since these were such a hit recently I think they may have inspired some more wine bottle flowers in other gardens in the area and I am pleased some people like these wine bottles in my garden and may even use the same idea in their gardens.

This daylily helped to make me feel a bit better about all of my dry shade when I read a new book called Planting the Dry Shade Garden: The Best Plants for the Toughest Spot in Your Garden by Graham Rice. I was so happy to hear 'Flore Pleno' was a tough daylily for shade I think I may just be inspired to go plant some more instead of ripping out all of the daylilies in my shade garden. You see I have come to the conclusion that dry shade is not only less colorful than sunny gardens but it is extremely difficult to keep looking good all summer long with no rain and I was beginning to not like my tall oak trees so much. But then I step into the sun and I quickly realize I'll take less color and more shade any day. The garden will survive the drought and the tree roots somehow some way and so will I.

Blackberries in the Potahger get me pretty excited. Each morning as I walk my gardens I can grab a few berries to eat along the way. Not only can I eat blackberries but also blueberries and strawberries.  It is then that I think maybe the work required to keep up the potager is not such a bad thing after all when the reward is a handful of fresh berries each day.

Another happy flower in the potager is this gladiolus. At one time I wanted to do away with all of these tough bulbs but somehow many bulbs escaped my shovel and managed to grow and bloom and then I get happy. I am glad I was not as diligent in removing these bulbs and I somehow realize that everything has a time and a place in the garden. Of course if these lovely faces of these flowers don't cheer me I can always recall my husband. He had strict instructions to pick out a daylily at a local daylily farm and he, in all of his wisdom, chose a gladiolus. It still brings a smile to my face so of course the glads just have to stay. 

 Even if we get no rain all summer long; which is quite normal; the garden will survive as will I. Some plants will go dormant but others will shine in the heat and dryness of our summers. The insects and wildlife will still visit and partake of the water in the garden. Vegetables will ripen and flowers will still bloom. Somehow I realize there is a cycle to life and to the seasons and time and it all works itself out....


in the garden....


Don't forget to post on my give a way post. Next week is the random drawing.

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden