15 Jul
![The Side Garden July 2017 [Nancy J. Ondra/Hayefield.com]](https://hayefield.files.wordpress.com/2017/07/side-garden-at-hayefield-ondra.jpg "The Side Garden July 2017 [Nancy J. Ondra/Hayefield.com]")
Happy Bloom Day, all! So far, this summer has been a winner here in southeastern PA, with a nice amount of rain every few days. That means lots of mowing and weeding, of course, but no time wasted on watering, so there’s been time for some summer projects as well. More on that later; for now, let’s start with portraits of highlights from the last few weeks, beginning with some annuals.
15 Jun
No excuses this month! There are plenty of blooms to show for this Bloom Day. In fact, it looks like we’re right where we should be compared to other years, even with the cool, cloudy, and rainy weather we’ve enjoyed over the last month. Just last week, we were still having nights in the low 40s and days in the 60s; a few days ago, we jumped to the 90s. That’s not so good for the gardener but very good for the garden–at least for the basil, squash, beans, cotton, and other heat-loving plants.
There’s so much good stuff going on that I limited my photo selections to just the past 2 weeks, and I left out several things I’d planned on mentioning. But there is still lots to show, so let’s get to it.
15 May
![The front garden in mid-May [Nancy J. Ondra/Hayefield.com]](https://hayefield.files.wordpress.com/2017/05/side-garden-at-hayefield-ondra.jpg "The front garden in mid-May [Nancy J. Ondra/Hayefield.com]")
So…Bloom Day, right? Then where are the flowers? Thanks to the relatively cool temperatures we’ve had over the last month, they’re taking their sweet time showing up. That’s not to say there aren’t any, just not many.
15 Apr
![The aptly named spring beauty (Claytonia virginica) [Nancy J. Ondra/Hayefield.com]](https://hayefield.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/claytonia-virginica-3-ondra.jpg "The aptly named spring beauty (Claytonia virginica) [Nancy J. Ondra/Hayefield.com]")
The aptly named spring beauty (Claytonia virginica)
15 Mar
!['Evergold' sedge (Carex oshimensis) and variegated Solomon's seal (Polygonatum odoratum 'Variegatum') with ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) and 'White Nancy' spotted deadnettle (Lamium maculatum) [Nancy J. Ondra/Hayefield.com]](https://hayefield.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/carex-evergold-lamium-polygonatum-ondra.jpg "'Evergold' sedge (Carex oshimensis) and variegated Solomon's seal (Polygonatum odoratum 'Variegatum') with ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) and 'White Nancy' spotted deadnettle (Lamium maculatum) [Nancy J. Ondra/Hayefield.com]")
‘Evergold’ sedge (Carex oshimensis) and variegated Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum odoratum ‘Variegatum’) with ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) and ‘White Nancy’ spotted deadnettle (Lamium maculatum)
15 Feb
!['Lady Plymouth' rose geranium (Pelargonium graveolens) with lavenders, 'Berggarten' sage (Salvia officinalis), and lavender cotton (Santolina chamaecyparissus) [Nancy J. Ondra/Hayefield.com]](https://hayefield.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/combination-pelargonium-lady-plymouth-1.jpg "'Lady Plymouth' rose geranium (Pelargonium graveolens) with lavenders, 'Berggarten' sage (Salvia officinalis), and lavender cotton (Santolina chamaecyparissus) [Nancy J. Ondra/Hayefield.com]")
‘Lady Plymouth’ rose geranium (Pelargonium graveolens) with lavenders, ‘Berggarten’ sage (Salvia officinalis), and lavender cotton (Santolina chamaecyparissus)
15 Oct
Yes, FINALLY, we did get some rain: a few blessed inches at the end of September. We’re still about 8 inches behind for the year, and it doesn’t look like there will be more soaking rain for a while, but it was better than nothing. It was enough, at least, to freshen things up a bit over the past few weeks. Continue reading
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