Garden in Early June

Last month I posted a few pictures of two of my perennial gardens. It was early spring and not much was blooming. The plants were looking a little puny. So to document the garden as a work in progress, I snapped a few more photos yesterday morning. It's a month later, and the plants are looking fuller. A few more are in bloom. Here are the details of these photos, left to right, top to bottom:

1) Mullein -- I planted this herb last year, not knowing exactly what it would look like or how it would perform. It has turned out to be one of the prettiest plants in the garden. The flowers are cream with a lavender center. I did have to stake it last week because it has a tendency to flop over.

2) Hollyhocks -- I just added these along the side of the house last week and if they do well, I will plant a row of them next year. I just love hollyhocks. They take me back to my childhood every time I see them. We used to make tiny doll dresses out of the blooms.

3) Dwarf Jacob's Ladder -- I planted this shade perennial last year, and I really love it. The plant has beautiful foliage and in a few weeks will have some small white flowers (unless the bunnies devour them).

4) Planter of mixed pink impatiens and begonias -- We bought two of these, courtesy of our school fund-raising drive to raise money for the bands.

5) My little angel reading a book -- Next to this statue is a straw flower plant, newly planted but doing well so far. These flowers apparently do not appeal to the bunnies. I imagine that the somewhat dry blooms would tend to stick in Sweet Bunny's throat. *cough, cough*

6) Distance view of my older perennial bed -- Later in the season or next spring, some plants will need to be moved around in this bed. They are OK right now, but they will be crowded when full size. As you can see, not much is blooming at this time. It is too late for the spring bloomers and a bit too early for the summer flowers, but the buds are in place and they should start blooming any time now. With luck, soon I will have daisies, purple coneflower, globe thistle, saliva, lavender, and Kansas gayfeathers in bloom, to name a few.

7) Summer snapdragon -- This little annual plant has flowered several times, but each time the bunnies devour it. This is the first opportunity I've had to catch a photo.

8-9) Mixed planters of pink and purple annuals. I have a few of these on the patio and front porch.

Next month, I'll try to remember to take another set of photos to document how things are changing. It's always interesting to see how different kinds of plants perform over time. Since my garden is really a trial and error kind of thing, it's always full of surprises.