Hot Day

The temperature was close to 90 with high humidity (duh, Lake Huron) on Saturday. Most of the new plants are doing fine but I'll have to watch them closely and water if necessary. I believe they must send out their new roots and 'look for water' actively. If you water too soon after planting, their roots stay short and shallow. I prefer NOT to water for at least the first 24 hours after transplanting to stimulate root growth. This is third and fourth summer for some of my plants: Sleep, Creep, Leap. Those older plants are coming into their own this summer. What fun.

Over the years I've tried to grow Shasta daisies; they are fussy, attract slugs, need staking, die out after a couple of years. I love the wild daisies and are hearty. Why ask for more?

One of my new favorites is the Canada Anemone: white, wild, spreading.

This is the second summer for some of my Rhodos and they are doing OK. It's a real experiment to see if they do as well up here as they did back in Royal Oak.

My volunteer, wild yellow swamp iris are coming into their own now; they're as pretty as Japanese irises and just as easy.

I didn't think I'd like the yellow Baptisia; I was wrong. I love it. It's beautiful in bud and in flower. ual

I love the Rugosa roses - virtually care free and loads of lovely smells. They are super hardy, grow on their own roots, don't get black spot; they do, however, have thorns and the flowers last only a few days. Oh, they also produce volunteers from seeds.

Clicking on photos enlarges them.