Steam heat. This mouse is cooked! Copious amounts of rain, high humidity, wild winds and thunder storms have been the mainstay of the past few weeks. But the front garden, while appreciating the end of the drought, has held back on the new blooms. Many plants have been in bud for weeks ...

waiting. For what, I am no longer sure - but the overall result is that we are catching up to the more common blooming times for most of the plants. There will definitely be new blossoms for July, and perhaps even August! The mice & men odyssey continues!

The mallow and delphiniums are providing a burst of colour against the house. But all have required considerable staking to keep them upright during the heavy downpours and high winds.
The many varieties of spirea we have all seem to be enjoying this most peculiar summer.	The purple bearded iris is one of the parents of Bee Thankful, in the foreground.
Another spirea, which blossomed about 2 weeks after the first. Planted close to the sidewalk, it also appears to be quite salt-tolerant.	A pink astilbe reflect the colour of it bed-mate, the spirea.
Sometimes the simplest plants in the right place change from filler to feature. The grey green of the rabbit's ears plays well against the deepening red foliage of the Japanese maple.	The first of the lilies in blossom. The three other varieties we have in the front been in bud for almost as long, but are refusing to unfold.
Conclusion? Thank god for the mallow and delphiniums- they have provided the best blooms this month. The rest of the garden has bits of colour here and there, but none with this level of oomph! The giant onion blooms have dried on the stalk, now providing an architectural statement!
That's installment 3! As I mentioned a number of lilies are poised to bloom, as are the purple cone flowers, Black-eyed Susan, clematis, hostas, and the first of the day lilies. We're looking forward to a burst of yellow in the garden to offset the pink/mauve/white theme we seem to have had since the spring flowers faded.