After the maple disaster the rest of July slid past without so much as a squawk from me. Here is some of what we missed:
July was the month in which Hydrangea came into their own. Our Annabelle got going early.
Then came some macrophylla's.
Our Limelight Hydrangea had become so enormous last year that we cut it back substantially early this spring. Then we waited... and waited. Toward the end of the month our patience was at last rewarded.
Another star in July was the Bottlebrush Buckeye, one of my favorite native shrubs.
Meanwhile our edible department was making some progress as well. After three years of preparation and false starts, we actually picked serious crops of raspberries and blueberries this summer.
Our "fruiting" vegetables have at last plodded their way into maturity as well. Green beans, eggplant, okra and hot peppers are overloading their stems. And at long, long last our cukes and tomatoes are almost pacing our consumption.
We just planted our fall crop of snow peas today -- about a week or 10 days later than normal, like everything else this season. We will just have to hope that October weather will be merciful.
