Adventures In Gardening: Catching Up

A sampling of my garden, taken this morning.

Good morning friends! I'm writing to you this morning from a sultry, engulfed in fog, coastal NJ zone 7b where we are again under severe t-storm & rip current warnings.  Thankfully there's a gusty breeze kicking up to move the oppressive air around enough so I was able to turn off the ac's and open the windows & kitchen door for a little fresh, albeit it humid, air.  (I've since turned the ac back on as the 98% humidity is unbearable indoors!) 

Since I last wrote here, the 4th heatwave of the season has come & gone, the humidity has been oppressive (even by our usual standards), a massive water main break right before the 4th of July caused a state of emergency in our county (water restrictions were only just lifted this week), dangerous t-storms have been our only prevention from plunging back into full on drought conditions and the peaches & pears in my Northwestern/Skylands garden have ripened and I'm sure have been a delicious treat as usual for the resident deer, chipmunk & bears as we haven't been up there since Independence Day.

Here in the coast, the Hydrangea (Strawberries & Cream), Coneflower (Purple & Sundown), Knock Outs (Pink & Red), Lavender (Hidcote Blue) and Hybrid Teas (Pope John Paul II & Love's Magic) all seem to have gone on Summer vacation.  However the tomato's (Bonnie Plants Roma & a mystery plant), green beans, Butterfly Bushes (Buddleja davidii Black Knight & mystery white), the Floribunda roses (Mardi Gras & Easy Does It), the Grandiflora roses (Love & Queen Elizabeth) and the Bee Balm (Monarda Pink Lace) are taking center stage along with a new favorite, Tiger Eye Rudbeckia. (For photos, click here).

The Hostas, Caladium & Lemon Balm are still going strong.  The Morning Glory vines are just about covering both arbors now and my peach miniature rose finally bloomed again for the first time since February.  Aphids, black spot & watering conditions have been an on-going issue but that's not unusual.  (Well, the black spot is actually.  It's widespread throughout the area, more so than I've ever seen before).  I've lost one of the new roses I picked up in May of this year, Kordes Perfecta Hybrid Tea and I'm quite crushed as I'd fallen in love with its beautiful, antique looking pink, white & yellow rose blooms.  It went from healthy looking & blooming to literally dead in two days.  I 'quarantined' it and returned it for a refund.

When I last wrote here, my beloved father.in.law was still with us.  On June 24th, my husband got the call from his brother in FL we were both dreading.  My grief has been overwhelming.  For a week after, my heart literally hurt & I felt as though I couldn't breathe. As much as I have loved him, I miss him.  I stopped writing, even journaling, as though a switch had been flipped. And there was so much to do before the memorial services last Saturday (Tropical Storm Debby held things up down in FL initially) and my elderly sister.in.law came up from FL & has been staying with us.  For the first time since I started, I've been unable to find comfort in my garden.  'Mindless' deadheading has been a good distraction though. So much has (temporarily??) lost its importance & joy.  But, I will get that back,  and get back to myself.  Again.  In time.

And next Spring, the first thing I will do is buy a red Camellia bush to plant next to the Dogwood...

Until next time…

~Jo

aka Bloomin'Chick. Wife, mother of an angel in Heaven, survivor; a real Jersey Girl. (What you see on those reality shows isn't real!) Writer, photographer, joyful gardener (coastal Zone 7b/mountain Zone 6a) & avid reader. Eclectic, creative & happily married late 30-something who lives at the sea w/her heart in the mountains who happens to be disabled with Seronegative Arthritis & Fibromyalgia.  I blog about my passions & life at Diggin’ Around and my NJ at NewJersey Through My Eyes.   

Be sure to catch more of my daily garden photo shares via #GardenWalk where you can see what's growing around the world right now & share your garden with like-minded folks!

PS: If you don't know what the Camellia & Dogwood are in reference to, please click here.