The end of June and its a beautiful sunny day.

This is a Golden Stargazer but it has a nice unexpected orange hue. Not sure why but its nice. We planted a few more last fall between the lilac and this is the first set of blooms from that group. 

Our mature bed of Golden Stargazers is just amazing this year. About 7 feet and covered in large fragrant blooms. The trick is planting them in 100% compost. When the first shoots appear in spring, slide a few house plant fertilizer spikes down the side of the new shoot.

This is a photo of the right rear garden. It's not quite peak bloom but very nice.

Red Crocosmia is now in bloom.  We lost about half of the bed to critters eating the bulbs.

Anise Hyssop Blue Fortune or Agastache Blue Fortune, originates from the Greek word aga, meaning "very much," and stachys, meaning "spikes," referring to its abundant flower spikes. Its leaves taste like black licorice. Poliators love this plant but bumble bees get wasted on the nectar. They are too stoned to fly and just cling to the flower. When happy this plant will reach 4 to 5 feet tall.

Jacob Cline Monarda or Bee Balm. This image is a little too bright in the full sun today but it shows how nice this plant looks in full bloom. It's very easy to grow, spreads but isn't invasive and it's a magnet for pollinators.

The Mystery Lacecap Hydrangea in its full fuzzy glory. Its an odd but beautiful bloom. 

I didn't take this picture but this year we are seeing the beautiful Zebra Swallowtail butterfly (Eurytides marcellus) in the garden. It seems to be more skittish than the Black and Tiger Swallowtails but I hope to get a few images when our huge Butterfly bush comes into bloom. They seem to like our White Gooseneck Loosestrife (Lysimachia clethroides). Thanks to Hugh Christy for this image. Please don't sue us.