The Garden

 Here it is August and the flowers will be winding down and I haven't even taken you on a walk through my garden yet this summer. This is a perfect rose but I have struggled with my roses this year. I started giving them supplements of fish emulsion and they definitely like that diet. I also tried aerated compost tea but I didn't notice any immediate perkiness from that. In looking at studies most show that aerating doesn't really help the microbes in compost tea and sometimes it is just better to add plain old compost around the plants.

The Annabelle hydrangeas also didn't put on the show that they usually do. I think I need to do some thinning and composting around them. They just didn't get as big as they usually do.

 My buddleia (butterfly bush) is looking as blushingly pretty as ever though. It has variegated leaves which I especially like when it doesn't have the show stopping blooms.

 Love this lily with its turban look from the recurved petals. It adds an exotic flair to the garden bed.

The ever lovely Rose of Sharon who starts blooming in mid July and keeps going through the end of summer.

But not all is bright, perky and beautiful in the garden. Seems the root weevils have been busy dining at night on the lilac leaves. They should be big and fat for all of the leaves that they have notched...some more than others. They are too ashamed to show themselves in the light of day, preferring to hide in the soil at the base of the plant. The cowards only come out at night to do their dirty deed! Mom