June in PA

Just thought I'd share a few pictures of the lushness that is June here in PA.

The first picture to the left is our driveway. I think in the spring, I posted a picture of the tulips & daffodils lining it. Well, by June, the bulbs have all gone and day lilies have taken their place.

We love to make the day lily buds into a delectable stir fry with a little ginger and sesame - yum!

If you followed the saga last year of the gourd arbor, you may remember this structure.

This year, we decided, with the cost of vegetables soaring, to do something a little more practical with it.

Toward the front are tomatoes, in the middle are sugar snap peas and on the other side are more tomatoes and some great Italian beans.

The vine in the very front is a passion flower vine. This isn't for eating, but just for "pretty". The blooms are so intricate and gorgeous that they look like they are artificial, or perhaps just alien!

You can see that the sugar peas are ready for picking. We had a meal or two already with the Italian beans. They are so hearty - we just love them.

And there is definitely something different about the food you grow yourself.

Picking beans just before putting them in the pot means none of the natural sugars are lost. I was surprised that they actually had a sweet taste. Can't wait to try the sugar peas tonight.

Finally, here's the sight that greets me each morning as I wander out to the soap/jewelry studio.

It is apparently irresistible to hummingbirds. I'm not sure it all shows, but I love the crazy mixture of reds, pinks, hot pinks, oranges and yellows with a little shot of light blue.

The most easily identifiable red flower is Monarda or Bee Balm. A few lingering pink climbing roses are on the right. The light blue is flax and the yellow is a Stella d'Oro day lily. The dark blue spikes in the right are meadow sage.

I try to plan it each year and add something here or there. I always forget what is already in the garden and somehowit all goes together. Some years the monarda take over and some years the calendula, which you can't really see yet will hold sway. They aren't done with their battle yet, but it always ends beautifully.