At last!

Finally, I got to poison some plants! It took a while, but Friday morning provided the right combination of temperature, dry weather for a day and my time to let me start the process of killing that pernicious groundcover. I'm under no illusion that this one time will take care of it all. In fact, I may never completely win the battle. But I've made a start, and I'm hopeful that I'll at least have some control over the beast from here forward. Since it's established itself in the midst of plants I do want, I mixed up the Roundup and used an old paintbrush to get some on the leaves instead of spraying. I'll know in a few days how effective I was, and how much I missed! Two friends actually asked me for cuttings of the stuff. They will not be able to tell me they weren't warned when it tries to take over their yards!

But on to happier things. In spite of 2 1/2" of rain plus dime-sized hail last Friday, and 2 more on Saturday, the garden looks good. The salvia and yarrow took a bit of a hit, and are kind of flat, but no major damage. The daisy is HUGE - it must stand 3 1/2 feet tall and just as wide!

A lot of perennials planted 2 years ago have come into their own and look great. In fact, for years I've had trouble gettng anything much to grow along the back fence, but no more. It kinda looks like a jungle back there! I can't even get back there without some elaborate manuevers. I'm good with that. The native garden continues to grow. The cardinal flower is beginning to bloom. It may become a favorite - I do love brilliant red flowers.

I cut these flowers this week, all in shades of pink and purple. I didn't realize how many different shades and shapes of them I had - and now one more has appeared. I think my favorite might be the candy-striped phlox.