I just spent five marvelous, memorable days in Memphis at the 2025 Fling (roughly 75 garden communicators from all over the country meeting up to tour public and private gardens), and will certainly write about that later. Today, though, is an update on my own gardens. When I left home, many of my plants were teetering on the verge of flowering, and I was a little worried I’d miss some of them completely! My fears were for naught!
Dogwood Corner, at the bottom end of the Terrace Garden is a particularly busy place in June! Here’s what’s going on there right now:
My peonies were so, so close to opening when I left that I thought I’d miss them entirely. Thankfully, that’s not true! This is . . . . . . . well, I just spent 15 minutes searching for the tag and didn’t find it, so I can’t tell you! I bought it in the spring of 2024 on a Plant Posse trip to nurseries in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
The older and larger of my two Amsonia hubrichti is in full bloom now. The newer one of the same variety bloomed about two weeks earlier.
Bumblebees love this amsonia! I counted five buzzing busily about it!
As the brunnera’s blue blossoms faded, the pretty pink petals of the lamium took over.
Bees love lamium too! Just look at this one, diving deep for nectar and pollen!
Leaving the house before dawn on the morning I flew to Memphis, I remembered that I had meant to sprinkle some Sluggo around the newly planted marigolds. I came back to find a little bit of slug damage to them, but none is so far gone that it won’t recover. I did sprinkle the slug killer around yesterday.
After my week-long absence, this guy was reluctant to let me out of his sight!
Besides the slug damage to the marigolds, I also discovered deer damage to the arrowwood viburnum I put in late last summer. There will be a fence around it soon; until then, I’ll spray deer repellent on it every night.
Moving to the vegetable patch, where we’ll start with a flower:
There’s been A LOT of rain here in the past month, and the poor potted vincas, who thrive in hot, dry weather, are riding the struggle bus. We’re expecting more rain over the weekend; I’ll move these boxes to a covered porch for the duration.
In spite of the very wet conditions in my garden, I absolutely HAD to get my tomatoes, which I started from seed in early March, into the ground before I left. I plant my tomatoes sideways so they’ll grow more extensive root systems. They’re all standing up nice and straight now, and the cherry variety has a few buds.
There are a few more bright spots around the gardens:
Dianthus ‘Kiss and Tell’ has a fantastic, spicy scent! I really enjoy working near it!
This dianthus is at least fifteen years old, and I can’t remember the cultivar name. I love seeing it sprawl over the boulders in the rock garden after the creeping phlox and candytuft have passed. I’m less thrilled to see the Virginia creeper sprawl over the boulders!
It was a happy surprise to find this self-sown foxglove up under the tree house, at the edge of the Lasagna bed! I hope there will be more next year!
Finally, there are a couple things in the house worth a mention:
Some African violets have finally responded to the longer, brighter light and come into bloom.
And this is an Episcia (flame violet) that I bought on an adventure with the Plant Posse during the Ten Days of Plantness back in January, blooming for the first time! Plenty of buds coming along, so I think I’ll enjoy it for a while!
Of course after being gone for a full week, there’s plenty of work to do out there in the gardens, and I’ve come away from the Fling with some new inspiration. Just wait until you see some of what I saw in Memphis! And can you believe this; tomorrow I’m already heading out with the Plant Posse for another adventure — a public garden, a private garden, and a rose festival!
Cosmos and Cleome 