Busy, but very HOT week…

We are seeing a lot of sunshine this week, expecting to see higher 90’s for the next couple days.  With warmer weather here, I have a lot less to share with you. but it doesn’t mean the garden isn’t working for me…or the other way around meaning, I’m working for the garden. lol
Because we had such a wet spring and early summer, many of my roses had to be cut way back and stripped to almost being naked to bring them back to life.  it was almost embarrassing what they were looking like.  Filled with moldy blooms and aphids and covered in black spot or yellowed leaves.  So I have yet to really share what they ought to look like.  But here is the walkway up to my front door.  The Polar Joy Tree Roses are starting to show their blooms again (from a distance). I have Blush Noisette growing on one side of the archway and Zéphirine Drouhin on the other, neither has really put on any ‘show’ this year worth sharing.
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037I've been sharing a week by week visual of the progress of the Vanilla Strawberry Hydrangeas…as you can see they are more pink this week.034
Like I mentioned, I’ve been busy in the garden this week…we picked up three more Bradford Pear Trees to plant along side the fence to give us some privacy.  We will wait until fall to plant them though…so for now, they will just sit and wait. The other six we planted in Spring of 2011 are looking fantastic and hope to see many, many blooms next year since they have had at least one full year to get established (we only saw a few blooms in Spring of 2012).
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015Another project I took on is pulling out a beautiful Red Twig Dogwood that has overcrowded my Red Coral Bark Maple. I hate to do it, but it’s gotta go…you can see from this photo that the side of the maple tree is beginning to grow upwards instead of outward. I cut the dogwood down to a ‘stump’ before I start digging, I figure it will be much easier to work with this way. I would love to see this Coral Bark spread it’s branches and grow upward to give our patio the shade tree I am looking for.    014
Coming into bloom this week is as follows…Rose of Sharon has popped out on two of my shrubs, but I still await a third. I believe it’s behind schedule due to that red twigged dogwood that I mentioned earlier. Hibiscus is beginning to bloom as well, such a beautiful bloom and pop of color anywhere it’s placed in the gardens. Echinacea continues to show its beauty along with the hydrangeas. Gladiolas are blooming, but for some reason, out of the 100’s that I planted a few years ago, only a few still remain…I’m assuming overcrowding could be the culprit? need to put it on the list to plant more next spring, they are so beautiful to see this time of year.
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Please link up your gardening posts to the Cottage Garden Party. To see where else I am linking to this week – please check my “Cottage Links” label…xoxo, tracie
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Comments

It all looks very promising,can't wait to see the roses over the arbour in bloom. x
Wow, your garden is gorgeous. I love the hydrangeas and don't think I've ever seen that variety before. Beautiful pictures!!
I LOVE your landscaping. Your arbor is gorgeous and I LOVE those hydrangeas. Hmmmm, I'll have to put those on my wishlist! My gardens are so neglected this year due to my trip to my parents. I came back to a JUNGLE!UGH!!! Oh Well, there is always next year. I guess this year I'll just trow in the gardening towel and NAME THE WEEDS as WILDFLOWERS...
Have a wonderful week,
Hugs,
Donna
Unknown said…
I love the hydrangeas around the fence - what a charming home.

My garden is all green right now - it seems like everything has shut down early due to the extremely early start we had, a drought that wouldn't end and now, suddenly, cool nights. No pictures this week unfortunately.
Larry said…
Vanilla Strawberry appears to be as lovely as it's cracked up to be... so often the ads can be misleading... I truly love that pink and need to add a couple to the gardens! I love your entrance gate... such an important element in garden design and yet I don't have one... more food for thought! Larry
I too love the hydrangeas around the fence / have admired them before! :) you have alot of beautiful things going on there...
love the landscaping and the photos are wonderful :)
I used to plant gladiolas but they won't make the winters here so it's something you have to do every year. I don't have a good spot for them now so I don't do it anymore. My rose of sharon is loaded with buds but hasn't opened up yet...It's such a slow shrub!!
Hi Tracie: The roses definitely took a beating early on this spring. Mine are doing okay, but black spot is always a problem with them. I love your hibiscus--I have one, but not in bloom yet. The hydrangeas you have are just amazing--I love that shade of pink! Take care, and have a fantastic weekend!
Hi Tracie, you garden gate is so cute that even roses that are not performing like usual does not deter from it's beauty. I stopped at a local nursery yesterday and they had 4 bushes out front marked $5. He does this every year to thin things out. Nothing wrong with them at all. I picked up a red dogwood, a lilac, a burning bush, and can't remember the other. Planting them where the Larkspur usually flourishes. Afraid I might not have as much Larkspur next year, but I want that area behind our firepit to look woodsy. Guess what else I bought? A Str. Van. Hydrangea. I hope mine will be as gorgeous as yours! All of your garden blooms are delightful. Thanks for letting us share ours. My Hibiscus says 'hello' to yours.
Hugs,
Jann
Unknown said…
I share your pain with the roses. We have pink climbers out back. They were embarrassing. I contemplated cutting them back but they would get spurts of new growth. Needless to say, there aren't many pictures of the roses this year. As always your photos and flowers are gorgeous. Glads are gorgeous!!! I'm glad I finally stopped by your blog and not just FB!!!
Liz said…
What a lovely house and garden you have!! I'd be in heaven.
Nancy said…
Despite the drought this summer, your garden is looking wonderful. Obviously, you are doing something, everything right, Tracie.

Thanks so much for joining us at Rural Thursday this week. Nice to see you!
Unknown said…
I can't wait to see your spring bloom:) Obviously your summer continue still and is very hot, here it would be great time to put those trees into the soil. Gorgeous flowers.

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