Front Garden in June

 The ugliest spot in the garden is this water meter reading thing.  The meter maids come around to check the amount of water used.  They need something like 2 feet of space on all sides of the meter.  I once was fined for not providing this access.  I guess some fat ass couldn't get into the smaller area.  I really wish the thing had been put into the driveway where they would surely have enough space to read the meter. There is a little rock path leading into it from the grass path.  The Irish heather is in front of it, partly hiding it.  The lady's mantle, cement vase, moss rose and few other little plants are on the driveway side of it, under the magnolia tree.   The trillium bed is in behind it with pasque flowers, iberis, arabis and a few others to hide it from the driveway side.  On the left side of the photo there is the tall black bamboo,  an old heather and the start of the Siberian irises to hide it from the thyme circle and other inner garden beds.

 This is the view up the stone path, past the David and on to the smoke bush and the back of the inner garden.   We see the milkweed in the foreground.  Across the path from the David is a decorative oregano, some crocosmias, dianthus, and on into the little rockery on that side.

 A close up of the milkweed.  It is, I believe a showy milkweed.   Dave Dube sent this to me a few years ago.  It does not set seed, so it must be some kind of a hybrid.  I have started some 'soul mate' milkweed plants from seed.  At least there are 2 of them in pots now that look a lot like this plant.  Hopefully, I can get them transplanted to this area in the Fall.  I also have one growing in the cut garden, and another kind that blooms with orange/red blossoms.   This milkweed project has not been a great success.  The monarchs need this milkweed to feed the caterpillars, apparently.   I hope the ones in the pots bloom soon, so I know what I have.   If I ever get enough milkweed plants growing I will import some monarchs, and see if I can establish some of them on the Island.
 Showy Milkweed (Asclepias Speciosa) - This perennial plant can be easily established by sowing Asclepias seeds. It has up to 40 inch stems and large gray-green oval leaves that can be 5 inches in length. The flowers form on top of the stems and are rounded clusters of rosy-pink flowers. One plant can form a large clump by its spreading rhizomes. The Showy Milkweed plant, like its relative Butterfly Weed, prefers to be grown in full sun. It is quite drought tolerant after its second year of establishment as the root system is not well-established the first year after growing from flower seed.

 The French lavender that is in bloom behind the David.  Its a nice view past the lavender, over the chartreuse marjoram and the thyme circle with a bit of the sun dial circle showing.

 I have campanulas growing all over the garden.  This one is under the Magnolia tree, near the trilliums.

 Another view of the water meter.  If I keep it weeded it can actually look not too bad.

 The grass path that is the top border to the garden and goes between the two boxwood hedges.  I really must do something about the crocosmias flopping over the stone path.  

 The stone path with the campanula glomerata across the path from the iberis.

 The black bamboo has lost a lot of its lower leaves.  This year I cleaned out most of the dead canes.  It can be thinned out even more, I think.  But it is getting to look pretty good; and well worth the bother of taking out its runners, and picking up the leaves off the paths and thyme circle.  

 This little spirea has very nice chartreuse leaves with pink flowers.  It grows between the Siberian irises and the thyme circle.  I need to take better care of it, as it is a lovely little thing, in the spot where it hangs its blooms over the thyme circle.  

 Closer view of the campanula glomerata.  Just beside it in the photo is one of the newly transplanted gentians.  I believe it is the gentian acaulis.  

The thyme circle has had a bit of compost added to it, and I am paying better attention to keeping it watered.  A few bees have even found there way to the flowers.  It still needs more compost and perhaps drainage rock in a few spots, with new plants added.