Garden: More Of The Gardens In July

The air here today is as thick and sticky as a Florida summer.  I went outside to take a photo of my rudbeckia and decided to take a good look at the gardens around the back of the house.

This was taken from the deck.  These rudbeckia get to be 6 feet tall on average!  They are so sunny and cheerful, and are great for cutting and bringing into the house!

 Don't mind the hose and wood that my husband stores under the deck.  I had to take this photo of my surviving butterfly bush!  So thankful to have one still and to have it blooming this summer!

 My Hostas are beautiful this year!  Blooming profusely!  

 Aren't they pretty?

 I have them planted both behind the house and across our creek.  I like to look out and see them blooming over there!

While I was out there Tim called me to give him a hand with the mower deck.  He has been in need of sharpening the blades, and doing some general maintenance on it.  He needed me to hold something down while he greased it.  My little companion and I went right over to help and while I was holding it, I snapped a few one handed quick shots of Kamryn and her balloon.

 If you notice the yard in these photos you'll see a lot of plantain.

Are you familiar with plantain?  I learned about it about 5 years ago and it is a go to plant for us when anyone gets stung by a bee, wasp, yellow jacket, etc.  It is also great at stopping bleeding.  The beauty of this plant is that it grows everywhere - I've seen it growing in a crack of a sidewalk!  To use it you should tear it up or chop it up and get it wet, and apply it straight to the sting or cut.  If you are out hiking or camping you can even just chew it a bit and then apply it.  We've used it successfully on many children who've been stung here - one Sunday a few years ago we had 5 different sting issues.  It takes the 'sting' away, instantly.  One young friend got stung by a nest of yellow jackets, and had 6 stings on the back of his hand.  We applied plantain right away, and the tears stopped!  We did use an ice pack on it after that and he was fine!

This is my basil.   I thought it was going to die but it is thriving!  Yeah!

The peppers are growing well, too.  

And finally!  The tomatoes are really doing well!

 Hurray!

 One plant that always grows well in my garden is the gooseneck loosestrife.  It is an invasive plant but it fills in a blank area of my front garden bed.

 This is a photo taken from outside the picket fence toward the house.  Usually my photos are taken facing the other way.

My Black Eyed Susan's are in bloom.  They are a happy flower too!

Last, but not least, my hydrangea.  My plants are alive but no blooms so I bought this one from Costco, and I love it!  

Now to decide where to plant it!

How does your garden grow?