With summer in full swing, the garden is glorious this time of year. We transplanted over fifty plants from our previous home last summer, and this spring (for those that were kept safe in containers). We added new plants, too, and are now enjoying watching them all grow and burst with color. The climbing roses have been showing off their delicate blooms. They are truly thriving in their new home, and I am just tickled! They didn't do as well at our last house, and I wasn't sure they'd survive being transplanted again. They have shown just how resilient they are.

The rest of the garden and the flower beds are looking great! While we haven't had a lot of rain this summer, we've been watering as much as we can to keep the flowers growing.

Clematis

Our newest clematis addition to our partial sun garden is blooming! This is a first-year plant in our garden, and it's doing so well. I wasn't sure whether or not we would get blooms on it this season, as it can take Clematis a couple of seasons to get established. Seeing this large bloom on our trellis made my day!

Zinnia

The Zinnias are having trouble this year, and I'm not sure what their deal is. Some type of garden pest is munching on their leaves, and I have had a couple of plants eaten down to nubs. I'm not sure if the Japanese beetles are doing them in, if the slugs are getting to them, or what. I have contemplated starting a new bed for growing zinnias- closer to our vegetable bed. They are my favorite summer flower, and it's making me rather sad that they're not doing well like they did last summer (in the same spot). As I am clipping them back, they are putting out new blooms. The more you cut them back, the more they grow, so here's hoping we get some gorgeous blooms before it frosts in the fall.

Lantana

I have four Lantana plants in the garden this season. It's a fabulous summer plant with bright little flowers, which pollinators love! We have a firecracker variety, yellow varieties, and white. I love watching the bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds visit the Lantana for a drink. They don't need very much attention, and thrive when it's hot and dry. They'll bloom beautifully until we receive a hard frost in the fall.

Marigold

This is the first time I have ever had luck growing Marigolds! In all of my years of gardening, they have never wanted to grow well for me, and this year, they look amazing! Marigolds are perfect to plant just about anywhere- in beds, and containers. They provide pest control, are a wonderful companion for basil, and provide gorgeous color through the first hard frost of the fall. 

Mix of Impatients and Coleus

My husband and I do a lot of container gardening, as well. We have a large front porch, and a large patio, which only looks better with lots of plants. We have containers everywhere! I love filling them up with annuals I know will look great once they fill out the containers. We have a lot of partial sun and shade, so annuals like Impatients, Coleus, Begonias, and Creeping Jenny are perfect for cramming into containers for big, gorgeous, showy colors in July, August, and September. All of these annuals will look beautiful until it gets pretty cold. I have had these lovelies still looking great for Thanksgiving in seasons past!

Next up, it'll be time to start thinking about planting springtime bulbs, adding any trees to our landscape that we're thinking about, and making my to-do lists for garden clean-up.

I have mums from last year that are leafing out and will be ready to be planted, either back into containers, or in the ground. They're a fall staple for porch decorating, and I can't wait to have them everywhere around our property come late summer and early fall.