Hydrangeas, Hostas and Sled Dogs

Deep purple lace cap hydrangea

It's hot, it's humid and it's not my favorite time of the year. All that being said, the garden does look pretty great right about this time of the year, especially the hydrangeas and the hostas. Hydrangeas are one of my favorite flowers and were featured prominently in our wedding flowers. Not surprisingly, in our back yard we have a "wall" of hydrangeas.

Table Centerpieces

Wedding Party Bouquets

My Bouquet

The blossoms on our Oak Leaf hydrangea start out white

Then they gradually turn pink

Finally ending up as vibrant pink blossoms

The view from the guest bedroom: Flowering Lace Cap Hydrangea

The other major indicator that summer has arrived is the vegetable gardens. This year our vegetable gardens seem to be growing a bit slower than in years past. Soon, we are hoping to harvest some yummy veggies including tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers from the vegetable garden.

The tomatoes are getting bigger....

Later in the summer as the crab apples ripen, we hope to make crab apple jelly with the crab apples from the tree in our front yard. In prior years the crab apples have been fodder for the deer and rabbits that frequent our yard despite the presence of our sled dogs.

Ripening crab apples

As we approach the "dog days" of summer, the hostas color the yard with their delicate purple and white flowers. Hostas are prevalent throughout our yard as these plants thrive in shade. The plants we got from one of our neighbors last summer are doing quite well and have huge green foliage with tall purple flowers.

Hosta

The dogs love to sit in the hostas planted along the field stone wall and await Eric's arrival home from work. Sobo especially loves to sit, and watch and wait...

A young Sobo frolics in the hostas

The Welcome Wagon