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Below are a few images of my June garden delights here in central Virginia.
Following a hard winter, the garden now rewards with color, texture, and edible feasts.

Sunny rose in first flush, Red Hot Poker, Oakleaf Hydrangea, clematis, all in bloom this week. Nice!

Sunny rose in first flush, Red Hot Poker, Oakleaf Hydrangea, clematis, all in bloom this week. Nice!

Up close and personal with the Red Hot Poker! Yeah! Only its second season in my Virginia gardens.

up close and personal with the Red Hot Poker! Merely its second season in my Virginia gardens.

Sunny Knock Out Rose. She makes me look like a rose guru! This is her second year in my gardens.

Sunny Knock Out Rose makes me look like a rose guru! This is her second year in my gardens.

O'Neil variety of highbush blueberry. Three deliver all the berries I can eat in one season

O’Neil variety of highbush blueberry. Three plants deliver all the berries I can eat (and share) in one season.

Tasty morsels...once the wild birds are fed, my daily ritual is a visit to the blueberry bushes. Can you just taste them?

tasty, plump morsels…once the wild birds are fed, my early, daily ritual includes a visit to the blueberry bushes. Can you just taste them? I cover the plants with row cover to keep the birds away…they can have sunflower seeds and currants!

This is the tiniest florabunda...she is recovering from a transplant last fall. I estimate she is forty years old and struggled for years under the flourishing dogwood. I finally mustered the nerve to move her last fall. Half died during the winter, yet today she shows a bud...and soon, she will flourish in the full sun bed. Yeah!

This is the tiniest floribunda…she is recovering from a transplant last fall. I estimate she is forty years old and struggled for years under the flourishing dogwood. I finally mustered the nerve to move her last fall. Half died during the winter, yet today she shows a bud…and soon, she will flourish in the full sun bed. Yeah! Note she is merely six inches tall today, yet still produces a bud. Go Girl! If you squint, notice the teeny bud near the top. I am so excited! In a few days I will add a photo of the first bloom…

a bit closer to bloom time on this teensy floribunda transplant...I'm like a bird on her nest...

a bit closer to bloom time on this teensy floribunda transplant…I’m like a bird on her nest…too bad a young bunny tasted all these buds just after this photo was taken. Now surrounded with wire screen, I wait for Tiny’s next effort.

the stonecrop sedum is showing her stuff in the herb bed planter. I think she resembles a candelabra, don't you? Lots of bang for the buck, this plant.

the stonecrop sedum is showing her stuff in the herb bed planter. I think she resembles a candelabra, don’t you? Lots of bang for the buck, this plant.

a few Siberian Iris were gifted to me two years ago and now flourish anywhere they are planted...a garden thug? Time will tell.

a few Siberian Iris were gifted to me two years ago and now flourish anywhere they are planted…a garden thug? Time will tell.

can you smell the sweet perfume of this Little Gem?

can you smell the sweet perfume of this Little Gem?

I was looking for a vine to replace the Concord Grape on this split rail, and voila! Arctic Kiwi manifested. I cannot wait for this fruit next year!

looking for a vine to replace the Concord Grape on this split rail, voila! Arctic Kiwi manifested. I cannot wait for this fruit next year!

male planted on one side of post, female on the other.

male planted on one side of post, female on the other.

everyone knows Lambs Ear. A classic in any garden; sometimes a thug, yet when that happens, I dig clumps and sell at the farmer's market to willing gardeners...

everyone knows Lambs Ear. A classic in any garden; sometimes a thug, yet when that happens, I dig clumps and sell them at the farmer’s market to eager gardeners… the bumble bees also adore the blooms.

this variety of clematis lived on the property when I bought the place in 2001. I was survived years under a tree, and now thrives on a slick tuteur in the deep shrub border.

this variety of clematis lived on the property when I bought the place in 2001. It survived years in deep shade under a tree, and now thrives on a slick tuteur in the deep shrub border with her feet heavily mulched and her height in full sun.

I cannot forget to mention the sweet, edible, most popular plant, the viola or Johnny Jump Up. I am convinced this plant parties at night, as thirteen years ago, seed was planted in the front garden and every year since, I find it growing all over the entire half acre...

I cannot forget to mention the sweet, edible, most popular plant, the viola or Johnny Jump Up. I am convinced this plant parties at night, as thirteen years ago, seed was planted in the front garden and every year since, I find it growing all over the entire half-acre…

must not forget to show the beautiful salad greens and edible flowers from the garden this week. The arugula was especially nice.

quite an edible feast: beautiful salad greens and edible flowers from the garden this week. The arugula was especially nice.

Spring weather of 2014 was spastic. 40F degrees one night and 60F the next.
Daytime highs have swung from 40F to 90F numerous times, and rapidly humidity of summer builds.

Yesterday I rose early to add more mulch, river rock in wash areas, and to tidy the beds for the summer ahead. Finding garden solutions is a never-ending challenge.
Rewards arrive in the hues of spring color, tastes of flavorful edibles, and in the humbling glow of accomplishment.
Striding alongside nature while sharing the garden’s beauty/bounty is a legacy of unnamed bliss.

Gardening in Virginia has its challenges; with humidity comes powdery mildew, which I plan to attack with fresh abandon.
The peonies suffered terribly in the past two years with this fungal disease, thankfully following bloom time.
Since peonies are an important cash crop every May, I want to coddle my twenty-nine plants and avoid the ugliness of mildew.
Stay tuned…

over 400 peony stems went to market last month.

over 400 peony stems went to market last month.

moi selling my garden bounty at the local farmer's market in May...

selling my garden bounty at the local farmer’s market in May…

I hope you enjoyed my June Garden Delights Tour today.

Comments are always appreciated.

Now back to the kitchen to finish that order of Key Lime Pies.

At least views from the workbench allow glimpses of my garden sanctuary and the adored wild birds.

May your June be bountiful and beautiful.

Copyright © 2014 by Diane LaSauce  All Rights Reserved