Summer perfection

"It was a splendid summer morning,
and it seemed as if nothing could go wrong."

 John Cheever

July is a wonderful month and we're in the middle of a gorgeous stretch of weather. The first dahlias and the trumpet lilies are starting to bloom.  Dozens of hummingbirds are going bonkers over red crocosima.  Common old daisies take over swaths of urban real estate.

   
Spring is also a pretty time for the big flower bed, but I think these yellow trumpet lilies against blue clematis is the most beautiful sight of the year.

I must have planted those two clematis at least 25 years ago. In October, the messy, dried up tangle of vines gets hacked right to the ground with my Japanese garden knife and stuffed unceremoniously in the compost.   Talk about being tough and beautiful-- people are amazed when I say they come back each year with never a bug, touch of disease, and hardly any fertilizer or mulching.  Ditto the trumpet lilies.  Not always (but sometimes) the flowers that require the least effort give the most back. 

With our laurel hedge and solid wood fence, the entire yard is almost invisible to the outside world, even though we live on a busy intersection in an "urban village."  People walk by with their dogs all the time, peering in the gate openings.  Unlike eastern state suburbs where everything is wide open, the Fort Apache style is typical in the northwest.  And you wouldn't believe the garden wonderlands tucked away here and there in Seattle.  Chicken coops!  Pony pens! Vegetable gardens! Ponds and waterfalls!

Well, sometimes it seems a bit too private and I wish we could share this glorious moment with our far-away friends and family.  OK, and if I'm honest with myself, I'd like to show off the hard work it takes. 

 

In July, there's a public garden tour in West Seattle. You can nominate your own yard for consideration, and if the tour committee deems it worthy, the next year your street address goes on a published list. On the day of the tour, people will tramp through your little sanctuary asking the same questions.   Well...maybe I'll show it off on the blog instead. :-)