Picture yourself

Picture yourself in a boat on a river
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies...

Cellophane flowers of yellow and green
Towering over your head
Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes
And she's gone.

"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"

The Beatles

I found these big, crazy garden stake flowers at Costco. Now whenever I see them outside the bedroom window, the old psychedelic Beatles song runs through my mind. 

Another Costco impulse purchase, the "Kaveri" lily is just coming into full bloom.

Remember this was that new cross hybrid of an Asiatic and Oriental lily, supposedly giving the best of both varieties: Oriental fragrance, but compact and hardy. Actually, they're pretty tall. The hardy part is yet to be seen.  I didn't have high expectations for a $12 bag, but it's a truly magnificent lily.

What a relief having the 4th of July behind us.  Fireworks are banned in Seattle, but they can't stop people from going out to to the reservations and bringing them back to the city to set off on the streets. The police of course are much too busy that night to chase after every bang and boom.

July is the one precious month in Seattle that well and truly feels like summer.  Our garden reaches a perfect peak as the lilies, clematis and crocosmia start to bloom.  The dahlias are next.  Sure, August is nice, but after Sea Fair weekend there's definitely a winding down, back-to-school feeling.