a year in my garden: june

June 24, 2011/

June is a mixed blessing for me, and I would imagine, many of you gardeners out there. It is such a busy month – end of the school year, graduations/confirmations/baby showers and, for some of us, getting our big ones packed up and off to sleep away camp (sniffle)…..

June is also when the garden starts to kick into high gear – which for me, is doubly stress-inducing because I’m also getting all of my clients’ planters completed for their special occasions.

But I have to say, with all the busyness comes the excitement of seeing my gardens come to life after a long, cold winter (and this year’s wet and dismal spring):

There are peonies – both inside and out:

Summer perennials, all around:

Remember the nepeta I cut back hard a few weeks ago? It’s already starting to come back with some nice fresh foliage:

And finally, I tried something new this year – tired of individually staking my taller perennials I installed peony hoops around my echinacea and globe thistle. I’m hoping that the plants will grow through the grids, which will both support the stems and negate the need for those pesky bamboo stakes (which look so unattractive too). I put them in late this year but next year they’ll go in just as the plants emerge, and eventually just “blend in” with the rest of the garden. Here’s what they look like now (and stay tuned for a future post on staking – my most detested gardening task):

I hope you’re spending June enjoying your garden AND some special celebrations of your own – bring on summer!

About the author

Sheri Silver

Sheri Silver is a New York-based food photographer and recipe developer who has been cooking and baking for over 30 years. She works with brands, authors and restaurants to create recipes that are as beautiful as they are foolproof - and every recipe on this blog has been made, tweaked and eaten in her own kitchen.