A storm is brewing this evening, a severe thunderstorm warning. So what! How many days in a row is this?

Never have I seen the garden so lush in mid-June. Though most days are cloudy, temperatures have been moderate and rainfall plentiful. The six ponds in the garden are full to the brim, and surrounded by delightful Japanese iris (left) and Oriental lilies (below). The tropicals, elephant ears and bananas, are slow to grow, but the heat and humidity that they crave must arrive all too soon.

Floating on my raft in the swimming pond last week I noticed several baby koi nibbling at strands of algae on rocks at the ponds edge, then more, and more. In a 1,400 square foot pond it’s difficult to count fish less than an inch long, but we’ve sighted a dozen or more. Already, a week later some are two inches or larger, and beginning to swim with the big guys.

Hydrangeas are nearing peak bloom. Though the remontant varieties, Endless Summer (above, although this might be Penny Mac), Penny Mac, Mini Penny, Blushing Bride, and Twist and Shout, will flower on new growth through the Summer, the first is the heaviest.

Beginning to bloom is Lady in Red, a lacecap with red stems and light pink flowers. Highly promoted, but only satisfactory, not an outstanding selection.

More than satisfying is Oakleaf hydrangea (above). There are a number of selections, and this could be one of the improved varieties, or not. All are similar in my view, and exceptional plants for sun, or as is the case with the one in this photo, planted at the edge of a wooded area.

I have followed Nandina domestica through the year in this journal, from masses of red berries in Fall, to freeze dried leaves in March, to purple and white blooming clematis snaking through lush foliage in May, and today small white flowers (above). How many had given up on theirs’ in early Spring?

To bring this day’s journal to a close, the spires of waxy white flowers of Yucca are in their full, though short lived, glory. This yellow-green variegated leaf yucca in bloom today is sited in a hot, sunny spot planted in a mix of gravel and soil at the entry to the driveway, a brutal location, but handled with ease by this tough plant. Other yuccas are found in the garden in rich soil, dry and nearly wet, sunny and shady with equal success.

Much more is in bloom today, but must wait for another day. Thunder is roaring and rain slapping against the windows bringing another June day to a soggy end.