What is one to say about June, the time of perfect young summer, the fulfillment of the promise of the earlier months, and with as yet no sign to remind one that its fresh young beauty will ever fade. ~Gertrude Jekyll
Summer is truly here, the solstice bringing long days of light along with copious rain and heat. The last of the May flowers are finished, and early June has suddenly pirouetted into young summer. The garden burgeons with lush green growth.
Green was the silence, wet was the light, the month of June trembled like a butterfly. ~Pablo Neruda
Our native Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’ threatens to swallow the bench at the bottom of the garden, drinking long and hard of the rain brought by frequent thunderstorms.
Always generous with her blooms, ‘Annabelle’ generously provides a few clever nests for the leafier moth (Olethreutes ferriferana) – there are plenty of leaves and blooms to spare.
Long trails of Italian clematis clamber and flow along fences, down shrubs and across other perennials while the perennial residents of pots rise up to meet them. (Click on any photo in the mosaic to see a larger image.)
The daylilies are beginning to flower. A stand of ‘Lynn’s Delight’ was given to me by a friend years ago and and is the first to blossom each June; black annual poppies are poised to bloom in tandem.
Every day, new daylilies open amid the roses, bringing a surprise of color to each morning walk.
True lilies continue the show throughout the garden; one of my favorites is the soft peach down-facing ‘Tiger Babies’. The peach theme continues with roses.
On this June day, the buds in my garden are almost as enchanting as the open flowers. ~Francis King
The grape and lemonade bed is moving into its glory of lemon yellows and deep purples.
June is almost over yet the freshness of young summer
filled with blue skies,
lush blooms, 
and rich greens 
continues to enchant. May you enjoy the final days of a lovely June and celebrate the entrance of the fireworks of July.
And since all this loveliness cannot be Heaven, I know in my heart it is June. ~Abba Woolson
(All images ©2017 Lynn Emberg Purse, All Rights Reserved)
composerinthegarden 
Your garden looks fantastic. We have the same Hydrangea, I think I prefer ‘Annabelle’ to almost any other Hydrangea. Though I wouldn’t mind an Oak Leaf Hydrangea or two. Your peach-colored lily is quite luscious, as are your roses and daylilies. Our daylilies really don’t get going until July.
A wine toast to the lush colors and the garden’s caretaker! …. clink!
Clink right back at you, Frank! I just finished touring the garden in the late evening, filled with fireflies and intoxicating scents – salut!
A visit to your lush, green garden is such a cool break from the harsh light of our blazing summer sun. Drink it in!
Audrey, I wish you more rain and lushness in your part of the world. The woodlands here shelter the garden from all day sun – just enough light to grow almost anything but not too much. The incessant rains have begun again, with a sunny day now and then, but the garden loves it and flourishes.
We have months and months more of sunshine before we will see rain. Ours is a Mediterranean climate: beauty of a different sort. But I still pine for those gorgeous greens and the smell of fresh rain in the garden. Living vicariously through you. 🙂
In the last photo, the hostas are looking wonderful, as they only know how, in the one above, I feel invited into the garden, and get a good perspective on the whole (though I know it’s hardly the whole). The rose and Spirea are such a classic, old-fashioned combination that I think it’s perfect, then I see the Evelyn Stout daylily with the peach rose and think, perfection is everywhere in this garden! I like seeing the little leafer moth nest too, and the pots, and the copper Heuchera with that dark wine clematis – all wonderful, thank you for posting it, along with the great quotes.
Lynn, it is always a joy to have you stop by and notice the many details in the photos. I’m now in the process of editing the garden in order to intensify the details – I’m so in love with the idea of combining colors and textures and shapes. Thank you for noticing with your artist’s eyes 🙂
No doubt it’s my pleasure! I like the idea of editing in order to intensify the details – interesting!
I thought of you when I saw today’s UBC (U. of British Columbia) Botany Photo of the Day (not sure if you’re familiar with Bot. Photo of the Day, you may like it!).
View today’s Botany Photo of the Day:
http://botanyphoto.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/2017/07/nitobe-memorial-garden-5/
Great link, Lynn! Your comment on the structure of the bridge slowing down the visitor was very apt.
I love Hydrangea Annabelle too – such a reliable beauty. Colour opposites like yellow and purple always look good. What a privilege to be gardeners and have all this ever-changing pleasure outside our back doors. Thank you for sharing yours.
-Richard
Richard, I agree 100% – we are indeed privileged to be gardeners and live in the midst of such beauty.
You have such a wonderful garden and I love your daylilies. I only have one and for the second year I can’t see any buds on it. I think I need to move it as it is now over shadowed by a penstemon and a fuchsia.
Oh no, no blooms again? Daylilies can get cranky without enough sun; their leaves stay thin and droop a bit. Thanks for stopping by, Jude.
I shall definitely move it then. Thanks for the advice 🙂
Your garden looks like such a magical and peaceful place. Happy Summer, Lynn. 🙂
Thank you, Robin; it is my preferred place to be above all others. Happy summer to you too!
Fantastic…such a place and atnosphere. Loved every quote, as well. You blog is a gift.
Thank you, Cynthia; I always get inspiration from finding the right quotes.
So true–I need to read more of them…or just more of your lovely blog.
Very nice set of images, yet again, Lynn. I particularly like the last one–love the placement of the blue birdbath in the frame.
Thanks, Kerry. Love that birdbath; it has moved around the garden a bit but I think it has finally found its home amid the ferns. The robins and cardinals use it every day.
You have an interesting selection of day lilies. I enjoy visiting your garden. Thank you.
Thank you, Tootlepedal. I used to collect daylilies but when I moved here I downsized a bit. They have a seemingly infinite range of colors and shapes (except for “true blue”) and are a lot of fun to place in the garden.
Thanks, Lynn, for once again sharing your thoughts and your floral talents with all of us. I liked the Neruda quotation. He is one of my favorite poets!
Thank you, Gene. I always love the Neruda quotes; you’ve inspired me to follow through and read his poetry 🙂
Fun fact – in researching Neruda, I discovered that “Neruda always wrote in green ink as it was his personal color of hope.” https://www.poemhunter.com/pablo-neruda/
Beautiful. I especially love the lilies. It’s quite rare to see a green lady like the one on the bench – we always look out for them.
Thank you, Susan. I love that green lady – I have a lot of green “faces” tucked in the garden, such a delight.
Far away in the southern hemisphere in the midst of drought and winter, your garden appears as in a ‘dream’! Such enchantment 🙂 A virtual admirer 🙂
Liz, I will wish for rain and warmth to come your way. I am always intrigued by the complete mirror of seasons between our hemispheres. I once spent a New Year’s Eve in Australia – warm star filled skies at night and flowers by day while my part of the world was buried in snow. Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to comment 🙂
Wow, Lynn, not only is your garden a wonderful work of art, it is the absolute healthiest garden I’ve seen in a long time! No blights, no mildew, not a Japanese beetle in sight. Sometimes, I want to move to a new home just to escape these things! 🙂 Thought we’d dodged the beetles this year, then, two days ago, they stormed the gardens, en masse…but I do love June and gardening all the same. Thank you for another glorious post and the lovely quotes you always so beautifully weave throughout.
Kitty, we have been blessed by amazing weather this year. The prevailing pattern has been a few days of rain followed by a few days of sun and heat plus cool nights – near perfect for the garden and the gardener. On the down side, plant growth has been accelerated, meaning that 3′ plants are now 6′ or 7′ and a previous cutback seems to have had no effect. It is a jungle here! That said, the plants are amazingly robust and healthy but so are the weeds – I’ve filled 4 large cartfuls with weeds in the past 24 hours. It will take another week of persistent weeding to get it under control.
Still, the garden is healthy and happy and is full of happy bees and butterflies/dragonflies. Best June ever 🙂 As always, I am so happy to see you stop by – I hope your garden continues to give you joy.
You have such a magical garden. Thanks for sharing the photos!
Thank you, Wildlife gardener; your garden is looking gorgeous too!
what a wonderfully magical garden space, just love it!
Thank you, Nine Cent Girl! I feel the same 🙂