We spent July working! Everyone we saw this month asked us if we were enjoying our time off, and we laughed because it wasn’t really a vacation. Still, the pace is different when we’re not open to the public, and we were able to spend time in the gardens here that was very enjoyable. Friends came to visit, we hiked in the mountains one morning, and so yes, we did enjoy July!
We also continued to grow and propagate plants for the nursery. We have a lot of plants that are ready now that weren’t when we opened in the spring. If you find your garden looking tired and colorless, check out some of the perennials we have for late summer bloom. August is a good time to plant. The temperatures are cooling a bit, there’s still plenty of time for plants to get well established before winter, and the monsoons help with watering.
We have so many hummingbirds here right now! It’s a good time of year to watch them pick out their favorite flowers. They really like red hot pokers (AKA torch lily, AKA Kniphofia). They like honeysuckle, too, and all the different kinds of salvias. The Agastaches are just starting to bloom in the garden and they are probably the favorite of our hummingbirds.
Gardening is about plants, of course, but it’s also about just being outside and enjoying nature. I wonder how many of you are following #719 Rocks. It’s a group in Southern Colorado (area code 719) that are painting and hiding rocks in our area. We thought it was such a fun idea we painted a few to hide here at the nursery. If you find one you can keep it or rehide it. Some of the people participating are amazing artists. I’m not, as you can see from my dragonfly–yes, it’s a dragonfly, not an alien.
Speaking of dragonflies, this one was in the greenhouse, sitting on purple winter savory. I didn’t think it was alive, it was so still, but when I moved the plant outside it flew away!
