The June Garden

A. JoAnn

8 years ago

Updated on February 15, 2023

The June garden brings an explosion of bloom. Climbing roses, hybrids, shrub roses, iris, and peonies bring beauty and fragrance to the garden path.

Sawfly Damage

It rained buckets in May.

I thought the slugs were eating my flowers. Turns out it was sawfly larvae. They were small and green and matched the flower stems so well that I couldn’t see them. But, I saw what they did! The azalea leaves were stripped bare. The roses were devoured. The marigolds, too!

When I finally figured out what was going on, it was too late. I hand-picked some off, but the climbing roses and David Austin hybrid are toast.

Nevertheless, we still have some fabulous plants to enjoy!

Peony

Peonies emit a fragrance so sweet and fresh that they certainly give roses a run for their money.

The only downside to peonies is their tendency to be top-heavy. Even with secure staking, a hard rain can cause stems to bend and blooms to droop.

You can see more photos of the white peonies here.

Iris

The June garden offers more than peonies and roses.

The Siberian iris pops open in vivid violet.

The Bearded iris continues to flourish.

June Garden Roses

I actually had some rose survivors! They are the tried and true wild roses. I guess there is a reason they’ve been around this long.

A photo of our Heritage rose in bloom is here.

Tradescantia

These flowers are so bright that I had difficulty photographing them. The leaves get a bit sloppy, but the fluorescent show goes on all summer.

Elderberry

This ornamental elderberry is one of the few purple-colored foliage plants that I grow. Because we have a lot of shade, the darker plants don’t thrive. The pink lace flowers against the dark leaves look elegant.

Blueberry

The berries must love the rain, because they’ve never looked this good. I’ve got to get the netting up before the jays find them.

Hydrangea

When I planted this climbing hydrangea, it was in a gallon pot. It took a few years to really get growing, but now it is going gangbusters!

That wraps up the latest blooms in our June garden. What’s “growing on” in your garden?