June's garden

The weather is getting hotter which ultimately means less time out in the yard. I see all the work we've done with landscaping and planting and it makes me sad that everything is going to wilt right before our eyes in the next couple of months. Nearly everything (minus the vegetable garden) will come back next year, but it's hard to do so much work and have such hot dry weather that stunts all the pretty. Our hydrangeas are beautiful! Big, full, colorful. I wish that I could have them all over my yard and inside my house all year long.....they are by far my favorite! I am already seeing signs of them browning and starting to wilt. Boo. When it's nice out we spend as much time as we can outdoors, when it's ridiculously hot we spend time outdoors in little bursts and make our way indoors dripping in sweat and red cheeked. So far this summer hasn't been as bad as last year for which I am grateful.

We got a big project completed the day before leaving for the beach, one we have been talking about for at least a year. Dan built a perimeter around our playset with landscaping timbers and then filled the space in with an enormous amount of mulch. Not only will our girls not get mud all over their shoes from the dirt that used to be under the swings, but this new set up looks so much better and is easier for Dan to mow around! It was a LOT of work, work that I did absolutely none of. :o) Dan worked his butt off in the hottest weather we have had all year and I think all that hard work really shows......it looks great!

The last thing that I am going to blather on about is our berries. I am so incredibly happy that we planted berry bushes last year! They are so big and are producing the sweetest, tastiest berries I have ever had. We go out about every other day and fill up a small bucket full of berries, and that is not including the vast amount that ends up in Charlotte's mouth! The girls love picking them and I love doing it with them. I finally picked enough and got organized enough to make a pie. It was my first pie making experience as an adult, the last time was when I was a little girl and I made an apple pie with my grandma. It was a learning experience for sure, and I think it turned out delicious.....I've made another one since then! lol I can't wait until our blueberries are ripe and I keep telling Dan that we should plant more berry bushes around our property, I don't think we could have too many!

Sage

Purple bell peppers

Our peaches are getting bigger!!

Squash blossoms

Our improved playground area

Rosemary

Berry picking

Lovin' all my roses

Green beans & more sage

hundreds and hundreds of berries

Raspberry

Teeny bell peppers

From berries to pie