In June’s Spell

June Jiving

June sashays in on May’s wake

Jiving to music the winged ones make

Swishing and swirling gossamer petals

In colors that flirt with summer’s sizzle.

– Shobha Vanchiswar

Do you get the feeling that it’s hard to focus on any one flower in this month? What a lovely problem to have! So many flowers and so little time to enjoy them!

The peonies and roses vie for the most attention. Both are so popular but in longevity, the roses win. Easily succumbing to rain showers and/or high temperatures that often plague June, the peony is something of a delicate darling. Before every impending thundershower I rush to harvest the peonies and bring them in to adorn every room. For a couple of days the house smells divine and looks festive. Then they start dropping petals as if they’re bored and wish to leave the party. And leave they do. That fleeting time we spend together is precious but it does leave me wishing they had more staying power.

Note: I do also pick peonies just as the color peeks through the sepals in the buds and those stick around longer as they slowly unfurl and spread their goodness. Keeping them away from direct light and in cooler areas helps too.

The roses are easier. They adorn the garden longer – even the one time bloomers. And they’re better at withstanding the weather tantrums. Truth be told, I’m quite happy to leave the roses to shine in the garden, Very few are cut for indoors. The bonus is that it allows for rose-hips to develop for fall color and to feed the birds.

The roses in various parts of the garden are exploding and are almost a cliche – roses in June and all. Though who can have any complaints? They look beautiful and there can never be enough of them.

Meanwhile, the native wisteria blooms in this month as well. Shorter racemes than its Asian cousins and not so fragrant, they still look fetching. However, just when they are at their peak and the pergola is charmingly festooned, the temperature is sure to rise and burn the delicate petals. I so loathe when that happens! Is it too much to ask for a few more weeks of cooler days? This type of wisteria will bloom a second time but never in the same abundance.

As I write this post, the perfume wafting into the house tells me to mention the climbing hydrangea also in bloom. A froth of creamy-white flowers overtakes every other perfume in the garden. On returning home from errands and such, the fragrance greets me long before I approach the property. What a welcome!

The hibiscus, marigolds and nasturtium are giving the terrace and potager a preview of summer with their hot colors of yellows and oranges. Joined by the blue comfrey and aforementioned purple wisteria, there is an exuberance that is contagious. Uplifts the viewer fo r sure.

The meadow is having its quiet time. The native anemone is in bloom and the white flowers against the vast green soothes the eyes. Which is just as well because it helps one notice the shy, diminutive lady’s slippers stepping around softly amongst the bigger plants in the meadow. They’re so easy to escape notice that I’ve placed stakes to indicate their location. It’s be such a shame to miss these flowers.

Irises and alliums are still going strong as are the baptisia rendering the front garden in lovely hues of purple and blue. Allium siculum have joined in the festivities – scattered in front and in the meadow, their bells nod dance gracefully in the breeze.

There are still pansies in pots bravely facing the rising heat but their time is coming to an end. The geraniums, pelargoniums, dwarf nicotiana, daisy topiaries, all in pots, are adding their colors to this month of June. What a month! And I’m here for it.

Note: Some beauties from the garden –