Got Milkweed?

I'm STILL waiting for my formal decision letter from the Zoning Board of Appeals. They say it takes "about" 30 days. Today is Day 29. Once I get that letter, I can take the "Public Notice" sign off my door (which most people think means my house has been condemned) but then I have to wait 20 more days to allow someone the opportunity to appeal.

My contractor is going to see if he can get a demo permit so we can at least peel back the layers and see what's underneath. Until that happens, what lies beneath is anyone's guess and it would be nice to get a better idea of what I've gotten myself into.

In the meantime, there's not much I can do but enjoy summer. The garden is just about at it's peak. When I started the garden two summers ago, There were a couple of milk weed plants that kept coming up by the back corner of the garden.

I eventually kind of let them go and on July 4th, a woman walked down the little alleyway when I was sitting on the back porch and said, "Oh, I LOVE milkweed; it smells WONDERFUL! And how nice you leave it here for the butterflies." I thanked her and couldn't wait for her to leave so I could go get a whiff for myself. She was right. Not only does it smell great but it also seems to attract Monarch butterflies. So now I leave these two plants until after they've bloomed. I kind of like how the flowers look in contrast to the japanese maple.

I also like the white daisies in front of the dark red of the maple.

And here are those odd double daisies that appeared last year. I thought they were gone but I'm happy to see they're back. I'm going to try to save some seeds to see if I can get more to grow.

Behind the echinacea is yarrow "Cerise Queen." It spreads fairly vigorously but it pulls out really easily. It comes in this bright pink...

...this very pale pink, almost white...

...and this amazing deep ruby red. There are only two little plants that bloom in this color but I'm hoping to let this one spread so I can move it to a few other places in the garden.

This is one of my day lilies. It's a melon color--I can't remember the name--and the flowers are HUGE.

Here's a shot of the sunny end of the garden.

And check out the tomato plant on my porch!

You'll probably not hear too much from me until the house is being stripped so enjoy the summer weather and have a safe and happy July 4th.