This is my last pelargonium flowerstalk of this year, they have been flowering from May and they will last for another week, maybe two. They are not frost resistand. We have had extreme Autumn weather with high temperatures, 10 to 15 C° higher than normal for this time of the year, that is why they are in bloom for so long. I did water them well when it was so hot in Summer, that helped of course. I’ll try to keep them till next year by putting them in my unheathed greenhouse. If we get a soft Winter they will manage.
It has been hot lately and dry, so the garden doesn’t look good at the moment, there are a lot of dry leaves of plants and of tree’s, it looks like autumn at the moment. But I found a few nice flowers who still looked good.
MALVA
This annual malva is so heath resistant, on a hot day the leafs are hanging vertically on the plant and you think it is going to die, but the next morning it surprises you and it looks fresh again with normal leafs. I was amazed !
ALBIZIA JULIBRISSIN or Persian silk tree
This tree is also heath resistant, it is a bee magnet, the whole tree is buzzing during the day. In the evening the leafs close up. It is filled with beautiful pink and white flowers , but with the heath they fade faster than usual. It is not a huge tree, ideal for smaller gardens.
BEGONIA
This begonia is a bulb plant, I bought a few of these several years ago, I put them in a pot in Spring and they bloom all Summer long, in Autumn I take the bulbs out of their pot and put them in an old newspaper and in a frost free but cold room. In Spring I put them again in new soil in pots. They thrive in the shade but they need moist soil. An old lady told me she had the same begonia’s for over 50 years !!! And each year they were covered in flowers.
HIBISCUS syriacus
This is a flower on one of my hibiscus bushes, they too fade sooner now that it is so hot but it is an easy bush, they come in many different colours and they are a real asset in your garden. They are winterdardy in Western-Europe but not in colder area’s.
FUCHSIA
This is one of my fuchsia plants, most of them like living in the shade in a pot, in moist soil. This one is in the sun, as you can see but I put it there to make this picture.
GOLDEN ROD, ALWAYS PRETTY IN THE GARDENPINK MALVA, PERRENIAL AND WINTERHARDYMALVA ATTRACTS LOTS OF BEE’SGERANIUM PHAEUMVERBENA BONARIENSIS IN FRONT OF THE POND, THE POND IS COVERED WITH DUCKWEED, IN THE BACK YOU CAN SEE LADIES MANTLEHALVE DOUBLE HIBISCUS
We are expecting really hot tropical weather next week, I am not really happy with it , at the moment the garden is lush and green but hot weather can ruin a lot.
I can’t believe it is June already. The days are flying by and there is still a lot to do in the garden. I am trying to make the garden easier to maintain by planting many ground covering plants to contain the weeds. The weeds are growing in the crazyest places !! The garden looks green and lush at the moment, we had good warm weather but also a few cooler days with lots of rain.
BORAGE FLOWERS, ALWAYS A PRETTY SIGHTCLEMATIS HAGLEY HYBRIDPELARGONIUMRODGERSIA
There are more plants and bushes in bloom ofcourse but thats for next time.
I was late this year sowing the anuals so they are not in bloom yet. But the ones I bought for the windowsills are blooming nicely.
At the moment we get lots of rain, we welcome it with open arms. It has been so dry the past months and windy and hot, the drought was getting dramatic. Reserves are low as we have had several very dry years. Especially the farmers were getting desperate. It was even too dry to sow seeds.
But I took a few pictures of my garden when the weather was sunny and hot.
SNOWBALL (always a pretty sight in the garden)CHIVES FLOWER ABOUT TO OPEN.HOSTAGERANIUM PHEUMGERANIUM MACRORHIZUM (this is a superplant)GERANIUM SANGUINEUM (blooms for a long long time)
The grapes are growing, the figs, the tomatoes and the peppers are growing so I am happy.
I am still working in the garden, trying to make it easier to maintain, less space for weeds as I am getting older, but lately it was just too hot for me, so when the rain is gone temperatures will be lower and it will be better to work.
GWENNIESGARDENWORLD 
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