On the Porch

In the shade, on the porch, it is almost magical........not "poof", magical, but in reality, magical. Almost no direct sun hits the porch, except for very early in the morning. The fuschias are thriving . ......

Bouquets of sweet peas like living here as well.....having been cut from their vines early in the day.

Sitting on the porch, with the scent of sweet peas buffeting the breeze, is so indulgent. I kind of wish I ran a bed and breakfast.....sigh....that would be so cool.

Sitting outside for breakfast every day.......probably having to chase off a few bees or wasps

"The kiss of the sun for pardon,

The song of the birds for mirth,

One is nearer God's Heart in a garden

Than anywhere else on earth." (D. F. Gurney)

I think I love the porch best of all. No one sits out here but me. Although, sometimes I can hear the next door neighbours talking, eating, laughing, and kids screeching at times, they are very far away.....at least it feels like that.

The answer lies in the soil........

For the Love of Sky at Night

From one of my favourite poems: "Evening in Paradise"
by John Milton
"Now came still evening on, and twilight gray
Had in her sober livery all things clad;
Silence accompanied; for beast and bird..............
"With living sapphires; Herpeus, that led
The starry host, rode brightest, till the moon,
Rising in cluded majesty, at length.....
"Apparent queen, unveiled her peerless light,
And o'er the dark her silver mantle threw......."

Buddleia Butterflies

I sat outside the other day, on the front stoop, watching the butterflies land on the Buddleia Tree. It's supposed to be the one that they favoured, and it was amazing to watch them drink and perch and wobble in the air.

They weren't even bothered that I was sitting amongst the plants, just waiting to get a glimpse.

So beautiful. So many butterflies this year.

Buddleia, Butterfly bush, honours the name of the Reverend Adam Buddle (1662-1715), who was a botanist and minister in Essex. About 100 species of shrubs, and a few are tree like.It shoots up to 5-6 ft and attracts butterflies and hummingbirds.

Okay, it's really summer now......

Verbascum

Lots of Verbascum

The gardeners in this area call this a Verbascum. But I didn't get this perennial on the island, but on the mainland, where the greenhouse, in White Rock, called it a Perennial Sunflower. Verbascums are from the Mullein family, and generally have small blooms on a tall spike.

This definitely resembles a sunflower of some sort. The plant divides really well...I have three offshoots from the main plant that we left behind in White Rock. They must be 8 feet tall.

This isn't exactly a mullein "spike", so I'm not sure why the garden people here call it a form of mullein. It must be an off shoot. Doesn't matter. I think it's an incredible plant.

Sweet Peas

It's just simply not summer without Sweet Peas....that unforgettable scent is something I associate with summer. This year the Sweet Peas are late....really late....some of the vines are already starting to dry out and their haven't been a significant amount of blooms.
My mother used to plant sweet pea seeds in a trough underneath the dining room window. The dirt was particularly wonderful, and there was nothing fancy about the setting. But the sweet peas grew straight and tall, and we must have picked flowers for two months. These days I don't have a place to grow sweet peas, so instead I plant them in hanging baskets and pots. Every other year, than this, they have produced strong stemmed , brightly coloured blooms. It's just an off year.

Fortunately, there are enough sweet peas to gather every couple of days....just enough, so I can't complain. And there's still that heady, sweet scent to remind me that it's summer, again.

A different type of Dirt

This is one big pile of dirt. Coastal Mountains as seen from Campbell River Pier, on Vancouver Island. The Coastal Mountains are on the mainland....a long ways away.

This is part of the Mt. Washington Range on the Island....just in our backyard, so to speak. Another big pile of dirt, with snow.

You can actually see the tree line as it waves its way up to the snow line. Part of Paradise Meadows, Mt. Washington, range.

Gets very hot up there in the summer, which is surprising. We are very fortunate to have such incredible dirt piles in our back yard.