It's been raining for several days and that's a good thing! The plants needed a deep soaking and the rain barrel was empty. However, the day time temperatures are still in the low-to-mid 70s and the night time temperatures have been in the 60s. The perennials have been thriving and many seem to be keeping their blooms longer than usual.

The Victoria Blue Salvia and the pink begonias are in full bloom in the large bed. The Salmon Wave petunia is filling in the large pot and is loaded with flowers.

The two Autumn Joy sedums in the large bed are starting to form flowers. Next year, I'll have to pinch them back in late spring and early summer so that they won't form buds so early.

The Sun Gold tomatoes are starting to ripen. In addition, the 4th of July tomatoes are turning red. You can see a tinge of color on them in this photo that was taken yesterday. I'm hoping that I'll be able to pick some of the 4th of July tomatoes this weekend. (Ken says that we should call them "24th of July" tomatoes.) The green beans (foreground) are still healthy with no trace of disease or insect damage.

Both of the butterfly bushes have flowers and are attracting the swallowtails and monarchs. I think that I saw the hummingbird yesterday.

The daylilies are still going strong. I need to make a map of their locations so that when I dig them up and divide them later this fall I'll know which plant is which.

Surprises in the garden include

• coral bells that are still in bloom.


• a toad that I spotted yesterday between our house and our neighbor's house.


• tomato plants that are sprouting up all over. I pulled one out of the basil pot and I just found another in the tomato garden. There is a tall one growing in the compost area. Ken says that he will let it grow to see what happens.