Widely weedy

Whew! Some months wrap up quickly, don't they?  Whoosh go the days and here we are at the end of June already, time for another wide shot exercise graciously hosted by Heather at Xericstyle.

I'm indulging myself a bit and limiting shots to the back beds this month.  The front is fairly static at the moment and I have this fantasy that if I continue to expose the very weedy paths out back it will keep me extra motivated.  I despair I'll never get completely on top of the weed situation here. If I continue laboring for an hour or more in the early mornings before the sun gets high along with the temperatures, I hope to knock the weeds down to the bare minimum.  And I can live with that.

At the moment the overhead shot shows the paths to be pretty awful in spots. The beds (and path!) have been cleared of primrose, the daisies are finishing up and the purple coneflowers are just beginning to bloom.  Pepper plants are setting fruit, and basil and thyme are flourishing.  Most (but not all) of the isolated green bits in the beds are bluebonnet babies and they get to stay.

I toyed with the idea of allowing succulents to grow in the front of that triangular bed behind the bench but the weeds showed up in force instead. That triangle will have to be cleared back down to the gravel mulch soon.

Here's that back bed to the right. The four-o-clocks are up with tropical sage filling in underneath.  The althea "tree" is loaded with buds and is finally sporting a first bloom.  Aztec grass can just be seen to the far left by the rock edging.  I'm hoping to get that established all along the border eventually for contrast. Here and there in every bed, purple heart plants and Jewels of Opar are providing much appreciated pops of chartreuse and purple amongst the deeper greens.

The flat footed view.  There is a new solar lantern hanging above the bench providing another blue accent.  The crepe myrtles to the right (like the ones all around town) are putting on an especially riotous display of blooms this year. Everything is reflecting the overall vigor that regular rains and slightly cooler temperatures encourage.

A look from the far side of the path up through the three central beds.  Ooof. I'd be a lot happier with this shot if the path to the left was a clear as the path to the right.  I console myself with the (probably nonsensical) idea that as the weeds get a little taller they are that much easier to dig out.

Blah blah more weedy path, blah blah blah.  I love the little purple ball shaped blooms of Liriope on the right. I'm thrilled to have coneflowers showing up after being overrun by Primrose and daisies both. I'm even content to allow that bully Ruellia to have a bit of a go underneath the Senna to the right as ruellia seems immune to grasshopper munching and is offering up flowers at the moment.  I'll have another run at digging those aggressive monsters out after the path work is complete.  I won't get all the roots out though and they'll be back again next year, but for the moment?  All sweetness and light.

Coneflowers!  Sorry - couldn't help myself.  Every year I see these blooming in other better managed spaces for weeks before mine get going and I panic a little and think this, THIS is the year I let things go too far and waited too long to clear air space for my well beloved coneflowers.  But these lovely ladies are tough customers as many Texas natives tend to be, and as soon as I give them a little head room and access to sunlight they are back in business.  So pardon my exuberance but, Yay!  Coneflowers!!

Looking the other direction we have what I think of as the birdhouse and bench corner set up for the season. Impossible to tell at this distance but the Yellow Gold lantana is blooming up a storm, the morning glory and roses are all doing their part while the plumeria plants tease with leaves and more leaves.

Sadly, there is no floral joy to report in Plumeriaville as of yet. The leaves are nice but c'mon guys.  We all know it is your flowers we are after.  Cooperate! Please?

To finish, a not-quite-so-wide shot of the waterfall beds and planters.  Nothing much native going on over here but I like having a splash of tropical color to balance the unbroken green of our plethora of potted plumeria dominating the view across the pool.

And there you have it.  Some whining, a few victories, and a lot of work left to do.  Thanks again to Heather at Xericstyle for hosting the monthly wide shot meme.  It'll be back to closely cropped shots again tomorrow. Trowels crossed by the end of next month I'll be back to display some well cleared pathways with my head held high.