.

 
What would summer be without taking early morning and late evening strolls in beautiful flower gardens?  I just cannot imagine this season without the sight and smell of these beautiful blooms!
.
Every year I add more perennials that usually take a good 3 years to expand and fill their spot in the garden.
.
And this year was the year for a grand show of 3-year old daylilies, roses, hostas, and sedum.  Here are just a few shots of how things are looking up outside of my kitchen window:
.
 
 
Pink daylillies in front of hostas
.
 
 
A close up shot of a soft-buttery, lemon-yellow daylilly
.
 
“Blue Mammoth” has a tremendously huge presence among other variegated hostas
Just breathtaking!
.
 
I love how the morning sun at dusk shines through delicate flower petals.
It reminds me of velvet and all of its softness!
.
 
 
More happy, cheerful daylillies when the rest of the garden falls asleep for summer
.
 
 
The gardenias have been blooming since May with their intoxicating scent!
.
 
 
“Knock Out” red roses just pop with vivid crimson color against the texture of the stone wall and walkway
and the velvet-like green lawn (thanks to all of the rain that we received this year).
These rose bushes are only one year old, highly prolific, as well as being bug-resistant too!
.
 
 
Another brilliant pink daylilly with touches of lemon yellow!
.
 
A patch of pink and chartreuse Sedum in front of a lime-colored “Sum and Substance” hosta,
soon to be another huge plant, and it’s only 2 years old.
.
 
 
Last, a shot of a large bed of hostas, daylillies, and roses.  I just love water elements in gardens and this tall water fountain is perfect with a lovely, trickling sound out in the quiet of the countryside.  The azaleas are in their green stage, having already bloomed back in April.  We’ve already planted a new group of smaller hostas that will fill in the empty spaces after a few years of growth.
.
If there is one thing that gardens teach us, it’s patience!
.
Thanks for going on this little garden stroll with me today!
.
.
.