What's Blooming?

I'm in my second heavenly week here in NJ, which means I've got time to take leisurely walks around the yard and see what's blooming. I'm usually only here for a day and a half on weekends, with no extra time to appreciate what's growing and blooming here (and not much time for weeding, either!) Here's what's blooming in the beginning of July:

A rainy spring has been good for the hydrangeas. Some are in their full bluetiful bloom,

and others are just beginning to show their beauty.

When we had a fenced-in vegetable garden here in NJ, I had two sections planted with columbines, poppies, purple cone flowers, and black-eyed-susans. The garden is now in MD, and the fence is down in NJ, but that means the flowers can spread and grow unfettered. They're starting to look a bit wild, but I'm happy to let them grow, at least until we get a couple dump truck loads of topsoil and fill in the old garden.

The poppies have frilly pink flowers and interesting seed heads. I'm trying to dry them for some poppy seeds, but it's been a wet summer and this week looks like more of the same.

There are a few roses left after the initial June profusion, but many of them are being chewed to bits by Japanese beetles. Here's the one that I found that hadn't been attacked ... yet.

And then there are the day lilies. I'll admit that I usually take these for granted, but when I took the photo I admired them in all their stages (bud, bloom, and withering) along with the grasses that are growing rampant in the bed.

Thanks for coming along with me on my walkabout!