Mid-June in bloom

An inherited hay fork, flowers after a storm, and American lady caterpillars in the garden.

An old hay fork, worn smooth by years of use, resting in the garden among shade plants and stone.
An old hay fork passed down through generations and worn smooth by years of work.

I make my way through the garden, stopping to fill the bird dishes and gather up tools after yesterday’s storm.

I notice I’ve left out a family heirloom: an old hay fork from the early 1900s, made from solid wood and forged steel, passed down from my great-grandfather and worn smooth by my grandfather’s years of handling bales of hay.

I really need to take better care of these things.

In bloom today:

White and cream:

  • Tall anemone
  • Canada anemone
  • Foxglove beardtongue
  • Gray dogwood
  • Eastern ninebark, some flowers fading to a warm pink while others are freshly in bloom
  • Wild strawberry, with berries that seem to vanish the moment they’re red
  • Woodland strawberry
  • Tall meadow rue
Tall meadow rue blooming with airy white flower clusters beside a wooden fence in a native garden.
Airy white flowers of tall meadow rue (Thalictrum pubescens).
A bumble bee visiting white flowers of foxglove beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis).
Bumble bee on foxglove beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis).

Blue, purple, and pink:

  • Hairy beardtongue, white with soft pink tones
  • Virginia spiderwort, deep purple ink dropping from a few spent flowerheads
  • Ohio spiderwort, sky blue in the gravel garden
  • Blue flag iris
A small hoverfly resting on a purple Virginia spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana) flower.
Hoverfly on Virginia spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana).
A close-up of a purple blue flag iris (Iris versicolor) flower with veined petals.
A blue flag iris (Iris versicolor) in bloom.

Yellow, gold, and brown:

  • Lance-leaf coreopsis
  • Fox sedge
  • Squirrel-tail grass
  • Prairie sundrops
Bright yellow lance-leaf coreopsis flowers blooming with purple Ohio spiderworts in a narrow gravelly garden bed beside a house.
Lance-leaf coreopsis and Ohio spiderwort blooming in the xeric garden.
Fox sedge (Carex vulpinoidea) growing in a gravel garden bed beside a wooden fence. The image shows its arching green foliage and upright seedheads, highlighting the quiet structure and texture native sedges bring to ecological garden plantings.
Fox sedge (Carex vulpinoidea) growing in the shaded gravel garden.

I write down a few notes: Rosa setigera is showing signs of sawfly infestation. The red osier dogwoods are flopping and may need light pruning. Common milkweed and harebells are nearly ready to flower. Wild ginger, wild geranium, and Virginia waterleaf still look healthy and lush. The pearly everlasting and pussytoes are covered in American lady caterpillars, though I’m seeing fewer than I did yesterday.

A close-up of an American lady caterpillar resting on the leaves of pussytoes (Antennaria spp.).
Close-up of an American lady caterpillar on pussytoes (Antennaria spp.).

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