Views of Sequim, the Olympic Peninsula. . .and beyond
Most summer flowers seem pretty cheerful. But I think if they were ranked sunflowers would probably top the list.
And the only thing more cheerful than a sunflower is an entire field of them. I’ve been patiently watching these come into bloom for about a month.
They’re at a small farm on Sequim-Dungeness Road that sells eggs and a variety of vegetables. They were out of eggs but I picked up some exquisitely fresh beets. And I’ll bet it won’t be long before they’re selling bunches of sunflowers.
Last weekend was our annual Lavender Festival. I ventured out to meet friends last Friday and nipped through downtown on errands. Traffic was heavy enough to keep me home the rest of the weekend. There’s still plenty of lavender left for anyone looking for a quieter scene.
Dogwood trees are in blossom and it’s always a treat. They partially surround a house on one of the roads into town and they look spectacular. These three are in the front.
These line the driveway. A sight this beautiful is almost a public service, don’t you think?
If you’re unfamiliar with dogwoods, this is what the blossoms look like, very graceful.
I saw this outside one of our downtown lavender shops on Saturday. In the local lavender fields plants are green again and starting to show halos of all shades of purple blossoms. Our annual Lavender Festival starts on July 20th, celebrating all things lavender.
Summer here is a paradox. The blooms come and go so quickly; I’ve already cut the withered flowers of these iris. And although our lettuce is growing like crazy we haven’t had enough vibrant summer days to get many of the other plants turning into vegetables. I refuse to believe that I’m too much of an optimist but check back in a month or two.
DH gathered a bouquet of poppies from our garden. They’d been pretty beaten up by our recent winds and began to droop within a day or so. Maybe it’s my personal familiarity with the term “past its prime,” but I have an increasing appreciation for faded beauty.
This time of year the goldenchain trees (laburnum) look glorious, like a yellow wisteria. These two set off an equally beautiful ceanothus, another shrub/tree that does well here.
This is a closer look at the goldenchain blossoms. They leave behind seedpods after blossoming. I was surprised to learn that these are toxic.