Out my garden window

I love the sound of a sprinkler on the garden. The spit, spit, spit of water lets me know the day will warm up, corn will continue to grow in the fields and my garden will also thrive and surprise me with new blooms. It’s summer in Nebraska.

Looking out my kitchen window, I can’t help but gaze a bit longer at some head turners. Pops of flowers, when in full bloom, are head turners.

As the month of June unfolds, there were not enough peonies in my life.

The early head turners are done and it’s time to deadhead their spent blooms. I’m fortunate that the next round of perennials are starting to bloom. Lilies are bursting with color as their pods open.

I predict a good lily year. Lilies are a peaceful flower to me. There are Asiatic lilies, liliums, which include Casa Blanca and more. Rubrum, oriental and day lilies fill the agenda of lilies to bloom in the garden. And, of course, the lily spectrum includes the beautiful stargazers. They flood the garden area with fragrance, which I sometimes find too intense for the house.

Through the years I’ve planted numerous lilies and they have done well. The most cruel culprit to them has been the garden hoe. It seems once you accidentally hoe them off, they don’t come back.

I recently clipped some lilies for the kitchen table and decided to add hosta leaves to the vase. The good thing about having a variety of hosta species is that you can pick and choose what size, shade of green and texture of leaf you want to add to your flower bouquet.

If your hostas are established plants, you won’t even miss a few leaves when cutting them to go in a bouquet.

I’m a bit concerned that summer is going so fast. The early-blooming perennials are done, while others are growing and seem anxious to show their true colors in the garden.

The annuals aren’t as big as I want for the third week of June. I’m glad June has five weeks so I can get more bloom time.

I could tell early it was going to be a buggy year. I saw little beasts in the grass and, sure enough, they have already started devouring my potato leaves, dahlia leaves and even zinnias. The spray has been used and I will continue to watch the plants for damage and, of course, cuss the bugs.

If you are applying sprays or dusting plants, read the instructions as to what time of the day is best to apply it.

While I’m writing this column, my husband is installing drip hose in the vegetable garden. I am so appreciative of his efforts.

He has a buddy who had the ultimate watering system in his veggie garden that Mike always admired. Well, his buddy moved and, of course, has a new veggie garden and probably a new irrigation system.

The competition is on to keep up with and it’s to my advantage, as the veggies are getting a good drink of water.

As I enjoy my breakfast on the patio listening to the sprinkler, the background is also filled with the songs of birds. The cardinals are just delightful and rare lucky, the orioles still come to the feeders, where oranges and grape jelly are on their menu.

Even when the days heat up to 95-plus degrees, you've just got to love the summer days in the garden. I hope you, too, take time to listen to water spitting out of a sprinkler and birds singing in the trees. Life is good and I’m enjoying the view on hot afternoons, out my kitchen window.