Garden report - our first naked lady of the year

The garden is at its peak right now.

A lace-cap hydrangea.


















A close-up of the lace-cap hydrangea.


















The South African crocosmia lilies in front of the house.


















Ducks dabbling under the Japanese shiro plum tree. The plums were delicious this year. The mallards have their new feathers but Dilly, the black runner duck, is still molting and almost naked.


















A fuji apple tree.


















Digby is finished inspecting the new kiwi fruit vines growing on a pergola.


















The last wildflower to bloom every summer is the California blue aster.


















The crocosmias from another angle.


















The naked lady lily (South African belladonna) which is the last lily to bloom each summer. It has a wonderful perfume faintly reminiscent of the way bubble-gum used to smell when I was a kid.


















Meeny, Miny and Mo, the last bantam chicks to hatch this year. They think Smudgie the cat is their mom and they follow her everywhere.


















Smudgie hiding behind a crocosmia so that she can lick her lips surreptitiously while looking at the delicious bantam chicks. So far she has resisted eating them.


















The crocosmias from another angle.


















Digby inspecting the croscomias.