Last year my “garden” sort of limped along but this year everything grew very tall and thick!  These pictures show what has come to flower by the end of June.

This is my favorite picture of the back part of my “back garden.” Here you can see Daisy Fleabane, Black-eyed Susans, Milkweed  and Purple Coneflowers.

Back Garden in June, 2014

Here’s another “long shot” with a different view of the garden.

I like this picture because it shows how tall my Sweet Joe Pye Weed (still coming into bloom in late June)  has gotten this year:

Sweet Joe Pye Weed with Coneflowers

The Monarda fistulosa has gotten really tall this year and swarms with bees but I’ll be darned if I can manage to photograph those bees.  They just won’t hold still for me!  I plan to publish another post of pictures where I managed to catch a bee on something!

Monarda fistulosa in bloom

BUT here’s a video of Bees on Monarda.  I apologize for it’s being “sideways.”  I’ll replace it as soon as  I can. (Actually, if you’re viewing this on an iPhone, just turn the phone sideways and everything is oriented correctly then,)

Finally, I was pulling something up that I considered to be a “weed-weed” (I happen to love “weeds”) when it occurred to me it was quite pretty and I didn’t know what it was so why was I pulling it up?  My friend Suzette later identified it as “Venus’ Looking Glass.” It’s only about a foot tall.  According to the Internet, it’s a native throughout the lower 48 states and serves as a nectar and host plant to many different insects.  It supposedly is “aggressive,” but I’m not pulling it up anymore. – Robin

Venus’ Looking Glass