• cbld logo

Summer Letter from Craig

Aug 06 2013/By Craig/9

Dear Friends,
Purple, the blending of blue and red, and all of our favorite colors are lushly blooming now in the gardens at 900. It has taken me a while to get in the summer mood for this letter, a lot due to the fact that we really haven’t (happily!!) had the typical stretch of hot, humid, July and August weather. Purples predominate right now from the softest lavenders of daylilies, geraniums, and pentas to the deepest burgundies of lilies, dahlias, coralbells, and hazelnuts. There are vignettes galore this year.

Summer Letter from Craig

Aug 07 2015/By Craig/6

Dear Gardening Friends,
This summer has been anything BUT hot and humid and all of our garden families, flora and fauna, are loving it! In fact just last week we had a run of hot temperatures and no rain and the “Jurassic” growth from spring on so many leafy plants just couldn’t believe their leaves! Don’t forget to switch on your irrigation system or lug that hose around the yard. The extra growth that Mother Nature has put on over the course of the last few months will suffer now that the continuous, weekly rains have ended. Keep that new growth happy and hydrated!

Summer Letter from Craig

Jun 29 2016/By Craig/6

Have you ever seen a more spectacular start to summer? A friend of mine said recently that with all the consistent moisture of this spring, we have entered into a phase of “Jurassic Gardens.” The luxuriant growth of deciduous woody and herbaceous plantings here in our garden amazes us. This week, we are eagerly anticipating something spectacular from the delphiniums in our Blue Border. Lobelia flowers are still tumbling from our planters accompanied by a myriad of summer seasonal beauties. Most exciting to me is our rare display of old and modern climbing and shrub roses. I think June of 2016 will go down in the record books as one of the most beautiful for rose-flower displays…who knows what next year will bring?

Summer Letter from Craig

Jul 22 2017/By Craig/6

Dear Garden Appreciative Friends,
The summer season is upon us. The weather already another quandary, with our August rains coming in July, but at least the brutal heat and humidity have been phasing in and out so far. In the Garden things seem to be growing well as long as there is proper soil drainage for this water-logged July. Roses were gorgeous in June thanks to a milder winter, but the tomatoes just don’t like the constant moisture. Our old potted Bougainvillea has never been so beautiful, and the early phlox and lilies seem almost too big for their britches.

Craig’s Summer Letter

Jun 26 2018/By Craig/7

Dear Fellow Gardeners,
Writing this in the first week of summer sure doesn’t seem like I am in the right season, at least today. This is one of many recent cool rainy days collecting over 4" in a week’s time. Of course, last week we had 95 degree heat and tomorrow there might be a glimmer of summer hope and sunshine. Here in the Midwestern US, we wait so long for our short summers and this year in particular, Mother Nature has been a real tease.

Summer Rain

Jul 17 2018/By Craig/12

With all of the excessive heat and moisture this year, we are living in a version of Jurassic Park this summer.