If ever there was a season to see lushness in the gardens, now is the time!  The gardens, trees, and shrubs are bursting with foliage and flowers with all this rain.  Of course, the weeds are not far behind too!  From small perennials to large flowering trees and shrubs everything is as full of as it can be with flowers. Little gems that are small in size but contributing a big impact are yellow Allium moly ‘Jeannine’ in the North Garden and Astrantia major ‘Masterpiece’ in the Idea Garden.  The Japanese snowbell (Styrax japonicus) is just coming into full bloom now.

Along with the green world growing leaps and bounds, the wildlife in and about the gardens is also brimming with life.  Baby birds are fledging and dragonflies and native bee species are increasing in numbers each day.  The frogs in the pond are vocal and more than happy with this wet weather.   Also in the pond, there is a bumper crop of American toad tadpoles which are just beginning to transform into toadlets.  Hundreds of these tiny but determined toadlets emerge out of the pond and makes a mad dash across the grass to the safety of the gardens.  Older, larger toads are everywhere in our gardens, a sign of a healthy habitat.  We even had one brave toad hop through the potting shed when we were eating lunch!

This is an ideal time to walk through the gardens and see all of nature’s exuberance.

Click on the link here to check out Gail’s video of a toadlet.