Summer is in full swing now. In North Carolina that means daytime temperatures averaging in the high 80s with frequent ventures in the 90s. And the humidity is often so dense it feels like cutting through a blanket just to move.

Gardening is confined to the early morning hours these days, and it’s mostly maintenance –feeding, deadheading, weeding, and occasionally moving plants that aren’t happy in their locations. It’s not a good time to put in any new plants.

But it’s payoff time for a lot of the work of spring. The daffodils, tulips, lily-of-the-valley, and irises are done for this year. The roses still produce flowers sporadically after the massive bloom of May. Daisies, petunias, coreopsis, vinca, daylilies, and gladioli are in full bloom. Zinnias, marigolds, cosmos (all raised from seeds planted in early April), along with the dahlias are just now budding and should be spectacular in a a couple of weeks.

On these hot days, I love sitting in the shade on the back patio to read, rest, write, and just enjoy the flowers.