Finally I can sit back in a lawn chair and really enjoy my garden. You see finally the cotton season from my older than dirt cottonwood tree has all gone away (most tracked in the house) and baring a July freeze, which is unlikely, or a hail storm, which is more likely, it is a time to watch my zinnias, dahlias and later perennial flowers just go great guns in the growing department.

I have scores of blooms on my dahlias. That is really good to see because last year between a freeze and hail, I had few buds until it was ready to freeze in the fall.

This year I was able to take a bouquet to church Fourth of July weekend. That is the earliest ever for getting that many early dahlias.

Then there are those amazing zinnias. I am beginning to think, (don’t tell the dahlias this), that the zinnias are my favorite flower. They just do nothing but grow and bloom. I planted 48 and they are all blooming their first colorful blooms. Now each of the 48 will develop many other stems for blooming and before long I will have a riot of color in the garden. All I do is water them every so often.

I planted around 30 glads because it wouldn’t be a Lucke garden without glads. I got them in late so it will probably be around the last week of July before I see any of their blooms.

One other thing. I must tell you about my clematis with its striking purple blossoms. I have an arbor in the back yard and it was my intention that half of it should be Virginia creeper and the other half clematis. Well, the Virginia creeper shot to the top of the arbor and down the other side intermingling with the clematis. I thought that was the end of the clematis but every year the clematis fights its way through the creeper, hangs on the creeper and blooms its heart out. Way to go clematis!

Way to go lawns and gardens. When the cotton stops blowing, everything is beautiful!