“Summer was on the way; Jem and I awaited it with impatience. Summer was our best season: it was sleeping on the back screened porch in cots, or trying to sleep in the tree house; summer was everything good to eat; it was a thousand colors in a parched landscape; but most of all, summer was Dill.”
― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
Summer always conjures up feelings of lazy hot days sipping lemonade, eating homemade ice cream and picnics. And we celebrate summer in so many ways all season savoring every blessed minute that will have to hold us when the cold snow flies once again.
One of my favorite books and movies that epitomizes the seasons and especially summer is Harper Lee’s, To Kill A Mockingbird. It reminds me of my childhood in rural northern Indiana when we made new friends at camp, went swimming and played and played until the light was squeezed from the day.
This summer, I am celebrating every single moment I can have in my garden as family comes to visit, and life is rediscovered in retirement. And this summer my mantra is all about living in the moment in my garden. I plan to do a bit of work, relax, observe, explore, and just be in nature.
“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
So let’s see what wishes, dreams and thoughts folks have for celebrating the new season….
Beth@PlantPostings is contemplating a season long staycation given the sights, sounds and weather of her wonderful area of Wisconsin. Of course winter is a bit long, cold and snowy, but as Beth says, “…winter is the perfect time to travel south.” I couldn’t agree more.
In San Antonio, TX, Shirley@Rock-Oak-Deer is celebrating the transition from Spring to Summer with 
wonderful changes in her garden. As Shirley says,” Overall I like the changes to the garden, but it’s always good to take “stock” of possible improvements.” I agree with her which is why I have been watching my garden grow. I really enjoyed her advice too:
It’s a trick I’ve learned for gardening in our hot summers and the same goes for winter. Test a few plants first, then invest in more.
Best advice I have heard. And something I am doing more of as well as using plants I will divide to fill in or make into new planting areas. Thanks for joining in Shirley and showing us your stunning garden transformation.
And Pam@Pam’s English Cottage Garden is preparing her garden for summer. Pam keeps quite busy with her garden chores in spring so she can enjoy her summer flowers and veggies in her Pocono, PA garden. As Pam says:
Each season brings specific gardening chores, but there are more tasks in spring than at any other time. I confess I love the busyness of May and June and the satisfaction I feel as each chore is completed.
I learned a lot from Pam’s list of chores. As a gardener, I am always learning from my fellow gardeners and thanks Pam for reminding us of the importance of compost, weeding early and just enjoying the garden once the chores are done.
Rose@Prairie Rose’s Garden, in central Illinois, has been busy celebrating summer and learning a lot from her spring garden even if spring was a short month where she is. We were lucky that we had a long spring this year even if I couldn’t enjoy it as I normally would. Rose really has some lovely summer blooms already that are being shared all over parts of her garden. And she intends to not complain about the heat (or at least try to not complain). As she says:
Early mornings and the hour or two before sunset are enjoyable times to be in the garden, I’ve found. And when it simply gets too hot, I’ll bring my blooms indoors!
That is a great way of dealing with the times you simply can’t get in the garden. I plan to try and bring more blooms indoors this summer to enjoy too! Thanks Rose!
There were many wonderful summer memories and favorite garden scents expressed by commenters to the original Seasonal Celebrations post. Kathy@The Violet Fern is planning to celebrate the solstice. She has planted a corkscrew vine in hopes of getting some delicious summer scents. Susie@life-change-compost was reminiscing about long days playing in Southern California coming home with grass stains on her knees and bug bites on her legs. I definitely can relate to that. Denise who writes a blog called Gardens Gone Wild for the Huntington Patch remembers spending her summers down at the beach. What a wonderful memory. I used to spend summers at the Jersey Shore as a young child.
Angie@Angie’s Garden Diaries remembered her childhood fondly as she would visit her neighbor’s garden to partake of fruit especially the rhubarb. Cathy@Words and Herbs recalls her parent’s garden that grew buddleia filled with butterflies and the intoxicating smell of honeysuckle. I remember that scent all summer too. And Denise@An English Girl Rambles was recalling her father’s magnificent rose garden, and his love of roses. Another blogger who was remembering her mother growing flowers and veggies was Tatyana@ My Secret Garden.
Bridget@fromacountrycottage said her favorite garden scent is night scented stock. And Diana@Elephant’s Eye on False Bay has wonderful memories of garlic buchu she would run her hands over during school holidays that she spent with her oldest sister. Jason@grdeninacity says his favorite scents are the spring blooming crabapple and hawthorne. Donna@ Garden Walk, Garden Talk remembers her childhood with the spring scents of honeysuckle and fruit trees. Catmint@Diary of a Suburban Gardener remembers the scents of wintersweet and honeysuckle perfuming the summer nights Down Under.
Katarina@Roses and Stuff says her favorite garden scents right now are smell of roses and rain. Karen@Back Road Journal says her best summer memory was of all the fireflies out in the evening. I have been enjoying them today as much as when I was a child. Jean@Jean’s Garden has a nose always covered with pollen as she always smells the flowers. Her favorite scents are lilacs, flowering trees, peonies, roses and lilies. As a child up North in Norway, Helene@Graphicality-UK remembers there were two seasons; 2 months of darkness in the winter and then the sun being out all day and night so you could get a suntan the whole night in June.
And Christina@Creating my own garden of the Hesperides recalls her first garden with her husband who wanted her to plant whatever she wanted as long as it had a wonderful perfume. So you know her garden is filled with fragrant blooms and foliage.
Thank you to all those who joined in with posts and comments to bring back such wonderful memories or to make new ones. I hope everyone has a wonderful summer here in the North, and that your winter South of the equator is not too cold.
Blooms shown in the post are from summer gardens past. I thought using only yellow would bring out the feel of the heat of summer.
Sweet days of summer, the jasmine’s in bloom
July is dressed up and playing her tune….
Summer breeze makes me feel fine
Blowin’ through the jasmine in my mind…
Seals and Crofts
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Next up on the blog: Next Monday I will have my a native fern profile for Wildflower Wednesday.
I hope you will join me for my posts once a month at Beautiful Wildlife Garden. My most recent post is up already.
I can also be found blogging once a month at Vision and Verb. Next post is July 7th.
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