I just came in from deadheading the day lilys and doing a "bit" of weeding that naturally turned into something more. The sweat ran down my face and everywhere else, and my glasses kept slipping off my nose. And of course I forgot I had on one of only a few good t-shirts I have left that I don't garden in.

The flowers are doing very well tho, except for taller varieties that are soggy with water and drooping. Some yellowing of phlox, a blue one is very ugly with yellow/green/brown streaked stalks and foliage - bloom is pretty still. Some of the day lily foliage is yellowing at the bottom but that seems to be typical now every season. I'm wondering if too much leaf mulch in the Spring is putting too much acid in the soil. The boxwood has come alive and needs a trimming - the first of the season and probably the last being it's nearly the middle of July already.

Japanese Beetles have been here a couple weeks now, at least that's when I first noticed them. My porcelain vine is like candy to them. I wish just once I'd have nice blue berries but the beetles chomp on every piece of the vine. The Rugosa rose in the orchard is another favorite of theirs. It would bloom all summer if it weren't for the beetles eating the blooms and even the buds before they open.

Today was suppose to be sunny but it only stopped raining around noon. We need a nice dry weekend to give things a break.