I hate cutting my roses since I can see the rose bed from the house and they look so lovely out there, blooming for me and any passers-by. But I had to pick them ahead of the big rain.

Garden roses in bouquets, with late lavender and smoke bush leaves

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Yesterday I picked all the open roses ahead of the big rain expected tonight. When I cut roses I always bring a clean bucket with a couple of inches of water into the rosebed. As soon as I cut a stem I put it in the water so it doesn’t dry and seal up. Then right before arranging I cut the stems again while each stem is in a bowl of water in the sink, at a deep slant. It really helps them last longer in the bouquet. I love my roses.

Full blown garden roses, ready for a bouquet

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We got maybe a tenth of an inch of rain, more than the entire summer here in Seattle! But a big rain is coming in a couple of days, thank goodness, maybe two inches over a few days. The garden is so thirsty. If you grow roses, pick them and enjoy a bouquet if a big rain is coming. No sense in letting them get ruined and go to waste.

Water droplets on the petals of a half-open Peace rose in my garden

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Rose gardeners PSA: If it’s going to rain big, go out there and cut your opened roses for bouquets. They’ll just get ruined if you leave them out there.

Rain is coming. Might as well cut roses and bring inside.

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I did a good job planting my Early Girls (and Sungolds) and they were watered well. So sweet!

Red, ripe, shiny tomatoes and stringbeans harvest

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Pink ladies are a kind of amaryllis (amaryllis Belladona) hardy in my zone 8b. I recently removed a tree that was shading these pink ladies and they finally feel like blooming. They are very fragrant. Their foliage comes up in the winter and dies back, but the flower stalks emerge with no leaves in August, which is why they are sometimes called naked ladies. In parts of Northern California you can see fabulous, huge banks of them naturalized along roadsides.

Pink ladies thrive in full sun with sharp drainage, shown in front of iris foliage

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I have a south window and this time of year in Seattle I start to get direct sun. Two small baby cactus plants went and had babies of their own!

Tiny baby sprouts of cactus around mama cactuses. Their little spines!

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The days are getting shorter. A view of my backyard in the late afternoon light. Love those leek flower balls!

The golden hour, with leek flowers

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The ‘Julia Child’ rose bush (own root!) is the star of my rose garden. Only a few years old, she is in her second full bloom this season right now. As the petals fade to cream, sometimes edged in pink, they do fall off quite easily, but are so very beautiful that I try to leave them as long as I can so as not to make a mess below.

The butter-yellow flowers fade to cream as the blossoms open fully

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I’m brand new to the world of carnivorous plants. Someone gave me this tiny Venus fly trap (VFT) plant and I’m learning. It’s just a baby; the whole pot is only two inches wide. I put it outside for sun and bugs and was so surprised that it captured a big spider! I thought a mosquito or fruit fly was more its size.

Overachiever VFT

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We are growing golden raspberries along with the red ones. They are even sweeter and more delicate.

Translucent golden raspberries

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Happy Solstice! Here’s a portrait of sunshine. I planted this ‘Julia Child’ David Austin rosebush three years ago, maybe four. It’s on its own roots. I have never seen such a vigorous, floriferous rose. The Carding Mill I bought at the same time is less than one quarter the size. The only tiny complaint I have is that the flowers lose their exquisite, pale yellow petals very quickly after the roses are fully open.

Only a few years old, this Julia Child rosebush is the star of the bed

Also linking on Through My Lens Monday, Our World Tuesday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Tuesday Treasures, Wordless Wednesday, My Corner of the World Wednesday 1, Thankful Thursday, Little Things Thursday, Floral Friday, Friday Bliss, Pink Saturday, Garden Affair Saturday, and Shadow Shot Sunday 2. Thanks so much for visiting here and hope to see you again soon. Please sign up at upper right for notifications of new posts.