Summer arrives at the Paco Command Center

We've had heavy rain off and on for the last couple of weeks, and unbelievable heat and humidity, but we soldier on in the garden as best we can.

There's Mrs. Paco over yonder, picking strawberries.

A neighbor gave us some wild-looking canna plants, featuring a combination of red flowers and yellow flowers with red freckles.

Here's another variety that's not exactly staid.

We have a variety of hardy hibiscus plants, perennials that will die back in the winter but grow back from the roots in the spring. This is one of my favorites.

We have a tiny vegetable garden, which is in protective custody because of the deer and rabbit population (i.e., situated within the confines of a couple of layers of fencing). We can't rotate our crops because there isn't room, so several plants - bell peppers, butternut squash and sweet potatoes - are growing in pots. And at long last, we have succeeded in getting some green bean plants to grow in the ground (I was diligent in going after insects this year). 

Another good year for pink lemonade blueberries! They're ripe when they turn a deep rose color, and are much sweeter than regular blueberries. Unfortunately, in spite of draping the two bushes with netting, the mockingbirds occasionally manage to get in; however, we succeeded in harvesting the bulk of them.

These things have been coming back for years, and we didn't know what they were, but our fairly new iPhone plant identification app tells us that they're narrow-leaf primroses.

I suppose, when we eventually begin our descent into decrepitude, I'll need to start planting trees to replace the flowers and vegetables - but not just yet.