A Summer Update from the Farm

July 16, 2026

This has been a unique season where I've tossed out everything I thought I knew about timing. The early spring heat, followed by this stretch of extreme summer temperatures, has many flowers and shrubs growing on their own schedule. It's been a good learning year, and I'm trying to take notes because I know it will all blend together a few months from now.

The hydrangeas continue to bloom this week, and what makes Limelight so interesting is watching the blooms slowly change from soft green to shades of pink, mauve, and burgundy as the summer passes. It's one of the small ways the garden reminds me that the seasons are always changing.

There is one flower on the farm that seems determined to keep its usual schedule. Love-in-a-puff quietly reseeds itself in the same bed each year and returns right on cue. I adore its delicate vines, whimsical balloon-shaped seed pods, tiny white flowers, and feathery foliage. Inside each little pod is a dark gray seed with a tiny white heart. It's one of my favorite flowers on the farm—and the bees seem to love it, too.