Tags
ferns in the rock garden, foliage in June gardens, garden sage, oregano, sedum Autumn Joy, Virginia creeper, woodchuck resistant herbs, young Joe Pye Weed
To define lush, just look to my gardens in mid-June. Plenty of rain, a few days of high heat and humidity, and even more days of moderate temperatures have resulted in rich, thick green foliage throughout!
The ferns steal the show in the rock garden! I believe they are naturally occurring. I do nothing to encourage their growth, but I do spend a fair bit of time taming their encroachment upon all the other flowers in the rock garden each spring. 
The Autumn Joy Sedum is huge this year! Wouldn’t it make a lovely winding hedge?
Behind ‘Autumn Joy,’ here is a fern that is different from the rest in the garden. I don’t know fern names; perhaps someone can help me name them?
Over in the vegetable garden, I recently cut back the small oregano hedge by half, to make room for vegetables! I can’t believe how large this one tiny row of seeds sown two summers ago grew! 
Lovely as it is, I plan to remove this oregano in the fall, since it just takes up too much valuable space in my tiny vegetable patch. Not to worry, though; I did put some transplants in a small area just outside the garden fence, and they have taken well. Oregano can live outside the confines of the fence because it is highly unlikely that the woodchucks will eat them.
Garden sage was spreading like wildfire through the vegetable garden too, so I dug and transplanted some of it as well. Again, I feel very secure growing this herb out in the open.
Near these herbs, the Joe Pye Weed I planted last summer is growing well. I think its young foliage is very attractive.
Here is some “nuisance” foliage–Virgina Creeper along the back porch railing. I don’t mind it, in limited quantities, but it is indeed invasive! I am showing you but a small sample of this fast growing vine. Since I took these pictures, I did cut it back quite a bit. 
It seems that it is going to have some flowers. This is the first time I’ve ever noticed this!
Here is a bit of it climbing up the house. Husband says it has to go! I suppose he is right, for the sake of our house and its siding.
Up the back yard hill, at the edge of the forest, is one of my favorite scenes each summer–this lovely, soft bed of native ferns. 
Mama does sometimes bed down here with their fawns. Can you think of a more soothing place to lay your baby to sleep?
Thanks to Pam at Digging for hosting the monthly Foliage Follow-Up!
Cosmos and Cleome 
Those ferns do look lush. Oregano is extremely aggressive, but pollinators love it. I hack it back every year, but I’m not ready to get rid of it.
WOW, Kimberly what a lush display combined with a cheeky title. Don’t recall seeing it all to this extent. Speaking of your Virginia creeper, have you ever been down south to witness kudzu attacking old barns and 100,000s of acres. USDA brought it over as a possible crop for hemp production. It’s in the boot heel of Missouri right now. With climate change, wouldn’t be surprised if we see it in KC in 25 years or so.
Best,
Patrick
Ferns are the cool, refreshing antidote to a hot summer day. Yours look gorgeous, although how strange to my southern eyes to see them growing in full sun in a rock garden! I feel the same way about Virginia creeper. I love seeing it on walls in other people’s gardens, but it’s trying to take over my back fence, and it’s a pain to keep it at bay.
I enjoyed this look at your ferny and herby goodness! I used to live in Massachusetts, and I had that same fern that you showed a closeup of in my garden there, it basically came out of the woods and popped up every so often in the grass or in the beds. It’s called Sensitive Fern/Onoclea sensibilis.