Pictures from the Asian Collections at the US National Arboretum June 2015

Looking through the Pagoda, the bright variegated tree is Cornus controversa 'Variegata'

Except for the hydrangeas that are beginning to color up, a handful of late azaleas, and this and that, the crazy flowering of high spring is over. There'll be a little lull here. Then lilies, daylilies, and a succession of summer flowers will explode and we'll have hot sun and hot colors.

I like this calm period though. The pictures suggest a serenity that's belied by closer examination. Growth is explosive. Like much of the rest of the country, we've just experienced a week of heavy rainfall. We had over three inches. You can watch the plants grow and that includes the weeds. Areas that were weeded bare two weeks ago have 3" weeds. We'll be weeding and spraying for the rest of the summer!