June bug

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Once we lived in the same house, you and I, with more than a dozen others. Now we live in separate homes 600 miles apart.

Despite the crowds and miles and years, I often think of you in June, your warm and welcoming style, your quick smile and ready laugh.

I think of you in my garden.

The hostas in your garden on Tristam were magnificent. 'T-Rex' is a new hosta in my garden this year. The blooms are tall and strong but the folliage is no comparison to your 'Gold Standard.'

Orange dayliles and blue stokes aster seem to smile in a rare sunny spot in my garden. Opposite colors often make lovely combinations.

Common milkweed loves to travel and welcomes visitors of all kinds. In June, milkweed buzzes with bees on every sunny day. In autumn, monarch butterfly caterpillars use the foliage for food.

Chipmunks love to dine on lily bulbs. These have escaped notice, so far. These lilies bloom every year on your birthday.

I wish you a very happy birthday and a year of abundant beauty.

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