littlebit

As long as the woody stems aren't dying then the shrub is probably just going into early dormancy.  If you haven't pruned out dead wood annually, then it's probably struggling with too much active growth and lack of air circulation at the base to stay strong.  Lilacs are meant to grow new stems for flowers, and the old ones tend to die out. Keep grass, leaves and shedding bark out of the center of the base.  
Lilacs react to heat and dryness by dropping their leaves, but the live flower buds may still be there.  Check the leaf axials (where the leaf is attached to the branch) and see if there are any buds.  If they're alive, they will leave a white spot if you break one off.  In that case, I would make sure it gets extra water once a week.  Be sure the water goes directly down to the roots without running off into another location.  Don't fertilize it, but you might want to consider pruning the old wood out at this time. Leave a few short healthy stems.
If the buds are dead, then it's time to rejuvenate the shrub. That means cutting the largest stems off right above ground level. I just did mine, then went back and cut more off.  You can also cut it off higher but you'll be back to the old wood that doesn't flower next spring.  Sometimes they simply get old and are weakened till they succumb to disease and insects. Lilacs can grow 4-5 feet in a year, and the youngest growth is what blooms, so keep it neat, tidy and pruned for best flowering and health.
While you're in there cleaning, check for shoots around the outside of the root mass.  If you can remove one with roots, then tuck it into a pot and finish filling it with soil.  Presto, new bush for free!

Not only did my lilacs start to drop their leaves right after they flowered but the apple trees are dropping their leaves early. A large elderberry is almost totally leafless. While this could be some sort of fungus or bacterial disease my guess is it is stress. There are too many different varieties acting in exactly the same way for it to be a single disease.  We have had very high temperatures with torrential rains. Excess heat slows photosynthesis.  The trees are so stressed out that they can't support leaves. The apple trees are holding on to their fruit but the fruit is small. The trees are just shutting down to preserve the integrity of the main body. It's sort of like hibernation. Some woody plants are just less susceptible to climactic conditions or are growing in an area that protects them from excesses. My white lilacs are fine but they are very old, very large and are somewhat shaded by the house. 

Monarda, Bee Balm, Oswego Tea.  The red grows wild in some places but has been taken into many gardens.  It can be tricky because it likes lots of fresh air for dry leaves, but wants it's feet in good rich moist soil.  It does not like its roots to dry out so you will find it growing along streams many times.

This is interesting! Ant colonies farm them!
 
  EcologyEdit
Bloodroot is one of many plants whose seeds are spread by ants, a process called myrmecochory. The seeds have a fleshy organ called an elaiosome that attracts ants. The ants take the seeds to their nest, where they eat the elaiosomes, and put the seeds in their nest debris, where they are protected until they germinate. They also benefit from growing in a medium made richer by the ant nest debris.
The flowers produce pollen, but no nectar. Various bees and flies visit the flowers looking in vain for nectar, for instance sweat bees in the genera Lasioglossum and Halictus, cuckoo bees in the genus Nomada, small carpenter bees (Ceratina), and bee flies in the genus Bombylius. Some bees come to collect pollen, including mining bees (Andrena), which are the most effective pollinators.[7][8]
The bitter and toxic leaves and rhizomes are not often eaten by mammalian herbivores.[8]

Update on the bloodroot. I had one plant growing under a tree. It has been there for years. There were also a few plants that were being kept for the spring plant sale. Suddenly, this spring I am finding bloodroot plants all over the yard. They are all new plants and didn't bloom this spring but I am looking forward to next year. They must seed like crazy when the conditions are right. 

Anyone know where I can get manure? Preferably cow, horse or chicken. Looking for a pick up load or two, delivery would be great....I'm no spring chicken anymore Also looking for hay/straw. Going to try lasagna gardening this year. It's supposed to be weed free, my old back loves that idea!!

The large patch I know of is beside the road. It is startling to come upon it. I was afraid that it was going to be lost when they logged but it seems to have survived. 

I happened across this excellent link on Blood Root.  Enjoy!
http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=m290

Odd News
June 21, 2019 / 11:38 AM Veterinarians remove 19 pacifiers from bulldog's stomach
By Ben Hooper (0) June 21 (UPI) -- A Boston animal hospital said veterinarians used X-rays to discover the cause of a bulldog's nausea and vomiting: 19 pacifiers in his stomach.
The MSPCA's Angell Animal Medical Center said Emily Shanahan, the owner of Mortimer, a 3-year-old bulldog, brought the canine into the facility in the spring to investigate the cause of his nausea and vomiting.
   
Mortimer was initially diagnosed with an acid reflux-related vomiting syndrome, but Shanahan brought him back to the hospital when his symptoms worsened.
Veterinarians at Angell performed an X-ray on Mortimer's stomach and discovered the dog had ingested 19 pacifiers.
"I was shocked because even though I have two small children at home I'd never imagined he was eating their pacifiers," Shanahan said.
Dr. Erika De Papp performed an endoscopy on Mortimer to remove the pacifiers.
"It's likely that Mortimer started nabbing these pacifiers in April, perhaps one at a time, and that started a cycle of nausea and vomiting, which are symptoms that can be caused by so many other health issues," said Dr. Doug Brum, Mortimer's primary veterinarian at Angell. "If not for the urgency with which his family pursued veterinary care, things would have gotten much worse for him."
Shanahan said Mortimer is fully recovered from his ordeal and is back to his normal self.
"We absolutely love this dog and would do anything for him -- and I'm relieved that this was a problem that could be solved, as opposed to a chronic illness that would cause him long-term suffering," she said.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        SEE VIDEO REPORT  ;     https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2019/06/21/Veterinarians-remove-19-pacifiers-from-bulldogs-stomach/3721561130713/

It's amazing how many flowers look alike when taken out of context. So hard to tell from a picture. I thought I had Longwood Gardens baffled on one in their collection but the head of one of the sections recognized it from a picture that pstan took. Those folks are to commended for going above and beyond to be helpful. It turned out to be a new type of strawflower. 
I have a friend who transplants ironweed from the wild all the time. She stuck one up on the embankment bed last summer and it seems to be doing fine. All of mine have come in pots. One was dug from the wild, one I can't remember where it came from and the third came from Penn State Arboretum. That was the mislabeled one. It was supposed to be v. glauca but isn't. They seem to grow just about anywhere but do best in full sun. The one that does best is planted in an easterly direction and gets mostly morning sun and indirect afternoon sun.  The one that gets afternoon sun is in a wetter area and it blooms later and is less compact. It doesn't actually flop but it separates. The other is in fill and grows under a vine. It grows and blooms but not all that well. They may be different species but I doubt it. My soil is mostly clay but they don't seem to care. Good luck with it. It is a beautiful plant and the bees and butterflies love it. 

You can check it out beside the arbor at Charlie's Alternators.  Someone has been making regular raids on specific plants at those planting beds and the idiot stole the pods when they first formed.  They are worthless till they ripen and will not do so off of the bush.   If you see the pods developing then just tie a piece of fine netting around it so the seeds don't escape till you collect them.  Be sure they are fully ripe and either sow them in the late fall, winter germinate them, or start them indoors in the spring.
We do have seed stored for next year and will probably have plants at the spring seedling Bazaar.  You have to store the seed in the refrigerator in a brown paper bag.
Collection of seeds:
http://getbusygardening.com/collect-butterfly-weed-seeds-garden/
http://www.everwilde.com/store/Asclepias-tuberosa-WildFlower-Seed.html
Propagation of seeds:
http://monarchbutterflygarden.net/milkweed-plant-seed-resources/asclepias-tuberosa-butterfly-weed/

eThere are a number of different kinds of butterfly weed. The native one Asclepias tuberosa is the one you see on disturbed ground around here. For some reason it grows on old strip jobs. It is a member of the milkweed family and when it blooms like right now it is covered in butterflies. It has a long taproot and is supposedly hard to transplant but we do it regularly with few problems. The yellow one that someone gave me didn't survive so I'm guessing that it isn't quite as vigourous as the orange one. I've also grown the very pretty bicolored on but it isn't hardy around here. 
It likes full sun but will grow in semi-shade but may not flower. It doesn't need much in the way of water but prefers well drained soil. I think the one I had in the front of the house succumbed to too much water when the drainage from the roof gutters got changed. It produces seed pods with the fluffy seeds like milkweed. Sometimes it reseeds if it is happy but I've never had it happen. A friend does. The seeds need special treatment usually before they will germinate. No bugs, no diseases (at least the ones I have) and the deer don't eat it. 
That is about all I know except that if the thing gets really big it is spectacular. 

I was out in the yard today and the ironweed (Vernonia) was in full bloom.  Mine is a species that gets to be about 7 ft. tall but V. glauca is shorter. I've just never seen that one  grow wild around here. The flowers are very similar to your picture. It didn't occur to me at the time because the knapweed was in bloom and I don't think the ironweed was. It is hard to tell the difference from a picture! Ironweed is a more upright plant and the individual stems all come up from the bottom. Ironweed is a very desirable plant. I've got three of them that may or may not all be of the same species. I know one of them was mislabeled as it grew way too tall for what it was supposed to be. Here is ironweed. 
 

A weed is a seed planted where it's not wanted.  In that light, if you like it and its growth habit, then keep it.  It looks like a wild cousin of Cornflower which probably makes it pretty hardy around here.  

Looks like spotted knapweed ( Centaurea stoebe ) to me. Weed? It is considered invasive but I guess it depends on your perspective. You can check at the corner bed of the library for a positive id. I had to laugh. Nancy who does the bed for the Down to Earth Garden Club put it in as part of her wildflower area while I was contemplating pulling it our on the embankment across from Harley Davidson.
 
 

I just got done telling my dog I wasn't going to see anything with her running ahead of me like she was, less than 30 seconds latter.. she sees something

I just got done telling my dog I wasn't going to see anything with her running ahead of me like she was, less than 30 seconds latter.. she sees something

I just got done telling my dog I wasn't going to see anything with her running ahead of me like she was, less than 30 seconds latter.. she sees something

I just got done telling my dog I wasn't going to see anything with her running ahead of me like she was, less than 30 seconds latter.. she sees something

I had this in my facebook a few days ago. I have never tried it.  Not sure if the baking soda will harm your plants though.
 
INGREDIENTS
1 empty water bottle
(Cut it down to about 2" tall)
5 Tbsp of baking soda
5 Tbsp of powdered sugar
3 Tbsp of water
 
The very best way of eliminating ants is truly simple:
Take a small amount of powdered sugar (also called icing sugar) and mix it with an equal amount of baking soda (formally called sodium bicarbonate) and water.
Powdered sugar is essential. You cannot use the larger grains of sugar for this..
Mix the two powders together and then place small amounts against the walls or other areas where you would not normally walk but where you would normally see the ants.
The ants will be attracted to the sugar and will eat some of it and collect more to take home to feed others, so all of them will get their share.
The sugar and baking soda powders are similar in size and, once mixed together, the ants cannot separate the two items, so, as they eat the sugar, they will also ingest the baking soda, which they would otherwise never touch. This is the reason for using powdered sugar.
Once the ants eat the baking soda it will react with the formic acid in their stomachs and cause gas. The bodies of ants are unlike humans and they cannot eliminate gas so it will build up inside and eliminate them.

Pink lily of the valley. This is the first year they have bloomed. I put them in about 4 years ago. I never did find the first batch I planted but these have done well. I didn't really think that they would be this pink. They are growing among white and blue forget-me-nots. There is some sweet woodruff in there and the very pink stuff in the back is dead nettle. 

I like the pizza ones as well.
 
One morning, after a get together here, the fire was still hot so I tried a ham and egg mountain pie. It turned out pretty good.

This very well could have been the "owl" I thought I seen.

I'm pretty sure I read where the snow owls were being pushed in to our area because of the weather. If I can find the pic, I will post it.

Littlebit was asking about plants for growing in clay soil. The best thing to do, rather than trying to change the soil, is to plant natives that thrive in local conditions. Right now we have a quietly spectacular native tree in bloom. It has a number of common names, june berry, sarvis, service berry, shad blow, shad bush and probably a number of others. It's taxonomic name is  Amelanchier aborea. 
This is the white blossomed tree that you are now seeing in bloom along wooded roads. I saw dozens of them on my way home today. It is the earliest blooming tree in the area and is very easy to grow. Later it will produce a berry like fruit that resembles the blueberry in appearance and can be used in any way that you would use blueberries. They make a spectacular pie if you can beat the birds to them. I like to enhance the slightly almond flavor of the berries with a little bit of almond extract when I make pies of them. 
I wrote an article on them last year when they were about the only blossoms that survived that late freeze. It is here if anyone is interested:
 
http://downtoearthgardenclub.org/2012/05/serviceberry-amelanchier-arborea/