Sixty-three!

There are sixty-three blooms on our big lilies right now, and more still to open. This has been the best year ever for them! And, the aroma is so strong, we can smell them in the house, it's rather lovely.



More of the impatiens from Beth, and this picture stinks because it doesn't show that some are purple and some are pink. Hmpf.



Yucca is blooming!



Surprise rudbeckia, some years it grows, some years it doesn't. This is a year it grew.



One of the geraniums we over-wintered in the basement window is blooming, and on the shelf behind that is a Black Pearl Pepper that reseeded itself!



Bee Balm!



Our first sunflower of the year - again, all volunteers, we haven't actually planted sunflowers in a few years.

More goings on...

The Rose Campion looks pretty good with the orange daylilies:



Every year I worry the Smoke Bush won't come back, but it did, yay:



Even the potato flowers are pretty:



Endless Summer Hydrangea:



And, the pink lilies:

Some blurry photos...

Some of these aren't so clear, but you get the picture, haha. :-)

New Coreopsis, Poppies and Speedwell out front:



I'm so excited about the Canna and Voodoo Bulbs this year, they look pretty happy:





Bellflower and Astilbe (and stupid wild grapevine/weed):



I forget what this is called. It's one of those "stepable" herbs we planted in here a few years ago, and it took over and always comes back. Gotta love persistence:

Some pinks and storm damage

We had a fierce storm last week. We were not home to experience it, but this is some of the hail damage to the banana:



Thank you Caleb and Ethan for these beautiful dianthus you gave me last year. They look great in front of the canna!



Rose Campion is doing it's thing:



And we saw this on the Beacon Zero Waste Garden Tour yesterday. The gardener said it was a philopea, but that can't be it, since I tried to google that and I find nothing...



Ideas anyone?

So many beautiful and delicious things

We had our first pick up from our CSA last night (Common Ground Farm) - yay! And in with the delicious veggies were two beautiful "florals."

Technically, this was labeled as an Edible Pea Bouquet - ALL of it is edible, but I think it's too pretty to eat:



This is not edible, but beautiful to look at. Rye Grass:



And in our garden, Great Grandma Eaton's roses are blooming! The sweetest roses on earth. My grandfather used to make rose petal wine with these, and my grandmother carried them in her wedding bouquet.



Close up, pretend you can smell them. Mmmmmmmmmmmm.



The Peppermint roses are doing well this year, too - lots of double blooms!



We are going to need some chicken wire soon to protect these babies from the birds!



And...it's a Christmas song, but oh so appropriate, "It's the most wonderful time of the yeeeeear!" Strawberry season!

Irises!

The irises are happy this year:







As are the peonies:

I am so far behind in blogging...

Sorry about that! Here is what was happening recently:

Yay, the Cold Spring irises are blooming this year!



The Carolina Allspice is growing where we took down the sick rhododendron:



The bleeding heart is shading the purple columbine:



The primrose seemed happy this spring:



I'm loving these lime coral bell leaves. I have two of these, one on each side of the pear tree and even from the house I see them. I need to do more with colorful foliage.



Chives! We never eat them, but they sure are pretty when they bloom.

Things to come...

We took down the dead/dying/sick rhododendron today, this is now the empty spot where it was. I'm sure the Carolina Allspice we ripped out years ago, which continues to grow anyway, will fill in the spot if nothing else does!



I am super duper excited that the white peonies that Mom gave me last year will bloom this year!



And, this doesn't look like much now, but I am pretty sure it's Forget Me Not and Alyssum that reseeded itself last year. Awesome!

I am embarrassed to tell you...

that I spent five years trying to kill this:



But you have to cut me some slack, in that I did not know what it was! To me, it was just greenery with thorns, big ouchie thorns. Then one spring a couple of years ago I didn't get out there early enough to begin my annual chopping and pulling of it, and a few flowers bloomed. Last year, a few more, and this year, it's getting better! Oh, and according to my Mom, it's Flowering Quince.

First asparagus of the season!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

Ah, spring. Time for wearing the new gardening clogs:



and daffodils:



We're worried about one of our rhododendrons (rhododendra?). Here is the healthy one:



and the not so healthy one:



We might need to take it down. :-(