I have a fairly new garden. We’ve lived here slightly less than 3 years. When we moved in there were very few plants established. Of course, the peonies were here and some lovely hostas. But, that was about it. We fell in love with the 4 beautiful trees in the front yard: a shag hickory, a weeping willow, a sugar maple and a catalpa. I also saw the potential for a garden, but didn’t do any planting until the following summer. Since then, its been trial and error in this rocky soil. Some things do well, others don’t. I tend to stick to perennials which means I have to be patient until they get established. I’ve been trying roses, with limited success. The bugs certainly seem to like them. Some scenes from the garden:

These are my rose bushes. The yellow rose is the Julia Child rose and it has a licorice-like scent. The deep pink is Lady Elsie May. I’m pleased that it has really taken off this year.

A close up of the Julia Child rose

One of the shed window boxes

My creeping geraniums

Coreopsis

Hostas, sedum and day lilies

One of my potted arrangements on the porch

I will post more photos as the summer progresses. I missed the blooms on the Catalpa tree – they appeared and disappeared when I was away. If you’ve never seen a blooming Catalpa, you must. It is a glorious sight – snowy, fragrant white blooms all over the tree. They only last for a week or two and I think the heat this year shortened their bloom time. We have three Catalpas; one in the front yard and two up in the wooded portion of the property.

Have a wonderful weekend.

I woke up this morning with a definite head cold. Drat! I suffer from bad allergies, so I’m usually feeling some kind of congestion, but this is different. I feel just plain yucky. Try as I might, I am unable to do much of anything but putter with the blog and put a coat of paint on the cabinet. I planned to mow, but who am I kidding?

I had to delay plans to have my niece and her family here for the day on Sunday. We’ll have to do it next weekend. In the meantime, here is a picture of one of our peony bushes (from last year). Right now, the buds have formed but none have opened. They will flower in a couple of weeks. I love my peonies. They are planted down at the edge of the property, near the road. I’m sure they have been here for years. How I wish their bloom time was a bit longer…they are such lush, beautiful flowers. Have a great weekend and a wonderful Memorial Day.