Summer

Wow, what a great summer this has been.  Not blistering hot like last year, nor lacking rain.  The gardens were beautiful.  I had given up on my roses out back, but they've come around.

I attended a garden lecture and the speaker said that we are experiencing different seasons of late - winter is late coming (December) and late to leave (it doesn't warm up till late May, if then).  Unfortunately that doesn't bode well for spring blooming shrubs, like hydrangeas.  So my macrophyllas were very disappointing again.

All my transplants (80?) made it except some phlox out back, a mock orange and part of a dwarf blue spruce.  My new plants came back, except one veronica and a clematis which started growing then died.

I was determined to make my gardens look perfect this year, and nearly accomplished this.  I ran out of time but had a couple of garden parties anyway.

I was surprised that these iris bloomed because I had divided almost all mine last summer.

These didn't really bloom well last year, a victim of the porch rebuild.

This picture doesn't show the beautiful, intense blue color of this Blue Willow hydrangea.

Just ignore that garbage bag full of leaves.  Focus on the new gazing ball!