garden update

Here are a few pictures I took last week. I can't get over how things are coming back after the week of hard freezes we had last month. Below is the David Austin rose, St. Swithin, which has been a climber for me and before the freeze had grown up and right across the arch of this little wooden arbor. It's less than knee-high now, but I have no doubt that it will once again reach its former height.

This is a very special rose for me. Above is Sterling Silver, with lavender growing at its feet. My oldest brother gave me this rose as a birthday present 19 years ago, when I moved into this house. It's been moved 3 times--I keep trying to find a sunnier spot for it--and I was sure that this time it was done for. Instead, it looks wonderful. And below, slightly out of focus (I've got to figure out how to use the Magnified Closeup Feature on my camera) is, to my great astonishment and gratitude, an actual flower bud.

Below is clematis Henryii. It grows up the other side of the trellis from St. Swithin. Last year it was a sheet of pure white bloom. This year, considering the late freezes, I think it's put on a very respectable show.

My favorite picture. I wish the rest of my yard/garden was this beautiful. I love the way the blue columbines are seeding themselves around. They're supposed to be a white, long-spurred variety, but I'm pretty sure I can deal with these beautiful blues. And the lamium jumped the sidewalk last year--there are little volunteer patches, and I've been trying to figure out how to protect them from the lawn mower.

I'm partial to this little patch, too. The shiny green European ginger and the blue columbine are volunteers, and could they look any prettier with the silver brunnera and blue hosta? And I like the way the shape of the brunnera leaves and the hosta leaves echo each other. The other green stuff is left-over leaves from chionodoxa and dandelions. Two of my favorite little plants, dwarf goatsbeards, are being smothered by the columbine behind the giant hosta in the previous photo, so I think I may move them to see if they can cover some of the dirt and fight off some of the dandelions, plus I think their delicate, feathery foliage will be a pretty contrast to the other greenery there.