In the fall, I moved two perennials from the former garden bed space that now is part of the pathways. I'm happy to report both have accepted their transplanting - a hellebore and an Oriental poppy. The hellebore is currently blooming and also snowdrops and a single crocus (that one should be moved too).
Well, now I see I need to plan for more August blooms! Squash blossoms still to add. And borage. Find many more bloom posts at May Dreams Gardens.
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| Cosmos living with the vegetables |
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| The bees like the mint |
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| One garden bed have a variety of flowers and herbs |
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| Sort of a bloom - a baby frog grown in the pond |
A previous neighbor had quite the plant collection, I understand, especially in the earlier years at the property. Two roses continue on quite happily in the fence line. This year, they are making a strong showing. Check out the extra prickly flower buds and stems.
This second rose is very bright and dainty in person. I love their little surprise touch in their setting.
Above, is the wild rose that grows on our hillside. I'm happy it has also set up home on the other side of the path now also. 
It has cascading branches and makes a nice hillside bush. It has nice year around attributes - see two seasons here, and winter season here.
White campion that grows in the edge of the main garden (a former pasture). I first noticed it in 2006. I don't recall seeing it since then.
With nice weekend weather, we've been busy bees, indeed. Really shouldn't try to catch up the whole spring in a weekend or two, though! Some fun, some progress and any reason to be outside is a good one. Above, the bees must be able to get what they want from the outside of the columbine also. Some went inside, others went for the outside crown.
The columbine shapes are amazing as they go from new blossoms to full flowers. I'll have to collect seeds from the plants with the rose colored flowers. There are only a few of them this year.
The flowers are actually more of a purple. The photos always have more of a blue color and I've never tried tweaking the settings to see if I can capture their real color. 
Echinacea / purple coneflower. This was the first bloom, and now they are going strong... Let's hope we'll have more summer to go along with them.
Anita's Calandula (all self-seeded from last year) - Thanks for a second year, Anita!
I'm especially celebrating any blooms this year. This calendula started blooming a few weeks ago. Those outside the cloche are still just seedlings. This 50 degree weather isn't helping. Boy, this was a good year for the cloche experiment!
Here are the chives, a few weeks ago. The ones outside are finally blooming now.
How special is this? Come home late and find green things warming the front steps! Yes, May Day Love is in the neighborhood, even if April backslid to winter. A Hellebore - a perfect new addition to the shade bed. And locally sprouted geraniums and flowering sweet peas. Yeah - a chance to try sweet peas. I could not get a single one to sprout last year. I love my neighborhood! (Hope May Day can stretch out to the weekend for this delinquent May Day participant.)
From the house, I could see something blue in the bed with the snowdrops. Lungwort is blooming. It's a good thing too. I spotted a bumblebee sunning himself yesterday. Hope he finds something to eat.
Bleeding heart foliage is shooting up. It looks too delicate to be above ground this time of year.
This marigold was done in by the recent frosts (photo from August). As I came across it today, I remembered I hadn't posted it yet. This is from seeds from her marigold, French Vanilla, Anita so generously sent me after I won her Easter drawing. Now I often have marigolds self seeding in the garden. I wonder if this one is a hybrid variety and in its second year, it has returned as one of its parents?
I noticed a definite October color theme in the garden today. I miss the popping pink cosmos I had last year, but I'm glad to still have these bloomers going this year. This is one of the Tip Top Alaska Nasturtiums. You can see a little of the variegated foliage also.
The trees are started to get their autumn colors too. The garden looks empty since the big bean climber is down. You can barely see the black tubing of the 'covered wagon cloche' on the far end of the garden. Tomorrow, it gets its plastic covering.
The Lemon Boy tomatoes are holding out the best now. The rains some weeks ago have really made the Sungold tomatoes split. The larger tomatoes are not ripening
And Anita's calendula are really adding a bright spot - in both yellow and orange. In Sept., I had trimmed off the old blooms and it seems to have encouraged them to keep going. I've also been scattering around the seedhead and we'll see where all they show up next year.
