a few June bloomers

My Japanese or anemone peony.

This gem is just loaded with fragrant blooms.
I think the peony bush itself is wonderful -
no cage on this one -
and the stems stand strong and tall.
I have a couple white Siberian iris that I'm trying to encourage.
This year these are the only 2 blooms I'll have -
but they look pretty.
Marie Boisselot is really earning her keep.
Considering that it's all vertical real estate, I am very pleased!
Your close-up, M Boisselot.
This sweet little rosebud is Hawkeye Belle.
I grew up in Iowa, so buying this rose was a no-brainer.
However, Hawkeye Belle is supposed to be a pure white rose and very fragrant and a nice petitie 3 feet tall.
Last year (the first year), this one was more peach colored and so-so fragrance and ranged all over this garden.
It was very pretty though, so I think I'll keep it.
a rose by ANY name...

bring on summer

What a great weekend. Hope everyone else had a good one too.

I finished all the containers I'm going to do - I'll do a post on them, but right now they all look pretty pathetic, so we'll give them a couple days!

My neighbor gave me a gorgeous purple fountain grass for my birthday. I still need to put it somewhere, but otherwise, all annuals are present and accounted for. (That's me breathing a sigh of relief!)

Pretty much just hung out here - working in the garden - reading - enjoying the nice weather. Sunday my niece, Becca, graduated from high school, so I went down to my brother's for the afternoon and hung out with my family - very fun. My nephew Tom said he thought it would be cool to see his name in my blog - so Hey, Tom! (Now I'd better see something in the comment section if you read this!!)

Lots of stuff is blooming - so here are a ton of photos:

This and top photo are Marie Bugnet - nice scent

Solomon's Seal - almost ready to pop into bloom

Frau Dagmar Hartopp

Frau Dagmar Hartopp - bud - had to get this little bee on the post!

"Kansas" peony

An iris I posted a couple days ago - they're all pretty much open now

Caesar's Brother - I love how dark this is - and also very tall

A clump of Caesar's Bro

Belle Poitevine - so fragrant - kind of spicy scent

Magnifica - also very fragrant

Today's photo of Therese Bugnet!!!!

Mine is 3 1/2 feet tall - and about 3 feet wide right now

Jens Munk

My species rose - very fragrant

Species rose again - look at all these blooms and buds!

A new clematis open on the gazebo - "Marie Boisselot" - it's actually a pure white - and huge.

And this is my Lady's Mantle and Coral Bells - I love these two together.

a little break

Well, I have just had the most fun birthday - thanks to everyone who stopped by! I'm taking a break after a lovely dinner and before we settle in for a movie to check blogs, and wanted to share some of my blooms today. We finally had a break in the wind and rain late this afternoon, so I had a chance to get some photos.


This is another clematis in bloom. It's on the gazebo and is just loaded with buds. The clematis seem to like the weather we're having this year - tons of buds and so far nice big blooms.

These are the first of my Siberian iris to open - but it looks like they will probably all pop since we have had this lovely rain. I think these are very pretty.

This is Therese Bugnet. Several years ago I read several articles written by people extolling the virtues of Therese Bugnet: it will form a nice hedge, a "must have" rose, it has beautiful blooms, it has a strong and pleasant fragrance. So I bought one 3 years ago. I was pretty disappointed the first two years - hardly any blooms and the plant seemed to be really struggling.

Well, this is the year - it's gorgeous. It's covered in buds and the fragrance of the open blooms is truly wonderful. It will be fun to see how it does throughout the summer this year.