Just after mowing

I love the garden just after it is mown. The flower beds stand out much clearer and I can see all the baby shrubs that are dotted around the yard whereas before they are hidden by the grass growing up around them. Even my neighbour offered to trim the raspberry bushes in the yard next door so that my flowers would show up more; how lovely is that?

Long view towards the weigela bed and taking in the gingko bed; poppies in full bloom now

View of the side front garden; almost complete shade here because of the lovely birch, maple and oak trees

View of the end of the front garden with four hydrangea shrubs slowly growing to maturity

The bobo bed, just enlarged to take in a new peony as of yesterday

Garden update - mid June

Bouquet with fragrant white peony in centre stage

The hosta garden

Honeysuckle climbing over the fence

Poppies coming into bloom

Close up of the poppies

St Francis presiding over the weigela bed

Purple veronica in the gingko bed

Nemophila in the cut flower bed; these were winter sown

Firelight hydrangea full of blossoms about to pop

Pink Flower Time

The driveway planter with pink and purple wave petunias, this will be a mass of flowers in a short time

A pink lily picked up at Home Hardware just a few days ago, three blooms have opened, five more to come

A gorgeous two-toned iris in the driveway bed

A peony in its third year with a mass of blooms

The dappled willow that was planted three years ago is thriving despite the dry weather

Garden Update - it's columbine season

Every year I have a large planter of pansies on the front porch, this year's planter is a real mix of colours

The front bed with snap dragons and stock, this needs watering almost every day

The prettiest flowers are often the surprise ones, this is a rogue johnny-jump-up transplanted from the front lawn into a flower bed

A gorgeous Boy Blue columbine in its second year in the front bed

Aliums in the bed along the side of the house, in the background is creeping phlox both purple and pink

Another rogue violet, this one is mainly pink, not the usual purple and yellow type

Another columbine in the front bed, this one is dark purple

And another columbine in the side shade bed of the front yard, deep blue this one

Focus on Flowers

The petunia planter starting out

A geranium that I wintered over - it has come back strongly

Close up of a gorgeous double tulip

The "weigela bed" with multi-coloured tulips and St. Francis; the weigela will make its appearance soon

Garden Vignettes - May 23rd

St Francis keeping watch over the garden

Tulips in the gingko bed

Tomato and garlic bed

the new crab apple tree in blossom

Tulips in the bed by the ramp

Bed next to the back of the house, mostly shady all day

Winter sowing successes

Corn poppies and bachelors' buttons

Black eye susans

Fox gloves and baby's breath

More bachelors buttons and nigella (love in a mist)

Zinnias

Winter sown seedlings planted in a raised bed now

One sweet pea from winter sowing

Romaine lettuce started as seedlings in a container and now planted in the bed