Garden Life

Not a good photo, but since the blooms are well over my head it was either hold the camera aloft and hope for the best or get a ladder. And it was much too hot to drag around the ladder, which is why the wisteria, honeysuckle, and akebia all still need trimming. But, I digress.

This rose is the perfect illustration of my greatest weakness as a gardener. I'm too soft hearted with volunteers. It's an unidentified, possible unnamed seedling. When the baby rose leaves first appeared in the pink section of the west border, I was instantly smitten. A seedling rose? And not one of the species that commonly seeds itself about either. So I potted it up and awaited developments. After a couple of years the first blooms appeared,and I could see it was going to be another one of the big roses. Still, I was charmed--the healthy foilage, the wildflower form, but better, the long flowering period, the fresh rose scent. I repotted into a larger container and pondered where to plant. Then life got hectic and I didn't keep a good eye on the volunteer rose.

She planted herself, broke right through the plastic pot and sank her impressive roots into the soft ground in the holding area--very rich soil--where I used to grow sweetpeas. Perhaps, I could grow sweet peas up her bare ankles and knees--she has a pretty open growth habit and very sturdy legs.




It's been scorching hot by Seattle standards, i.e. in the low eighties--but the roses and Jasmine are very happy in the heat even though the gardener is melting.




A Graham Thomas bud nestled amid Sissyrinchium a very nice little perennial that has taken over far more than her share of the yellow bed, crowding out some lovely but less aggressive species.



This is Katie my biggest garden menace. She's generally a force of destruction without meaning to be--she feels strongly about sentry duty which has worn a path around the the garden. I'm undecided whether to concede defeat and gravel her trail or restrict her to a dog run or a compromise solution. In the meantime, there's the equivalent of a dirt bike track around the house.