Our yard has been so nice this year, I thought I'd post some pictures of things I particularly liked this spring and early summer. If you want to see some things "time lapse" that can be done by skipping through the various approximate dates (maybe).

We returned to Oregon from Arizona on April 14th. Waiting for us was the "Ingrid Bergman" rose I had ordered much earlier, but had slipped through the cracks at the supplier. So, there it was in all its glory (instead of bare root), which was much better. Of course, the next day was a bit different. OK, I lied just a bit about liking this all that much. Nonetheless, we were home a bit late for the daffodils, even though not for the last snow.

In early May, things were starting to go (grow) pretty well.

  • The heather was looking good.
  • The lilacs were blooming.
  • Nearby some iris were coming out.
  • I was busy laying out my garden.
  • Across the grass path the elderberry looked good.
  • We bought a pink dogwood in honor of our new grand-daughter, Sulwen (as if you didn't know), and planted it by the rear deck.

    • Later in May, I took a couple of more shots of the pink dogwood, including this closeup.

    Getting into June, there are more things going on.

  • In front of the house, the magnolia is putting on big (short-lived) blossums.
  • The Ceanothus, or wild lilac is in need of some trimming (since done), but the flowers are pretty anyway.
  • The Bella Roma rose Amelia gave to me last year is in bloom.
  • Fiona's garden is looking pretty good.
  • The Cecil Brunner at the back fence is climbing high into the pines (higher than the blackberry, if that is believable).
  • The front fence has one, too.
  • The wild sweetpeas are a sure thing.
  • For the first time, my apple tree (four flavors) put on a lot of fruit.
  • The Bosc pear is also doing well.
  • Then there is the Satsuma plum, which had a couple of fruit last year.
  • This is the first year since I planted it that the Italian Prune plum set fruit.
  • The Korean Heart Throb dogwood Amelia gave me a few years ago is coming into its own.
  • The Mock Orange is starting to come out (more later).
  • The Jupiter's Beard is spreading.
  • Some of the rhododendron are coming out (not too good of a location for our rhodies, I'm afraid).
  • Here's another shot of the same one from across the pond.
  • The honeysuckle took the winter a little hard, but is recovering.
  • The jasmine is fighting with the Cecil Brunner, but seems to be hanging on OK.
  • The wild roses are taking over down by the shed.
  • The penstemons are looking good.
  • Naturally, the California poppies are doing great, and I'll let them grow anywhere they want to.
  • There are a couple of oleander under the front deck that like it there very well.
  • Amelia's Alpine garden is looking mighty good.
  • Here it is from the other direction, with the Jerusalem sage in the foreground.
  • The yarrow looks nice.
  • Now for something completely different, here is a couple of Devil's claws that came up near the birdfeeder.
  • Here's another shot of the jasmine, doing quite well, thank you for worrying about the Cecil Brunner taking over.
  • Finally got the little fence put in between the veggie garden and the rose garden here's a shot of about one-half of the rose garden with the three Simplicity roses along the fence.
  • Here's most of the other half (that's the Ingrid Bergman in bloom).
  • Back at the magnolia we see more blossums.
  • The St. John's wort is finally blooming (anyone feeling a bit down?).
  • Below the house, the wild rose is blooming and a poppy can be seen a little left and closer to the rocks.
  • More of the mock orange is coming into full bloom.
  • Back at the rose garden, we had to replace one of the original roses, and in honor of Ian and Fiona, we chose this Disneyland rose.

    • As July arrives there are more good shots.

  • The veggie garden is starting to take off, with the tomatoes being about two feet tall in their cages.
  • The Iceberg rose blooms happily, with the Disneyland in the foreground and Bella Roma in the background.
  • On the other side, the Outrageous is doing well, while in the foreground and around to the left, we see the Frankly Scarlett, the John F. Kennedy, the Ingrid Bergmann, and the Fragrant Cloud.
  • Same roses (minus Frankly Scarlett) from the other side.
  • A closeup of the beautiful and nice smelling Bella Roma.
  • The apple continues to look good.
  • So does the pear, although the wild sweet pea is trying to take over the deer barrier (since remedied).
  • The plums are doing OK, but being green the fruit themselves are hard to see, so no picture.
  • Another shot of the magnolia.
  • Have to put in this picture of the St. John's wort (barely) and the jackrabbit.
  • The butterfly bushes are blooming and hosting lots of butterflies, especially swallowtails (see at lower right blossum).
  • We've planted a jasmine by the rear deck stairs, just beside the Devil's claw which has been joined by other plants, too.
  • Finally, coming to the end, one last shot of my veggie garden with the tallest tomatoes growing out of their cages and about six feet tall (yes, indeed, this picture was taken just eleven days after the first one in July - I wish they would put on fruit like they put on greenery).
  • Here's a shot showing the other side of the fence and Amelia's herbs.
  • The red yarrow is blooming.
  • The holodiscus has nice clumps of blossums.
  • I just got another closeup shot of the butterfly bush, with swallowtail.
  • The day lillies are out.
  • Amelia got a Julia Child rose to put in a pot on the deck, and it seems to like it.
  • I didn't get the St. John's wort at its best, but here's part of the patch.