It's a spectacular season for blooms this year because of all the snow we had this winter, plus a rainy spring. Our Miss Kim lilac, filling the whole house with fragrance, now reaches the eaves of our roof, and is covered with flowers.
One thing that's good about the foliage garden fronting the lilac, is that the different hues of green make the lilac's blooms stand out.
Below, Lupine rising on the hillside off our sunroom has just reached the tipping point of enough healthy plants to now spread itself. So now I won't have to dig weeds out of the hard clay to make places for it to reseed itself, like I did last year. Whew! (That's a relief, because last year's marathon digging gave me a rotator-cuff injury to my right shoulder which took months of physical therapy to heal. Lupine, despite the fact that it's a weed here in Maine, is hard to get started.)
And below is our Aunt Dee wisteria in bloom, with many more flowers than it had last year. Each oblong cluster of blossoms is an inch or two longer than last year's, and the smell is musky and addictive. It's not a floral scent, but one like new-mown hay, making you stop in your tracks and think, "God, it's good to be alive!"
That's all for now...
Lovely flowers and delightful scents I'm convinced I smell as I write this. I'm sure you feel rewarded that previous work has culminated in a garden you can enjoy. Thanks for sharing the pictures. What a high price to pay with that rotator-cuff injury. We never realize how we're stressing our bodies sometimes,that can be easier to do as we age.
Posted by: joared | July 03, 2008 at 02:36 AM
absolutely gorgeous!!! i can't wait until i have a landscaped and finished yard ... although i doubt i have such a green thumb as you!!
Posted by: lisa | July 05, 2008 at 11:09 PM
Wow and more wow. You are so blessed to be rewarded after all of you hard work. I am going to post a picture of my EMPTY garden beds soon with clear reasons for their strange configurations. Maybe by next year I will have a little bit of color.
Posted by: Tabor | July 06, 2008 at 01:00 PM
Now what YOU have is a garden! It's just stunning. And those lilacs.....my very favorite flowers and just thinking about them I can smell their intoxicating fragrance. Having grown up with them in New England, I still miss them terribly.
You have such a beautiful garden, Mary Lee. All of it looks so cozy and inviting.
Hope all is well with you.
Posted by: Terri | July 19, 2008 at 05:28 AM
Brilliant article, thanks for the read. I was just wondering if anyone can help me with a question I have on gardening while im here. I have been looking at the Garden Groom (in the link in my name) and I was just wondering if anyone has had an experience with it? Im a little concerned about using electric trimmers as im not as young as I used to be! Thanks - Lou
Posted by: Garden Groom Midi | July 25, 2008 at 07:26 AM