I move things around in the garden all the time.  Sometimes its because plants get too big, or they aren’t thriving in a particular spot, or I just don’t like them any more.  I love my daylilies but in the spring there is just a big mass of foliage in that area of the garden. It needed some “pop”.  So last fall, I planted a whole bunch of allium in between the daylilies.   The plan was two fold – one: bring some color to the area while waiting for the daylily blooms and two: hope the daylily foliage would hide the decaying and ugly allium foliage.  I think it worked!

The tangerine colored azalea took a hit in the drought last year but it is still alive.. I love the color behind the allium

Another combo that worked is the blue Camassia, yellow Trolius behind the red peony ‘Early Scout” with some yellow Zizia aptera in the foreground

Tree peony from friend Olga has tons of blossoms this year

Iris ‘Eleanor Roosevelt’ and a little garter snake sticking his head out of the rocks.. can you spy his little black eye?

This lavender hued Iberis taurica given to me by rock gardener Peter G. is gorgeous this spring and one of the few things the rabbits aren’t nibbling.

Yellow trillium from friend Effie

I don’t know what this is .. it looks like a wild primrose of some sort.. I found it while weeding out invasives under a pine tree at the edge of the garden. It’s quite sweet so I moved it up to the woodland garden area so I could see it better and not lose it.

And here is a lovely white Primrose sieboldii

We have had a lot of rain so things are quite lush.  The rabbits and voles continue to munch their way through the garden.  I had some lovely little dianthus I was going to show you but it got eaten.  I have sprayed plants and put individual chicken wire cages around most things and put out Havaharts.   The wire isn’t attractive but its about the only thing that works.  (you can see some of the wire behind the yellow trillium).  The groundhog has been sighted a few times.. I hope he was just wandering through and won’t be back.  Varmints!

It has been a loooooong siege of rain, wind, cold, rain, mist, rain etc.  There is a silver lining – we are not in drought any longer and the spring flowers lasted a long time.   I haven’t been able to get out and do much gardening, but the forecast looks promising this week.    It is supposed to be 90 on Thursday… bye bye tulips.

There are many critters that visit my garden.. some welcome and some not.

Peter Cottontail  and his pals visit often – he’s cute but I wish he would just eat the violets and leave everything else alone

A squirrel using her wiles to figure out the squirrel proof feeder

Mr. and Mrs. Canada Goose and their goslings crossing the front lawn

Rose-breasted Grosbeak at the feeder

Indigo Bunting (wow) at the feeder

Dragonfly sculpture  – a Mother’s Day gift from my daughter-in law Amelia

And since this is a garden blog  – here are some dwarf bearded iris  – yummy

The sun and warmth will return this week.. I can’t wait to see what will pop out..

After a week of gray, cold, rainy weather, there was a brief respite and the sun came out.  I spent all weekend outside digging plants to donate to my garden club plant sale and moving a few things around.

Last night when the rains ended there was a beautiful rainbow…

…and lovely evening glow

Esther enjoyed the cool green grass

Lilacs are in full bloom

Today was a gorgeous day to work outside..a nice breeze kept the black flies away.  The little chicken wire cages I made to protect the tulips from the rabbits are working

Bluebells

Epimedium

Tiarella

Iris koreana ‘Firefly Shuffle’

Anemones from friend Laura S. plus iris, burgundy colored Heuchera, ‘Thalia’ white narcissus and an emerging Hosta ‘Marmalade’

Mama cardinal sitting on her nest in a cedar tree by the porch

This is why I live in New England  .. spring is just awesome…….