The Yard Transitions into Summer
I haven't gotten much done yet this spring/summer. I think most of the reason for that is it has rained rather significantly here almost every day for the last month. I need to work on the windows, and I want to replace some of the fence panels, but the ground has been soaked and I'd probably just make a huge mess of the yard.
The Peonies
However, the rain has been a boon for the yard in the sense that everything is blooming and beautiful! Here is the beautiful Moutan peony in the front yard. It was transplanted from a neighbors yard a few years ago and this is the first time it has bloomed since!
And here are the Chinese peonies in the back yard, which Mosher graciously left for us from when her grandparents planted them at least a few decades ago!
Purple Abounds!
Spring here at 173 seems to be awash in purples! From purple irises...
To the back yard and one of my all-time favorites, the common purple lilac. Who doesn't love that scent?
And the French lilac in the side yard...
And we can't forget the allium!
When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower. - Georgia O'Keeffe
Then There's All the White
Then we have the whites, represented in spring with one of the great beauties - the spirea...
The spirea is also an original here at 173! Here's a little closer shot:
And the Garlic Mustard, which I'm still not convinced isn't a weed, albeit a pretty one!
The Volunteer Lilac
And the interesting white lilac in the backyard, kind of intermingling with the common purple lilac. The reason I say it's interesting is that before we put the lilacs in maybe back in '98 or '99, that particular area of the backyard was just grass, obviously mowed all the time. The one year, after the purple lilacs had matured a bit, there appeared what seemed to be a volunteer sprout of a white lilac. Come to find out, the Moshers used to have white lilacs in the very same place we planted the purple. After all those years - there it was. Interesting!
A Winter Casualty
But we had a casualty over the winter. Another of my favorites is the honeysuckle. We put that in probably in '99-ish, and it was always just this humble little surprise of a corner.
But, like I said, this winter did the ol' honeysuckle in.
And A Replacement
I don't know why that one is so fuzzy! Nonetheless, I had to go out and find a new one, the thought of the oriel without the honeysuckle just didn't mesh with me! Off to Hewitt's and found the very last one they had. Hey - there's Cyd! And look just to the right of Cyd's right foot - there's Linus skulking about!
And here it is planted. With any luck, the honeysuckle will make great progress up the side of the oriel this summer!
(huh - another fuzzy shot). Anyway, here's a few bonus pics!
The Kwanzan cherry tree:
No idea what this one is...
And coreopsis, also known by the interesting name of large-flowered tick-seed!
Just a fun angle...
I have no idea what this one is, but it's in the front yard and has the most interesting cones on it.
Always fun to look at some of the vegetation here at 173!