please do not apologize for posting pics of your absolutly beautiful garden! It was a great site to see today. It feels kinda like spring today(almost 50 degrees! wahoo!) so your pics were very inspiring. Is that a composter tucked in one of those photos? I got one for christmas and havent decided where to put it yet.
I would love to sit on that patio set and enjoy a cup of tea in the morning, you are such a talented gardener!

CMK- Great photos...your garden is beautiful! I'm with Lilyfinch, it looks like a great place to sit and have tea and be completely surrounded by wonderful flowers :)

I really like the combination of colors you use throughout the garden. I hope you post more pictures!

Now that's the way to brighten up my day :o).

Annette

WOW! Everything looks so lush! Your Astrantia is gorgeous. Mine have been struggling and I think I'll move them. Does yours get a little extra shade from the tree behind it?
Are those pink poppies growing in your garden near the table and chairs? Are they annual or perennial? I've never had much luck with poppies. If they are poppies I'd love to know what variety.
What is in the picture behind the perovskia (which is outstanding!!!)? It looks like plumes, but I can't tell if it's a smokebush or what??
Also, in the 2nd to last photo, what is the tree with orange berries? Mountain Ash?
That mockorange must smell heavenly.

Thanks for posting pictures. Your garden is beautiful.

*sigh* So lovely and so needed when we are in the midst of winter, although it is around 50 today. Your pics make me feel I should be out in the garden even now rather than fixing a pork roast for dinner and chili for tomorrow's games (go Vikings!)! I always love the color of your table and chairs, too!

Thanks for the stroll through your Eden.

Cynthia

CMK - gorgeous combos!! I hope my new mock oranges get as large as your neighbours!!! I bet the scent there is gorgeous. Thanks for sharing.

Nancy.

Very pretty! and a nice time of year to see some color. :)

My only problem is wanting to identify a red flower... counting... (lost count) counting again... it's in photo 7. lol! can hardly identify many in the photo due to the distance of the shot. Looks like maybe pink tulips in background, and the red flowers to the right of the orange daylily. I'm wondering if it's lynchis "maltese cross" or something else. If something else, please tell. :)

If it is tulips and lychnis, it appears that your zone allows your plants to bloom together in instances where mine would not. I'd never see my lychnis blooming at the same time as my tulips.

GOR-geous! I love your grandmother's rose. What variety Shasta Daisy is the fluffy one?

I love looking at the composition of all your flowers - so pretty together. Its just beautiful! Thank-you for sharing.

Mickie

You are all so wonderful- thanks for the kind words.

-lilyfinch, yup that is a composter. Make sure to put yours in enough sun. I think mine must be in too much shade, because it takes quite awhile to get things to decompose. Well, if you are ever over this way you can always drop by for a cup of tea on the patio (though over here in Starbucks Land we usually prefer coffee...;-D

-Susan, those Astrantia do get some shade from the tree. Astrantia don't like it too dry, though they can tolerate it to some extent if they can have more shade. I have a variegated Astrantia on the other side of the pathway that gets a good deal more sun these, but they can tolerate it because the soil is moister.
The poppies (another heirloom from my grandmother) is annual Papaver somniferum. You can scatter the seed early in the year as the ground thaws to get a spring blooming. I always get a late start, so they end up blooming in later June for me. I have a TON of seeds if you are interested in trying some. Just send me an e-mail.
You are correct on both ;-) 'Royal Purple' Smokebush and Mountain Ash.

-Cynthia, I feel the same way. It has been in the 50's here too and it makes me itch to get outside and plant something!

-Party Music, it is indeed Maltese Cross. The plant in pic #7 is extremely short because it is in full sun with dry soil. I have another M. Cross in partial shade and it is nearly four feet tall. It is the large plant in front of the trellis in pics #2 and #6.

-Mickie, the cultivar is 'Crazy Daisy'. It isn't one of my favorites though, since it browns as it fades. I much prefer my 'Gold Rush' daisy. It looks similar but has a light yellow tinge around the inner petals and doesn't brown up!

Thanks again!
CMK

Thanks for sharing your beautiful garden with us.

Now if spring would just hurry up!

That was just dandy! Your garden is an Eden indeed.

MeMo

Your garden pictures are just beautiful. I love your style of gardening. I would feel right at home there.

I love looking back at all the gardens. Keep the pictures coming.

glenda

Thank you so much Holley, Memo, and Glenda!
CMK

Beautiful.
Can you please tell me the name of the tall purple flowers to the left on the sunflower in the august pic?

Hi merindah! That purple flowering plant is Perovskia, Russian Sage.
CMK

Thank you.

We are having a few days of sunshine here (32-50, but sunny!) and its just making me crazy to get out there and do something! I was actually excited to have the snow melt and be able to pick up the garbage underneath! (Oh, the joys of town dwelling)

In the second picture, what is that tall airy pink spike above the fence? Love that! Do your knautia come back year after year? I have grown it but have found it dies after a year or two. What variety is that, if it keeps coming back.

Thanks again for posting these cheery shots of your Eden!

Mickie

Oh, how I miss summer! Simply BEAUTIFUL!

Spending a day in your garden would be the perfect day. :-)

-Mickie, that tall plant by the fence is native Fireweed, Epilobium angustifolium. It sends out long runners, almost like tree roots, every spring. They have never bothered the other plants, and I don't mind yanking up the unwanted ones since I only have to do it once every spring. And I love them so much that I don't mind going to all the trouble.
My Knautia do come back every year. In fact, I think I have had the original plants for four or five years. That is too bad yours die out. Perhaps you have very rich soil? That is the only reason I can think of for it. The maroon colored one is K. macedonica (native to Macedonia). The pink one in the first pic is from the Melton's Pastel Series. I should have seeds of them later this year if you are interested in trying some. ;-)

-scully, thank you. I am longing for spring too. I was in beautiful out yesterday. Today we got a little sprinkle of snow, which has put a temporary check on my spring fever! Lol.
CMK

Just had another look at your pics, I love the way your garden beds flow, is most of your garden in the back of your house? It must be a wonderful place to sit and drink in the view. My garden is in back of our house but divided up by lattice and structures, although I really like my pseudo garden rooms I sometimes miss the flow like you have created in your garden. One can't have it both ways I guess, sigh...
Gal, your garden is gorgeous and you have incorporated your 'collections' with a skill that seems to elude me :o).

Annette

That is wonderful of you to say so Annette! But I much prefer your style, where one has to take a ramble through the garden and discover those secret nook gardens. I like small sips of beauty more than taking it all in at one gulp.
I have tried to come up with ways to make rooms and nooks in the garden, but have always run in to an obstruction (like it blocks a main pathway, runs into the clothes line, or would be impossible to do without tearing out some of the garden. I guess I didn't think of that when I first started gardening- one of the many newbie mistakes!

Yes, most of the garden is in the back yard. I do have some gardens that wrap around the front of the house, but those are not very nice looking yet. One side is a shade garden (Sycamore tree shades it), the other a sun garden with a few roses. This year I hope to expand the front shade garden and maybe put in a picket fence along the public sidewalk with a veggie garden behind it. As it is the front yard is very bland.
CMK

Thanks for posting.
We normally have mild winters here. We have had a few warm days since the hard freez in Dec.
I am itchin' to get out also. I tried prunning my indigo spires salvias, but the wind was about 15 mpi and really irritated me.
It is always fun to see what others are growing.

Really enjoying your garden photos! My favorites, the green table and chairs in the garden and that nice combo of chocolate joe pye weed with aster. Beautiful garden!

:-)

Just beautiful - I am taking a break from seed sorting/organizing and popping around the different garden forums. This was indeed the prettiest spot to sit a spell and admire your gardens TFS and oh by the way - I don't think we EVER get too many pictures to look at :) ......

Lynne

Thank you for the compliments!

-Lynne, glad you stopped by ;-) I am trying to do the same thing- organize my seed box. Somehow the project is not going so great, lol. Think I need a better box to put them in...
CMK

Better box = BIGGER box! I keep saving more seeds and need a new box every year. I say I won't do it; but all it takes are a few lazy afternoons - and I've got enough to plant the moon. Well, maybe not the moon!

I'm working my way up to that!

Mickie

I just love your colorful, wonderful garden. It makes me feel right at home, and inspires me to add more color to my gardens.

FlowerLady

I was thinking the same thing as FlowerLady, your garden made me feel right at home. I also love the color combinations. Thank you for the mid winter pick-me-up!

Carol

What beautiful gardens you have. What is the blue flower in the 2nd pic? I just love blue flowers and those are gorgeous!

Thanks Carol and Flowerlady!

-proudgm_03, that is a Delphinium. When I first started gardening I bought up a bunch of Delphinium, this is the last lone survivor of them, lol! Not certain, but the cultivar might be 'Blue Bird'.

-Mickie, I organized my seed box the other day. Turns out the dividers I made take up a third of the box. Hummm...might have to get a couple more boxes ;-)
CMK