Very nice pics everyone! I always love these threads and decided I should start chipping in this year. My morden and prairie joy roses, poppies, flax and peonies are all finished blooming. I didn't take pics of the rambler red and baffin roses that are still blooming but here are my pics so far of what's in bloom this week in the far far north of Minnesota: Chinese Delphinium Clarkia has started to bloom this week: Datura-devils trumpet Echinacea paradox hollyhocks (fig var.) My new mock orange--MN snowflake planted last fall. It was in tough shape when I bought it...but it made it and came back this year with a few blooms even! Delphs have been at it full force for the last week or more: After a neighbor suggested that I should make my garden bigger I put in a new bed. I had been thinking of turning my back yard into a courtyard....so this is as far as I got so far this summer. My back sure paid for this effort. Moved 1.5 cubic yards of dirt by hand (not including the compost I had made last year), removed and turned about 80 sq feet of sod, cut about 40 landscape timbers.....and still I have half of this project to do yet. But the back can't take it, so I think I will be patient and just bump off the rest of the sod with the lasagna method. I put lots of annuals planted in here along with the perennials. So there will be some color soon--some zinnia buds have opened and the calendula buds are about to open.

New Hampshire rose society show was the 25th. There was no air conditioning, so the judges had to hurry, before everything was fit for the Open Bloom class! It was a great show, with alot of very nice folks involved! I was very lucky, And had Queen and Princess H.T. mini king, best single climber, and best H.T. open bloom! Also got the sweeps! It was sheer luck, everything bloomed that week! The previous week I had next to nothing to take to the N.E. show! Lee

Well, my realtor seems to be a Monday to Friday guy. He's a Remax Agent, and in the top 50 negotiators for Canada, but he specializes in commercial real estate, though he's sold many houses in his day. He was referred to us by a friend, and he was happy to list our house, but I'm starting to realize there's a difference between commercial and residential agents. This guy takes off for the cottage on Friday and is gone all weekend. I'm guessing this is why he's not wanting to do an open house. We might have to re-think our agent. Sweet_tea, I know.. I didn't want to draw attention to it either, and I was hoping - being June - people weren't thinking about shoveling snow. But, they're obviously thinking it anyway when they see the sidewalk, because that has been our only negative feedback on the house (corner lot, too much grass to cut/sidewalk to shovel). Well, we watched our neighbours get an offer on their house last night. They had a showing, the people were in there for a long time, they all came out and the agent was still writing the offer on a clipboard. He went to his car and made a phonecall, and told the buyers "I'll let you know when we have an offer". From what I can tell they're still going ahead with their open house today. It could have been a conditional offer, or a lowball. Who knows. I don't get it. We just reduced 10K, and they're listed for what we originally listed for. It's pretty much the same house, only they don't have the finished basement or 4th bathroom that we have. What they do have is a pie-shaped lot in the middle of the court and a nice backyard/deck. If I knew trying to sell a corner lot was going to be this difficult, I would never have bought this place! I guess the good part about this is we'll now be the only house in the neighbourhood for sale *sigh*

I can spot those leaves at a thousand paces, Ron. We're loaded with it here, and I'm always going after it with Roundup Poison Ivy Killer. My son get the rash if he even looks at the plant sideways. :-)