Thank you! We had a brief spell of warm weather so the whole garden seemed to bloom all at once. But we have had a spell of cold rain, so that should slow things down a bit and I won't have to water. It'll probably give the roses a bad case of rust, though - darn it! And of course, aphids just love these kinds of conditions. hurlee, the yellow-leafed shrub is my prized Lavatera olba "Aureum". I bought it as a container at one of our better local nurseries, but after a lot of commercial stock was destroyed due to being found carriers of sudden oak death virus, I have never seen another one offered. It has spectacular lavendar flowers which will appear in another month or so. You can tell it's related to hibiscus from the flower shape: The freesias opened up so fast it looks like they'll be over in just a few weeks! They really put on a colorful show this year: More freesias with a variegated erysimum in full bloom: Here's a shot of what I call 'bubblegum' iris because of their Juicyfruit scent. You can get a better idea of the lavatera foliage colors, in the background: The 'bubblegum' iris are not quite as large or showy as the dark purple (variety unknown) bearded iris I have elsewhere. They also only bloom once, and disappear over the winter, whereas the other iris is a rebloomer and remains evergreen. Still, I get a kick out of their scent, and it's a nice sign of spring when they return:

All of these events are posted by Bachman's for your gardening planning and enjoyment!

Hello all, How nice your comments are. I nearly didn't post my poem in case you thought I was foolish, but I wanted you to know how my plants make me feel. Hazel.

You currently have muddy mid toned walls, muddy slightly darker couch and lighter flooring. You brought in two richer brown chairs and two muddy yellow green chairs and have one huge bold deep teal blue column. This column is a beautiful architectural feature that can be used to add pizzazz and drama to the room, but it shouldn't be an emerald necklace matched with a pair of khakis and a tan t shirt. My fear is that you will paint it the same color as the walls and drown in a sea of mud. You need color, but maybe the color needs to be less brilliant and needs to be carried throughout the room. With something as large as your column you will need some large objects with color on the opposing wall. Window treatments, wall art, huge vase or sculpture, you need the color to be incorporated in an area carpet. The decision making process has to start with the feeling you want the room to convey. The next decision is what colors enhance that feeling. Third is selection of the color.