Mara, Pink would be the ideal color for that watched dog lol.. and then he could hide in the tree and jump on deer & rabbits :) Haha... Stush, I did notice the pup and actually I meant to comment on his presence in the picture what a nice addition to your garden and I think Mara is on to something with a new color for his coat lol.. 3 grandkids that's awesome! right now I have 6 grandkids but only one enjoys helping me around the yard, actually he really enjoys being with gramps in the yard doing anything I'll have to post a picture of him helping me out. Lol.. so you thought you saw a snow flake huh? the only place I ever see snow flakes is on TV :) Kathi, Please throw up some of your award winning pictures & please Join us on this magic school bus ride over to Uncle Stush's garden for a free for all. Greg

Glad you were able to get a sunny day finially. It was sunny but very windy here today. Still I spent the day outside mulching and of course gakking at my flowers. Looks like you (and Whiskey and Bowie) have lots and lots of flowers in your yard in gawk at and they are all so pretty. I see lots of blue with the grape hyacinths and I think I see the regular blue hyacinths there too. Love your garden shots and love your pink daffs.

Suebelle, did you decide to pick up any of these Kordes' roses? Summer Romance & Savannah arrived from Chamblee's a year ago. Potted on several times & pinched for shaping, they've bloomed once this season & are budding up again. (Unusually cool, cloudy & wet weather delayed the Spring flush in general.) With great fragrance, charming blooms & spotless foliage in this hot & humid no spray garden, both are throwing new basals & giving a good showing for such young roses here in the Upper South. Savannah is one of the Sunbelt Collection. http://newflora.com/kordes-roses/sunbelt-rose-collection/ Another of that group here a year from Chamblee's is Polar Express. Treated like the other two, it managed to slip several flushes by me last year in its eagerness to bloom. Haven't nipped any buds this year & it's swelling new buds as others are opening without pause. Good solid fragrance. Another I can highly recommend. Parfumas Summer Romance & First Crush in bud & bloom arrived at the local Lowe's in 2-gallon pots the 1st of April. Jam packed onto a long table, could only inspect some along the edges to find them grafted. After own roots, admired the enticing perfume of their generous bloom, but left them be, hoping own root examples would follow. Flowers of First Crush were not as pale as I'd thought from photos, a very appealing clear blush pink. A week later during a heat spike sans rain, visited again to find the half remaining in depressingly pitiful condition - dry & wilting from lack of watering, canes snapped & dying, likely from attempts to separate each from its neighbors for purchase in that overcrowded display. Found an own root First Crush in salvageable condition & put it in my cart, remarking to my husband I needed to speak to the manager. To hurry me along (lol), he took the rose, found & spoke to the manager & came back followed by an employee armed with a watering wand. Showing me the manager discounted the rose by half & he'd already paid for it, we left. First Crush cleaned up nicely. Watered well & left to soak overnight in a filled plant saucer, it drank every bit & looked gratefully relieved by morning. Parked in high shade & given simple care, managed to replace lost leaves & began to bud again. Nipped the first set of buds, but allowed it to bloom a few weeks later as it appeared fully recovered. In the meantime, I'd "rescued" another First Crush & a pair of Summer Romances, all own root 2-gallons, from a sale table at Lowe's that at least was exposed to plentiful rain. All rebounded with the same treatment. More Kordes own roots arrived at Lowe's a month ago, this time as 1-gallons in Forever & Ever branded pots. Very well grown, in bud & bloom priced @ $13, picked up trios of Eleganza hybrid teas Sunny Sky & Heart Song. Not actively searching for these two (unlike some others), found them very appealing in person & their fragrance nose-to-rose sealed the deal. Both repeat bloom rapidly so far even as youngsters. Sunny Sky shows apricot buds that open to a pastel yellow heart backed in apricot with buttercream edges. Heart Song is a lovely clear red without orange or blue tints. Both hold their color without fading till petal drop in temps of low 90's. (Kolorscape Lemon Fizz as the same brand & price merritted another trio, thanks to you, Patty, for your reports & photos! Lemon Fizz closes its petals in the evening, like some of the early singles & semidoubles, another charming aspect of its personality.) Greatly enjoying each of these unique personalities & finding them all "happy" roses - eager to grow & flower, humming right along. Very easy to grow, healthy, reliable roses.

I like your freeform rock border. It really offsets the varied green and bluish foliage of the hostas. The heucheras are a nice border to the border also. I think yours look great. But then again, I am from Colorado where most of ours grow sort of slow because there is intense sun, wind, and little moisture. I have several NOIDs because I never really kept track until two years ago. I also acquired one at an estate sale last year because it just looked so forlorn. It has its own plant tag that now says "Hosta -- Estate Sale". :-)