Deanne, what is that lighter pink plant in front of the Cheddar Pinks? Thyme?

PM, I'm envious of your roses. Long ago I realized that roses were meant to be admired in other gardener's gardens :).

Hey Digger Dee, long time , no "see".

Pretty combo, Deanna! Dianthus is another plant that has never thrived for me. I think it may need a more alkaline soil.

Hot out there today. On Thursday I brought a car load full of annuals home to fill holes in the garden edges. All have been planted but I could use more. There are some nice greenhouses in Southwick, MA which is about a 20 minute drive from me but most of them close for the season in the next two weeks so I'm feeling the pressure.

Sue, I used to feel that way about roses. 3/4s of my yard is shade or part shade and I only have one full sun bed. Plus I'm an organic gardener and I found the foliage diseases that a lot of roses are reputed to have, intimidating. But, I decided not to deny myself at least an effort at having my favorite flower. And I've been experimenting for about 8 years now, trying to find roses that can be grown organically. And now I wouldn't be without a rose. And there are so many more 'no spray' roses available than there were 8 yrs ago.

The yellow rose is 'Julia Child' that I've had for 8 years while others have come and gone. It is very healthy, very dependable. It's fragrant, it reblooms. The only dislike I had was that the flowers are a little on the small side. So I went looking for more roses. [g]. And that's how it started. I went through a half dozen David Austins, which were great, but inevitably succumbed to some disease and I shovel pruned them. This last batch was selected on healthy growth over every other variable and so far they are working out great. So now I have 5 that I can maintain that are fragrant, that rebloom. This is only their 2nd year, so we'll see how they do over the next few seasons.

Any sunny spot, you surely can find for one rose. :-)

Yes, it is thyme. Most likely Magic Carpet since I was able to wintersow those from seeds.

I have a few different thymes, I'll have to look for that one, it's very pretty!

Hey Sue! It HAS been awhile! So nice to see you too! :)

I just bought some annuals last week as well. I wasn't going to deal with annuals this year but then I decided I needed some color on my patio which is next to my parking lot of a driveway. It's just too much asphalt and pavers! Needed some softening. I was very late to the game and had to go to three separate places just to scrounge up some (half-dead) petunias and wax begonias. Hoping to find a few more but I doubt it at this point.

PM2, could you list the roses that you've had success with? I've bought and killed so many roses it's embarrassing. I have a Darlow's Enigma which is doing well in my shade, and while I lost my Lyda Rose, I put one in a friend's similar part-shade garden and it is spectacular, so I plan to try it again in my yard.

I have a Teasing Georgia and Ambridge Rose (? I think?) that are hanging on in my sunniest spot, but I would love to add a few more. Like you I have shade and garden organically, and while I dream of living in a David Austin catalog some day, it just ain't gonna happen here. So I'd love to hear what else worked for you - and glad to see Julia Child worked. I've been eyeing her for some time!

:)
Dee

Roses I have had success with in my garden (cold hardy and disease resistant with no input from me) are various rugosas, Lady Banks, the red one that gets used as an understock, New Dawn, one of the Canadian Explorer series (I think John Cabot), and thanks to Claire, Zepherine Drouhin. ZD is very hardy, though I usually lose some of the top in winter, scented, nearly thornless, and doesn’t mind some shade, and so is the hands down favorite of the roses I have tried over the last 30 years, most of which didn’t make the cut. I don’t think I would plant New Dawn again due to vigorous growth along with wicked thorns making pruning a difficult experience.

Sure Dee, The David Austin roses I remember trying were 'Golden Celebration', 'Harlow Carr' and 'Brother Cadfael'. I don't remember the rest. They would bloom fine their first flush, but soon the foliage would start looking ugly. After the first flush of bloom, I would cut it down to the ground because I couldn't look at that foliage. I expected to lose it, but it would come back the next season and perform pretty well and then deteriorate and I'd do the same thing. But I found that after 3 seasons of treating it that way, it performed worse and worse, so I replaced them.

I just looked at their website and yes, their roses really can grab you. And it's been awhile since I've tried any of them and I think they've tried to produce healthier choices. I'd be willing to try a couple again if I have room. Even if they only last a couple of seasons, they are worth using almost like an annual. They aren't that expensive.

I can't remember all the roses I tried. I had rugosa Blanc Double de Coubert - a white - very fragrant and healthy, but rugosas sucker and spread and it didn't work in my garden. If you can manage that, rugosas are great.

I tried a very pretty, low growing white Meidland with very dark foliage - but that was the worse case of Powdery Mildew I've had. That didn't last long.

I tried a couple of older roses - that bloom once - and were supposed to do fine in part shade. I planted those in the backyard in sun from 12n to 4pm. 'Madame Plantier' and 'Marie Pavie' both pretty white roses. They did not perform well in the shade and I forget why I just let them go. I think I decided I really don't like giving the room to a rose that blooms for a few weeks and is done. Not when there are so many that repeat bloom. Again, it comes down to not having the room.

Roses I have that have worked, Julia Child is by far the most dependable, healthy, vigorous, bloom machine that also handles the heat. It is pretty good in the fragrance department, not the most fragrant I've had. The blooms are on the small side. I've had mine for about 6 -8 years.

Prairie Sunrise is a shrub rose that I bought from Pickering before they went out of business. It is a Buck Rose that is known for hardiness as well. It has the fragrance and the blooms are apricot and larger and many petaled. It has been really healthy. Clean foliage. Vigorous growth and repeat bloom. It might have a flaw, but at the moment I can't think of one. [g]. I have that in the foundation in front facing East, so it gets sun until 2-3pm and that's it. Blooms well in that amount of sun. I think it can do even better than it has for me, because I haven't given it enough room yet, which I plan to do before next season.

I have 'Aloha' growing in my backyard in part sun. Maybe 5-6hrs of sun. It has been slow to establish there and put out only a few blooms the first 2 years. Maybe I didn't give it enough attention too, I could have done better. This year it put out triple the amount of blooms. It can climb but only between 8-10 ft so I have it along a 4ft fence. It's very pretty and healthy, it's low in fragrance.

I added 3 more last spring. 'Pope John Paul', 'Savannah' and 'Beverly'. They are all looking pretty healthy this season. I had a disease issue with 'Savannah last year at the end of the season, on one cane, but I left it alone and this year it is 100% healthy canes and has double the amount of blooms. Fragrant, pretty apricot pink. 'Beverly' has huge blooms that open a bubble gum pink that I don't enjoy, and for that reason, I'm monitoring it. It does quickly fade to a paler pink that I am enjoying. The blooms are huge and very fragrant. The foliage is 100% clean and good looking. PJP - has white blooms that are very pretty, but, they open so slowly that the outer petals start to deteriorate before it's fully open. Clean foliage, very fragrant, I'm enjoying the blooms more, by bringing them in the house soon after starting to open, because they last for a long time in a vase.

If there is anything I've learned, it's that there is no perfect rose. That's why so many rose growers end up with so many. [g]. They are on a search for the 'holy grail' the perfect rose, with the perfect foliage and shape and color and fragrance and blooms it's head off, etc. etc. And no rose has it all. I do make healthy the priority, but I'm also learning that I want a rose I love too. I keep looking and I enjoy the process.

There are a lot out there that are bred for health now. Kordes is a grower that focused on that at the expense of fragrance too often. Lots of gorgeous, healthy roses, with no fragrance at all. I bought from Palatine the last time. The rose forum on GW is great. Also the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden in NY, made a complete switch and replaced their collection with healthy 'no spray' roses.

OMG, thanks PM2 for taking the time to give such details. I do appreciate it! First of all, I didn't know Pickering had gone out of business!

I have tried many of the same ones you did. Particular favorites were Marie Pavie and Blanc Double de Coubert, neither of which survived for me. I'm going to look into some of your suggestions. Although it's very dangerous.... do I want to walk along that cliff again lol? Such a danger of falling off into that obsession again haha! I'm already fighting off a returning hosta obsession...

Babs, you rather sheepishly reminded me that I have Zephirine Drouhin! Goodness I don't know how I could forget that one as it is my most successful rose AND right outside my back door on an arch! I can see her from my window as I type! The color is a bit bright for my taste (had originally thought she was a softer pink) but she does quite well for me and this year actually was the best year yet (fourth year). I have her paired with a rooguchi clematis, which sadly started blooming this week as ZD is winding down (missed the timing on that, lol) but I do really like ZD, even with her bold color and faint scent.

I have heard many praises of New Dawn but she scares me a little, lol. I believe she gets awfully big. Although I think that is what a friend of mine has and it is indeed gorgeous in bloom!

Thank you both!
:)
Dee

Dee….lol. Well, I guess that is one way you have to consider it. Really, I don’t seem to find it a problem because there are only just so many places I can put a rose, so an obsession can only go so far. [g]

Pickering was my favorite rose vendor. They seemed to put so much detail into producing healthy stock. Everything I ordered was always excellent. Unfortunately, it was a family business and the father died and the family decided not to continue. I'm sure that happens a lot. Palatine is the only other supplier I've tried, but I'm sure there are others that are worth a try too.

I have New Dawn as well. It is very healthy. I’ve never had one issue with the foliage. I bought it after seeing it on an arbor on a gardening show. I jumped the gun, planning to have an arbor for it and then never did get it going. So the New Dawn ended up on my fence waiting. And it’s not in full sun either. It hasn’t swallowed up that corner yet. And I didn’t mention it, because I’m not sure I wouldn’t rather have something else. The flowers have few petals, they’re a pale pink that is almost a white. They have a little fragrance but not all that much. I think the big draw is that it will really cover an arbor and produce a lot of blooms and make a spectacle of itself. Something I haven’t given it the opportunity to do. I keep pruning it back to stay on the fence where it is. I am still looking for a rambler or a climber that is really fragrant and fits my conditions and gives a fairly long bloom season. Maybe something with more color. But it’s not a priority for me either.

"...there are only just so many places I can put a rose, so an obsession can only go so far...."

That's what containers are for lol! My pot ghetto used to number in the 200's and many of those were roses!

I love the look of the ramblers and vigorous climbers, but I do, like you, have only so much sun. I'd rather put two or three roses in the space one of the ramblers might take up. One could say, well, the rambler goes UP so it doesn't take that much space, but the odds are I would get the rose and not get an arch or support, and like yours, it would be all over. But unlike you I wouldn't prune it so it would be a mess. A glorious mess, I'm sure, but a space-consuming (and sun-consuming!) mess as well!

:)
Dee

“I am still looking for a rambler or a climber that is really fragrant and fits my conditions and gives a fairly long bloom season. Maybe something with more color.”

PM2, have you tried Zepherine D? Not a super long bloom seasoned or super full, but a climber with good scent to my nose, nice habit, rich pink color, and it blooms now and usually in the fall as well. I don’t much care for summer bloomers because I have Japanese beetles, rose chafers, and Asiatic beetles, all of whom chew up roses. And since I have about 40 acres of fields around the gardens, I am not going to be putting down milky spore or nematodes for all that area!

Dee, one sort of advantage of living on the edge of zone 4 is that anything long term in a pot won’t survive, so that limits my potted area to what can be planted in a season, though while DH was sick I just healed in the clematis I had ordered, and now that I am gardening again and wanted the space in the veggie garden, I was amazed to find that several are still alive.

Last evening’s sunset from the back patio, first west and then south.

And the Independence Day Rhododendron is in full bloom.

I love the delicate shading from the deeper blossom edge to the paler center. Even this closeup doesn’t show it well.

OMGosh, Dee - containers! Well, 200 is a huge amount and now I understand when you said…

“I’m going to look into some of your suggestions. Although it’s very dangerous…do I want to walk along that cliff again lol.”

I used to do about 30 containers in a season and it was such a chore putting them all away for the winter, cleaning up plants to bring them inside. After doing that two seasons, I made an easy decision to curtail growing in containers. I have two that stay out all winter with arborvitae in them and between 2 and 4 large pots that I will plant annuals in, and that’s it.

It starts out very exciting, but I don’t have the energy to keep that up. It was fun the couple of seasons I did it.

Babs, I have been eyeing that Zepherine D. Claire seems to get a lot of pleasure from hers and I didn’t realize you have it too. I keep my eye out, but really, I’m still focused on other areas of the garden that I keep trying to get on top of.

I can see why you would rather not have a rose that’s blooming during the hottest months. I don’t have a big issue with beetles. A small amount of Asiatic beetles but manageable. Yes, surrounded by all those fields, you don’t have any options.

Gorgeous sunset! Rhododendrons bloom a lot later than I realized. Very pretty!

Well I do have one rose. It's OSO Easy Hot Paprika. I don't spray anything here except deer repellent. Last season something completely defoliated this rose so it was just a skeleton. If that happens again it's likely out of here.

So Dee, you had 200 containers or 200 plants in containers waiting to go in the ground (ie the plant ghetto...lol)? I do quite a few mixed containers here. It's not polite to count so I'm don't know how many. Less than 50 maybe.

Beautiful sunsets Babs! Sunrises are not great at this house based on trees and how it is located on a hill and sunsets are only good in the winter when the trees are bare.

I'm going to attempt to post some pictures from my phone. The patio is starting to get cleaned up.

Below is an area of ledge I found when working on the back gardens We don't call this place Idyll Haven on the Rocks for nothing :).

One of my mixed containers on a stump of one of the dozens of trees we've removed here since 2017.

PM2, I will second the Zepherine Drouhin recommendation. I think this is year four for me, and this spring, for the first time, it was spectacular — more and brighter blossoms than any of my other roses. The scent is out of this world, too — bright and lemony, too good to be true. It’s still got a couple blooms (Awakening has eclipsed it at this point) and I’m curious to see how much it reblooms this year, now that it’s finally getting going.

Beautiful patio Sue! Really lovely. Love the gazing balls and the blue pots too! And also the orange pot with the (is it?) persian shield and other purple and orange plants! Speaking of pots, the answer to your question is... yes. LOL. I had at its height about 240ish pots/containers of all sizes, of plants that eventually were mostly destined to go in the ground. I'd say about 75 percent of them were planned to go in the garden, but there were pots that were meant to be permanent plantings as well, including roses. Of course, not only did all the plants did not make it in the ground every season, but there were additions every year too! I would drag them all in the garage each winter (not too hard as their summer home was right outside the garage, except for about 25-30 of the nicer, fuller, more-permanent ones that were strategically placed in the (mostly sunny parts of the) garden and on the patio. I finally did eventually get them planted, with of course some losses along the way. I now only have about half a dozen pots of unplanted perennials, with the rest of the pots being purposely planted annuals.

I have rock almost like that too! Not as prominent out of the ground, but wide swaths of rock ledge. And of course it's in my sunniest area. Hence the raised beds for the veggie garden.

I'm starting to feel a little left out on the ZD scent bandwagon! Mine is beautiful and very floriferous this year, but scent? Maybe if you stick your nose right in a bloom it's lovely. But considering how covered this was with blooms, and that my patio table is two feet away, it's not like you were sitting there breathing in perfume! You literally had to get up to stick your nose in to smell anything. I would still highly recommend one, but I just don't get the great scent everyone else seems to be getting.

:)
Dee

Wow, Sue, AMAZING! Really lovely. Where do you get your pots? The big ones seem to be sooooo expensive. I like the unusual shapes you have.

Sue, you have a great patio there for relaxing. Very pretty. I can only imagine what your containers look like by the end of the season…very full!

I like your feathery grasses in the 2nd photo. Nice movement on a windy day I imagine.

Nekobus - Awakening? Photos? Third year is always a pleasure with every plant usually. Sounds great!

Fabulous Deanna! That Dianthus really adds a nice punch of color.

I've collected my pots over the years mostly for not a ton of money at Homegoods and believe it or not, Jo-Ann Fabrics. Lately I've been trying to add sturdier ones in wrought iron and concrete that can be left outside all year. They are a bit more expensive.

I love Persian Shield Dee and use it frequently in mixed container designs. Over 200 plants in containers? I think I would be seriously overwhelmed by that many.

PM2, my garden has always been planted to peak more late season with the containers and later blooming perennials. The feathery grass is Stipa tenuissima Pony Tails which is normally not hardy here but seems to have survived due to a warmer than normal winter. In some climates I guess it can seed around and become a bit of a pest.

Awakening this morning:

And, for good measure, perennial sweet peas:

And Annabelle:

Sue, the combo of hardscape and plants is beautiful together.

Deanna, I had Dianthus Brilliant for one season and it bloomed all summer. I really loved it, but so did the voles that winter, and when I went looking for it that next spring, both online and in person, I couldn’t find it anywhere. Then life got in the way of gardening.

Nekobus, My Annabelle isn’t quite that far along, though it will be within a week. The blooms are still chartreuse here. I will confess that I pulled out my perennial sweet peas after seeing a field where it has overrun a couple of acres and seeing how enthusiastically it seeded here in just a few years. I am still pulling out rogue seedling from under one rhododendron even though it has been years. The lack of scent was another drawback for me. My granny had planted sweet peas when I was a kid, and I think that they must have been annuals.

(With apologies for the sideways photo) Here is Zepherine Drouhin with Prince Charles clematis. Often Prince Charles blooms first, but this year ZD didn’t die back much because it was warmer than usual. I have ZD solely thanks to Claire’s posts, and I am very pleased to have her. (Thanks, Claire!)

This is my usual view of them, peaking over the lip of the patio and which is why I wanted a tall rose there.

Wow, Dee, look at that Dianthus! Makes quite an impact. The most reliable Dianthus I have, I started from seed from a GW swap years ago. Siberian Blue I think the name is, but it’s really purple. It really keeps going if you deadhead it well.

Sue, I hope you will post more photos of your containers as the season continues. I love your patio. Lots of room for company and no weeding between pavers. It was a nice plan and execution.

Nekobus, Very pretty flowers, ‘Awakening’ looks very soft and billowy. The foliage looks healthy too. I like it, how long has it been growing there?

Babs, nice combo of ZD and the clematis and I always enjoy how much space you have around your property.

NHBabs, I thought I had commented much farther up on the beauty of your sunset. Your area of NH is just so beautiful and I love all the sunset/scenery pictures you post.

Dee, I shop HomeGoods and affiliates but have not tried Joanne's. Will add it to the list for next year. I have made the mistake in the past of purchasing too many small pots. In the last couple of years I've tried to limit it to large pots. I like both the colors and shapes of yours. This year I have purchased no annuals at all, but I did wintersow some annual lobelia that is just now getting some buds. I'm grateful I'll at least have some color from those. It' definitely going to a year I get to explore monochromatic flowering schemes!

There are so many beautiful photos it's hard to comment on them all. This thread is full of so much excellent info on roses for our climate. I'm going to file it away as one to refer to. I have no roses, but you all are getting me thinking about how to add some. My pollinator bed was originally supposed to be a place I could dump dependable seed-grown perennials and natives and walk away, and I'm finding out that the soil is too worn out, so the whole area will have to have TLC. That seems to be the best area for roses at the moment, I think! Might as well do some nice design while I'm breaking my back! And Clematis, too.

NHBabs, I'm with you on the perennials sweet peas. If they only had scent...

Oh, I meant to say, that I also discovered JoAnn's for pots quite a few years ago. Two of my favorite pots, I bought there and still have. They are great for outdoors, I have no idea what they are made of, not clay or ceramic or plastic. Almost like a compressed cardboard? I doubt that is what they are, but it's an odd material that I haven't Identified and they stand up to the weather. I've usually found they have good end of season sales too.

PM2 I just checked the label, and I planted Awakening in 2018. The scent is getting a bit stronger now (or maybe it’s just that there are more blooms open now!)

I usually also have a big flush of R. setigera in June, too, but one of mine decided not to bloom this year. The other I had to move this spring, and I cut back most of the canes. The flower buds are just swelling now, so I’ll post when it’s open.

This has been such a great thread. I’ve taken lots of notes for some great
shrubs/plants featured throughout.

Claire, your gardens are always such a treat to see. That ‘Gold Heart’ is spectacular. What a nice size. And I always like to see your viburnum and
roses!

Barb, those deciduous rhododendron are gorgeous. I really need to add some of those. The deer usually get them when they’re young,
but I have been spraying liquid fence quite a bit so haven’t had much deer
damage at all this year. Your sunset
pictures never disappoint. Absolutely
beautiful. Prince Charles and ZD are
quite a combination. Love how they peek
up at you.

Brdrl, that honeycomb trellis is SO COOL! Love it!
Your climbing hydrangea looks very happy. Both of my kousas didn’t bloom this year either. As Marie mentioned it seems like it’s an every
other year bloomer.

Deanna, kitty watching the beautiful sunset is such a sweet
picture. The hosta with geranium is a
great combo. Those pinks are gorgeous!! ‘Mt. St. Helens’ and ‘Percy Wiseman’ are now
on my list. I didn’t know squirrels would eat the buds! Claire, that is interesting info. Many years I have to spray my viburnums with
liquid fence because a half dozen squirrels will get up into them and denude
all the shrubs of every bud. Grrrr…..!

PM2, your new fence sections look great. Love the itea and rose combination. Wow! I’m
glad your double mock orange does have scent!

Sue, your front garden is glorious. So many textures in there. I can relate to the hay scented ferns. I have many other not so nice names for them
as I pluck them out each year, knowing I’m not getting ANY root and they’ll be
here FOREVER. Sigh…….. Your front walk
is very pretty. Love that circle with
the planter in the middle. And the kitty
of course! And your patio looks like a
great place to relax. Relly like all the
hardscape in your garden. We had a mama
and 2 cubs visit earlier this spring. Have only seen a single, much larger bear
since. Hasn’t been around for quite some
time now. PM2, I would be much more
worried about rabbits than bear. The
bear may step on a plant here or there, but bunnies……just the thought of them
in the garden gives me palpitations!

Dee, I nearly broke out into a cold sweat when I ready 240
pots! I mean, I’m not usually daunted by
lots of garden work and lots and lots of plants to get into the ground or mixed
annual pots, etc…..but 240! HOLY
COW!

Nekobus, your Annablle looks very happy! Do you find she flops at all? I have to stake a little bit some years.

I haven’t take too many pictures this season, but here are a
few from June.

The back shade garden:

I'm pretty sure this mountain laurel is the love of my life, second only to my DH! HA! Profuse bloom every other year and this is an "on" year.

I'm a sucker for this oenothera fruticosa. I let it come in wherever it wants throughout the garden and then rip it out to expose the other plants it wants to take over. Then it comes back following year. It never seems to pose a problem to all the other plants. And such a sunny cheery color.

And a crazy-big physocarpus 'Diablo'

Over a hundred comments on this thread and so many beautiful pictures and interesting posts, and I just can't summon the energy on a hot humid day to give justice to everybody!

We had an inch of rain last night and my garden stalwarts are carrying on as usual.

Itea virginica Henry's Garnet:

The bees love the itea and I'm seeing more bees now.

Behind the itea is Hydrangea Blue Billow and Hosta Blue Angel with the fading rose Zephirine Drouhin overlooking them. Blue Billow has lots of flower buds but they're not quite open yet. It's always a race to see if the hydrangea blooms before the rose fades.

The fading rose petals collect on the hosta leaves:

I inherited a rose from my mother's garden which was just a few sprigs when I found them. It's the Cape Cod rambler 'Excelsa' and only blooms once and is not at all fragrant so it's not on anyone's wish list nowadays. For me it's nostalgic and gives a pretty display around the Fourth of July, after which it becomes background but still reaches out and the thorns grab the unwary passing by.

I'm also partial to single roses:

Rose Carefree Delight:

and the native Carolina Rose which pops up wherever I'm not looking.

More rain forecast for tonight which is still sorely needed.

Claire

I love a blooming Physocarpus, Thyme! I only grow some of the smaller cultivars here and coppiced most of them this year because they were growing out of bounds so no flowers. Love the diversity of your shade gardens. My old garden had more shade. I hardly have any here. We're working on opening some shadier areas and just decided we need outside help to clear some overgrown areas. Sometimes the DIY approach just buries you.

We got .44 inches of rain yesterday, the first drops in three weeks. More is desperately needed but I'm not hopeful. Today I took on some jobs I've been putting off for weeks, staking taller plants, dividing and moving bulbs and moving what's left of the bricks that have been sitting on the front lawn since last fall to other projects or into storage on a pallet in the woods. Time to clean things up and move into maintenance mode.

Claire, I forgot to mention how much I enjoyed your garden tour. Blue Billow is an excellent performer here. I just planted a new one off the front walkway.

A few pictures...Clematis Tie Dye. I'm so impressed. Last year, newly planted, it bloomed for months.

Hydrangea Little Honey is just loaded with buds this year.

I have a Tetrapanax in my patio garden that has been hardy in the ground here for two or three years. It's almost a pest because it runs so I turned the garden into mostly tropical.

A favorite container.

Looks like I missed a lot of posts this weekend. Nice to see so much activity on this thread. Almost time to close out June and start July. I have a whole lot less to look at in July and August, but I should have some lilies and hydrangea at least.

Thyme - nice to see you posting! This has been a nice thread, with lots of interesting views and plants. Everyone has been so busy in their gardens and they get better every year.

We are enjoying our fence, if I posted a photo of the old gate, you would all understand how happy we are with it. [g]. Not only was it ugly but, the latch didn’t work for a long time and we avoided using that gate entry. Now we use it all the time.

The mock orange, was actually more fragrant and for longer, than either the lilacs, the Viburnum carlesii or the roses. I’m planning on getting another one and putting it right under a window. I could smell it in the house for a couple of weeks.

The bunnies ate the two little stems of Fire Island. [g]. They were tiny, I am very surprised. And they’ve started on my hydrangea paniculata. Grrrr!

That Mountain Laurel is wonderful! I had one in my foundation that never did anything but look awful. A lot of shrubs that are supposed to do well in clay soil in the Northeast, usually need acidity as well and I have neutral soil, which I wonder how common that is here? Yours must be in the perfect spot because it looks very happy! Green with envy!

And your Diablo is nicely shaped and blooms all along the branches. Nice!

I agree that the Oenothera is a very cheerful yellow and tempting. I have stayed away from it due to the reputation of invasive behavior. You seem to be making it work.

Claire, it’s surprised me this year to notice how much the bees love the shrubs. Usually, I focus on what perennials to plant to offer to the beneficials but really a steady supply of flowering shrubs seems to give them more than a spattering of perennials along the season.

I don’t have Henry’s Garnet, and you are lucky to have that variety because it is supposed to get the red foliage in the fall, mine doesn’t.

That Blue Angel Hosta is HUGE! lol

So nice that you have a rose from your Mom. How special that is! Very pretty vibrant color too. I like single roses too. I had a Hugo’s Yellow at some point but it was under a tree and I ended up losing it. That native Carolina Rose is very sweet looking. The singles can sometimes be as fragrant as the hybrids and a different fragrance that seems more nostalgic to me.

Sue, that Tie Dye Clematis is really so different! And it looks like it is quite vigorous as well. Different shade of green to the foliage too.

Love 'Little Honey' and I’ve been on the fence about getting one. Would love to hear how it works out for you and see more photos when the blooms are fully open. That color looks nice with your house colors too.

Lots of colorful containers - a banana too? How fun is that!

Did everyone get torrential rains yesterday and last night? It came down in torrents here! From maybe 1:30p to 2:30p, than light showers the rest of the day. It woke me up at 12:30am coming down so hard, it sounded like a freight train. I started thinking of whether we would get water in the basement, and I remembered I had the diverters down for the rain barrels. So I threw on my raincoat and boat shoes and went out with a flashlight and put the diverters up. There was a lake in the back and along the side of the garage. Wow! When I got back in the house dripping wet, I went down to the basement to check if we had any water coming in, and thankfully it was really dry. There was one little puddle in front of the bulkhead doorway that I couldn't see how it got there, but I am just so thankful to have a dry basement. If we didn't get rain in the basement after that rain, I don't know when we would.

That wasn't the end of the rain either. It kept going for an hour and lightening and thunder. Just as the rain was stopping we got one loud sonic boom of thunder.

But I'm so delighted to have gotten so much rain. Everything got a good soak. We had to have gotten 3-4" or more. I don't have a rain gauge. And we're getting showers again, right now.

We got some torrential rain on Saturday afternoon - heavy coming down and lasted for a few hours. Desperately needed, too.

It also rained yesterday afternoon, although not as heavily or as much. And it's supposed to rain in about an hour or so. It's becoming a regular afternoon activity lol. But again, I'm not complaining. We needed this badly.

:)
Dee

We've gotten nice gentle consistent rain since early last evening, and I a THRILLED! If it came down in torrents during the night nobody noticed. We need it so badly. It's been a wonderful almost 24 hours of good consistent rain the will soak into the soil well.

According to our weather station we got .44 inches of rain on Saturday and another third of an inch between yesterday and today so not the windfalls that everyone else seems to be getting. But lower temps and cloudy skies have given the plants and the gardener a break.Keep it coming!

Sorry Sue, hope your windfall is around the corner. I agree it's a relief to have a cool down and a vacation from the full sun days.

We have had something around 3”. The first day because I had been watering, there was already water in the rain gauge so don’t know how much came down, but I think between 1”-2” based on what was in my weeding buckets. When I again emptied the gauge this morning there was almost another two inches, and it has been raining some today as well. We really needed it since we were more than 3” below normal for June, and May was drier than usual as well. It means that my veggie garden, after two years of almost no maintenance, has a green haze of weed seedlings every morning, so my stirrup hoe is getting a workout. But the veggies look much happier.

Sue, hope you get some additional rain.

Sue, i love how the lime hydrangea leaves contrast with the house. I'm currently really interested in the designing something that contrasts well with my house. Yours look fantastic. And the containers is beautiful! It's amazing how many beautiful gardens are on this forum.

Thyme, the deer ate my rhododendron buds, not squirrels. Thank goodness squirrels leave them alone! Usually by now something has eaten my astilbe buds, as well, but so far I'm in for 100% flowering this year. Unbelievable! Was considering removing them if all I ever saw were munched stems. I agree with you on the Mt Laurel. Good thing you already have a husband, or surely some single gardener would agree and woo you just to get to see that every other year! Does you husband ever get jealous of the laurel? ;-)

Again, so many beautiful roses. Claire, I'm always amazed at what you've managed to fit into your property. Not only is it amazing diversity, but it ll looks like every single plant is in the perfect spot.

NHBabs, you have the patience of Job with your voles. I thought I had tons of voles but i've come to find out i have far more moles. I am glad as it seems they are not doing the damage voles would! There are some voles, but I don't have the damage you and others have. I wish the dianthus has lived for you. Always a delight to see your many clematis!

prairiemoon, i LOVE fragrance. i have about twelve peonies planted together, and in that mass they create good fragrance. mock orange is going on the list to plant so i can enjoy the smell.

After about three days of good rain, I expect my soil is rejuvenated quite deeply now. We had rain on May 18, and one downpour in early June of which I am sure some just ran off and didn't soak in, but I was still grateful. This long soaking rain was beautiful to see. Everybody I met here talked about how happy they were to see rain! Welcome, July!

Thank you for your kind words Deanna. My last house coincidentally was red too. That house had yellow trim so I used to plant a lot of red and yellow and avoided pink like the plague. This time around I'm not so discriminating :).

Moles! Ugh they're killing me this year! The cats took care of the first wave but this morning I noticed another garden has been raided. I agree they are much less of a threat to the garden than voles but they make a real mess of things.

It's still dry here but I'm ready to bring on July!

Deanna, We love fragrance too. My husband is not really a gardener. He'd rather be on the golf course. [g], but he has always helped me in the garden. His interest in plants is very subdued. I did notice early on, that his interest really picked up for any fragrant plants, so I am always on the lookout to add any plant that has fragrance.

As for moles/voles, I have seen a mole and identified a hole in the yard as a mole home. I also saw something leave my lawn, cross the street and hop through the lawn of the house across the street. I was not close enough to get an ID. I don't know if moles hop. But I did read that moles/voles seem to go together. I've seen a chipmunk and not just 4 bunnies in the yard, but now the next generation of bunny. My husband tells me I should not call them cute names like 'bunnies'. [g]. I have given up trying to prevent them from eating what they want. The baby rabbit actually waited until this week to cut down the stems on one of the few lilies they hadn't eaten, that was just about to bloom. We don't have a cat or a dog, and it would seem there are no checks and balances. I assume they are only going to all multiply from here on in. I'm going to have to come up with a better plan and make more of an effort.

PM2, for your DH’s love of scent, plant Nicotiana, a strong, wafting scent in the evening, similar to vanilla. It is an annual, but I let it seed, and July and August always have a bunch blooming scattered throughout the garden.

Great idea Babs - I have bought the seed and then never get around to sowing it. It's probably too late to do it now. Also aren't there different varieties and are all of them fragrant?

I also believe Four Clocks are fragrant? I grew them for a couple of seasons and loved them. They also are fragrant after 4pm, if I am remembering right. I have had trouble germinating their seed for the past few years now. This year included. In the spring, there is so much to do, if a seed doesn't germinate, I don't have time to follow up.

I am a lazy gardener, and I rarely start things from seed since most years (not this one) I am gone in April. I used to grow many plants from seed, but now my seed grown plants are all direct seeded, usually by the plant itself. So my Nicotiana were bought as a six pack of annuals at a time the house was being worked on so I wasn’t adding perennials or shrubs. They have just continued to seed themselves over the last 20 years.

There are multiple types of Nicotiana, some smaller like mine at about 2’, but there are also some types that will make a plant that is 6’ in all directions. I might try planting 1/2 your packet of Nicotiana now and saving half. Mine don’t start until it is warm enough and are right now still small, but once they start blooming, they will last until a frost in autumn.

Oh, now that's the way to do it, buy 6 packs and let them reseed for 20 years! lol. Always good to consider other options. Thanks!

I wintersowed Nicotiana a couple of years ago but got no seedlings, probably because my soil was not conducive to reseeding except for perennial forget-me-nots and buttercups. And grass. :-[

This year I wintersowed it as well, but redid the soil with compost, peat, and good mulch. I really really hope I get seedlings next year. That whole bed will be a project each year to recover a portion of it and redo the soil. I wintersowed the traditional Nicotiana sylvestris (woodland tobacco) as well as N alata (Jasmine Tobacco). Do you know if one is more scented than the other? It seems that the woodland is growing faster. I believe it will be the very tall one.