My Garden is Holding Me Hostage

Can one suffer Stockholm Syndrome while working
in the garden?

No? It's just me then?

After being too wet, and then too cool earlier in the week,
we were finally able to get back out out in the garden
this weekend.

But first, let's look around the garden.

Goodness knows that I've not had the time to really
enjoy it with all the work that I've been doing.

Pat Austin English Rose.
This rose was named for David Austin's wife.

While I am sure that Mrs. Austin is a lovely lady,
this rose has some nasty thorns.

Golden Celebration.
Another English Rose.

Dr. Huey rose.
The original rose died,
leaving the root stock to flourish.

I like it, so I left it.

Tradescant rose.
Yet another English rose.

All of these English roses are lovely and
heavenly scented,
but most only bloom once a year.

Miniature rose - Rainbow's End.



Gertrude Jekyll,
my favorite English rose.

She is temperamental, to be sure,
but I can't imagine having a garden without her.
Her sweet, old-world rose perfume fills the air
and soothes the soul.

Geoff Hamilton rose.
Yes, it is yet another David Austin rose,
or English rose.

Unfortunately,
thrips have been busily munching on the petals.

Lambs ear blooming.
I brought two of these plants with us
when we moved here from Cincinnati several years ago.

Little did I know it was like Noah's Ark:
"And they went forth and populated my yard."

Really.
I planted them by the mailbox
and now they are all around the house
and even in the yard.
So now I pull these innocuous looking plants
out whenever I can.

Another peony in bloom.

And look at what brushed by me as I rested while working
in the garden the other evening.
After some searching on the Internet,
I found that this creature which measures over 4 inches long
and nearly 3/4 inch wide is a millipede.
Who knew that they got that big?

The garden bed by the neighbor's fence is taking shape.

And it is finally finished.
One more project I can check off my list.

Now this bed by the deck needs to be finished.

And it only took three people three days to do.

In case you are wondering,
that is my grandfather's old push mower
leaning against the deck.
The wood roller rotted away so it no longer works.

My grandfather was an inventor and a tinkerer.
This push mower has sentimental value for me
as it reminds me of him
and where I get my tinkerer's genes.

My grandmother loved to garden
I like to think that she would have loved my garden,
even with its imperfections.

Yet another project finished.

Two sides of the house are complete,
and two sides are left.

As today was Sunday,
that meant that we were also playing dodge
the sudden downpours.