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<\/a><\/p>\nWe have wrens nesting in a bird box we set on some shelves outside the greenhouse. \u00a0Wrens are my favorite city birds. \u00a0They are cheerful and spunky and they communicate clearly when they are annoyed.<\/p>\n
The hardworking parents are constantly carrying insects to their chicks.<\/p>\n Geranium x cantabrigiense \u201cBiokovo\u201d blooming under a stand of Voodoo Lilies in the Doug fir bed.<\/p>\n Another photo of the white Hesperis matronalis.<\/p>\n One of the throwback lavender Hesperis.<\/p>\n Linaria purpurea \u201cCanon J. Went\u201d growing in a pot near the Doug fir bed.<\/p>\n We have a couple of rhododendrons outside the living room window.\u00a0 They were the wrong choice for a foundation planting, as this is a tall cultivar.\u00a0 We trim them so low that they hardly bloom.\u00a0 The plan is to move them one day and replace them with dwarf hydrangeas.\u00a0 The flowers, however few, are a nice orchid shade.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not a big fan of hybrid tea roses\u2013they tend to have gorgeous flowers on ugly shrubs.\u00a0 I\u2019ve had the above plant for years, though, and while it has the usual faults of a hybrid tea, including black spot and other diseases and pests, the flowers are such a vivid shade that I can\u2019t help but smile when it blooms.\u00a0 This is \u201cEuropeana.\u201d<\/p>\n Another view, with the raindrops on the petals.<\/p>\n This is very interesting.\u00a0 The clematis that I have on the Jeff Tangen arbor usually has small flowers with four petals.\u00a0 The first flowers this year at the top of the arbor are these amazingly huge, six-petals, and stunning.\u00a0 I bought the parent of this cutting without a name, but I suspect\u00a0it might be\u00a0\u201cJackmanii.\u201d<\/p>\n More pictures of the Geraneum phaeum hybrid in the driveway bed\u2026this is out of focus a bit, but the color is captured nicely.<\/p>\n If you look closely, you can see the habit of the phaeum hybrid here in contrast to the G. macrorrhizum at its feet.<\/p>\n The standard Linaria purpurea.\u00a0 These plants are vigorous, but graceful.\u00a0 They seed about and volunteer a bit, but nothing like their noxious (but beautiful) cousin, Linaria vulgaris.<\/p>\n You get a feel more for the habit of the plant here.\u00a0 This is a mature one growing in the ground near the driveway.<\/p>\n The arboretum rose seedling behind Leon\u2019s fantastic Pod sculpture.\u00a0 This rose is blooming really well this year and the fragrance is subtle, but excellent.<\/p>\n Lazy photographer trying to get the picture without kneeling down with the plant!\u00a0 But I like this picture, anyway\u2013with Jeff Tangen\u2019s sculpture behind and the fantastic fluted petals of the poppy.<\/p>\n A picture from above, showing raindrops on the petals.\u00a0 This is a seedling from Papaver orientale \u201cPizzicato.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet another photo.\u00a0 The surrounding plants are seedlings of a thug plant sold to me as Dracocephalum moldavica.\u00a0 These do not actually appear to be that plant, nor any other plant I can identify.\u00a0 I have to shear them back after flowering to keep them from seeding, as they are prolific and filled with wander-lust.<\/p>\n Goumi berries starting to swell.\u00a0 These grow amazingly fast into ripe berries\u2013should have some fresh eating by the end of June.<\/p>\n The dwarf mulberry that had been planted in the orchard bed for two years got mowed accidentally early on, and subsequently just never really recovered.\u00a0 I replaced it today with two Honeyberry plants, \u201cTundra\u201d and \u201cCinderella.\u201d\u00a0 These Lonicera caerulea var. edulis cultivars should pollinate each other and be full of fruit starting in the next year or two.<\/p>\n The miniature rose in the orchard garden with raindrops on it.<\/p>\n This poor little penstemon from brother Tim battles the bindweed every year, but manages to survive.\u00a0 I\u2019ve increased my eradication efforts this year\u2013I pull the rampant vines up every day to try and get them to disappear.<\/p>\n Raindrops on Solomon\u2019s Seal (Polygonatum multiflorum) leaves.<\/p>\n Lovely leaves and stems\u2013a fantastic combination of substance and grace.<\/p>\n More raindrops.\u00a0 And I\u2019m hoping for many, many more raindrops as I don\u2019t have much time right now to water things.<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A bit of rain landed in Seattle today, and it was seriously welcomed! \u00a0I had to water the new fruit trees and roses this week to make sure they make it through their first year. \u00a0The roses look great. \u00a0The fruit trees look a little stressed. \u00a0After todays rain and cooler temperatures, I\u2019m sure they … Continue reading May Showers<\/span> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n