Goodbye May

Very busy week at work but was able to snap some photos as we got home tonight. Here's what's happening in the garden now as we get ready to welcome Summer.

Dortmund may have the most perfect blooms. It's one of my favorites to photograph.

 

Lovely Christopher Marlowe. So many blooms it falls all over itself. I love the yellow eye in the middle. This rose gets a bad rap. It's not supposed to be very vigorous if you read the David Austin book...not so in my garden!



Cinco de Mayo. I have these growing in barrels over the past two years. They seem to love it.

This picture does not do Quadra justice. The blooms are like velvet and a very rich magenta red color. Very heavy climber.

Westerland is also in a barrel for now. I bought him as a band and he won't go in the ground until next year. The huge blooms hang delicately off of thin stems.

Don't you hate when you forget the name of a rose? What is this....I can't remember. I think it's Climbing Pinkie.



These are the last Spring blooms of The Dark Lady.

 

Iceberg is one of my last roses to bloom and the minute it blooms it gets black spot so had to take some quick shots. That's Jackman Clematis looking lovely.



That's Graham Thomas and Europa in bloom at the bottom of the shot.

 

Julia Child finally graced us with her presence. Very late bloomer for me.

 

This is Twilight Zone. It's a new rose introduced this year that I purchased from Edmunds. I have no luck with purple roses, but so far, so good.



Mozart's lovely little blooms

 

Heritage. The blooms burst 5 seconds after they bloom. But for those 5 seconds, it's lovely!

This is why I love planting Zinnia seeds. I threw these in the Perennial Garden on Monday and the little sprouts are already coming up.



Boston Ivy covered light post which always makes me think of my mom because she has the same ivy growing up her light post at home. Pretty Niobe clematis took off this year!



Gorgeous Goot Garden

I love to see this rose garden in full spring bloom after visiting it in the winter. You can take a look at the sleeping shots here. This garden really is a hidden gem in NJ. We came home from camping last night so were able to take a ride and see the blooms. So glad we did!

The entrance is lined with boxwoods and those are pink knock-outs behind them.

Of course I had to snap the large clump of Easy Does It's, one of my favorite.

I was also happy to see Rainbow Sorbet, another rose that blooms heavily in my garden.

This is a beautiful Ballerina that is climbing up a pillar. Very vigorous.

This Frontenac was the most prolific bush in the garden. You can see the bush from every spot in the garden.

That's John Cabot climbing up the arbor. His blooms were a beautiful magenta shade that were extremely bright.

They have a few lovely specimens of The Garland that grow up the arbors.

This is Leonie Lamesch. While at this garden, I love to window shop and think about roses I need to get  for next year. This is definitly one of them.

The rose that took my breath away was this climbing City of York. How do I get one?? It's a must have for next year. I can't describe the huge blooms and beautiful foliage. It really was perfect.

More City of York...

Close-up...

Near the City of York was an American Pillar that covered a bench. Very pretty.

Secret



Love and Peace. I was surprised how yellow it was. Stunning.

Cinco de Mayo which I have in my garden too. Such a pretty rose!

This was another one that I would love to have in my garden. I love the soft pink edges. This is Glenda Marie.

Sweet Surrender was at its peak today and the bushes were simply covered with blooms.

My second favorite for me in the garden was Strike it Rich. The blooms glowed  and stood up straight and tall. It would be a great cut flower.

So, they had ever red you could imagine....Olympiad, Chrysler Imperial, Legend, Mister Lincoln, etc. but the most beautiful red in the entire garden (in my opinion) was Peggy Rockefeller. The blooms were a perfect red, not too pink, velvety and the bush itself was very full and lush. It reminded me of Alice in Wonderland when Alice helps paint the roses red. What a beauty!

Julia Child...that's Wild Blue Yonder next to it which was glorious and deep purple. I have no luck with purple roses in my garden. Maybe I'll try this one next year....

Double Delight

This post could go on and on, but I'll save some shots for later. I can't think of a better way to spend an afternoon...

Camping on Memorial Day

Went camping over the weekend to the Francis Slocum State Park in Northeast Pennsylvania. We had very good weather (except for the small thunderstorm) and some pretty views. This was Winnie's first time camping and it took her awhile to get used to the place. Luckily we have a tent with a screened in porch so she was able to have her own little room. It's fun to go camping with an Eagle Scout. David knows how to set everything up and always has everything we need. Winnie and I just rested, read and took pictures. We're very spoiled...

I was hoping to get some good shots of the forest and lake. The weather complied and we were able to take a few at different times throughout the trip...

I love this shot as the sun was hitting the trees....

There was a cool stone wall in the middle of the forest. I love it in B/W.

So peaceful....