After such a rainy start, delaying work in all but the Cook's Garden, which has raised beds, and the Moonlight Garden which is very well-drained and has stone paths, we are finally getting into the remaining gardens.  The Butterfly & Hummingbird Garden is nearly all planted now, and I have 1/4 of it edged.  I love to edge....it gives the garden such a finished look, and is so relaxing.  Of course, the backbone of the garden is the perennials, which are performing extremely well this year.  The Dames Rocket has been especially nice, and perfumes the air in the evenings.  The American Columbines are providing meals for the hummingbirds, and the penstemon are nearly ready to bloom.

     I planted the Sunrise Garden yesterday, filling all the spaces between the perennials with yellow, orange, and coral annuals.  It's looking quite cheerful already, but will be even better when the big lilies in a soft orange color bloom.  I added a new iris, which was supposed to be nearly black according to the label, but when it opened, it was a lovely copper color with lavender tones....perfect for a sunrise garden!

     Once the Sunrise Garden was finished, I moved on to the Cottage Garden, which now has lots of splashes of pink annuals filling in between the perennials.  The Wine & Roses weigelia is pretty, and the hummingbirds are visiting it as well.  The Holy Moly adds a touch of yellow, the deep red peonies are gorgeous surrounded by irises in purple and pink.  One job I still need to do is prune out the non-variegated stalks of phlox Nora Leigh.  It is supposed to have lovely golden and green variegated leaves, but if you let the dark green stalks that appear remain on the plant, they will choke out the variegated ones.  The peachleaf bellflowers are just beginning to open.  I love that plant!  And, the reliable Bloody Cranesbill (what an ugly name for such a pretty plant!) is at its best right now.

     The Fairy gardens still look great.  They were planted back in early April, and the progression of bloomers is advancing right on schedule.  RIght now, the dianthus "Pixie" is stealing the show.  I need to get some forget-me-nots added to the ENchanted Forest, and more ferns, but the hellebores still look marvelous! The coral-pink irises in the Sunloving Perennials garden complement the deep purple meadow sages, and the new Twilight-blue baptisia is blooming for the first time.  Very impressive!

     Today, I plan to add Horned Poppy to the Moonlight Garden, along with the white evening primroses that I forget to plant earlier.  The Blanche Double de Courbert rose is blooming already, as well as the Abbottswood Potentilla that I planted last fall.  I'm very happy with it so far.  It looks like all the hydrangeas and viburnums that I added came through the winter well, too.  Then I hope to add some annuals to the Folklore Garden, but I haven't decided what color scheme I want to use.  I guess it will depend upon what annuals are still left in the sales areas!  I also want to plant some Roma beans and asparagus beans in the Cook's Garden.  I also hope to pot up lots of plants from the gardens to move into the sales area, and take lots of cuttings.  It should be a great day to garden!