THE EARLIEST BLOOMS

So many things have been happening in the garden and I've not had to time to show you any of them, so I thought it was high time to take a few peeks at what's happening. Not much is blooming yet, but in a matter of weeks I expect the yard to be a riot of color.

There are moments of brilliance.

The 'Rimpo' tree peony I bought on sale from Klehm's Song Sparrow Nursery a couple years ago is blooming. The first magenta bloom, which is now fading all too soon, must have been a good 9 or 10 inches across with a beautiful golden center. A second flower opened this morning.

The 'Guernsey Cream' clematis, which was divided and moved last year is looking as good as it ever has. Although my collection of clematis now numbers more than 20, this is my favorite.

Although I know the hostas will soon be ravaged by sun and slugs, this one ('June' I think) is looking so beautiful in the terraced bed off the deck. I like it with the striped hakenachloa next to it.

 This photo makes it look a little messier than it is, but I don't think the circle garden has ever looked better. I'm loving the 'Redbor' kale in there and I expect it to pretty much take over during the course of the summer.

 That bright orange pop you see in the circle garden is 'Geisha Girl' calendula. It is darn near neon orange

I'm happy with how the "main garden" is looking now that it's one of the few that has been weeded and mulched. I used 'Morning Glory Charm' supertunias in the urn and around it. I'm really loving this new variety. I really hope the urn grows in well this year. I have a 'Cafe au Lait' dahlia in the center with the supertunias and 'Kent Beauty' ornamental oregano. A 'Princess Diana' clematis climbs up the front.

Speaking of containers, the big container by the door was planted similarly to last year with the addition of verbena bonariensis.

I planted the garden alongside the patio with almost all annuals this year. Hopefully they will fill in and be a lush riot of color.

 The front steps are currently serving as a staging area. Please, god of gardening, let me get everything in the ground the coming weekend.

The 'Prairie Snowdrift' rose that I'm growing in a container has been looking good until the last two days when I noticed a familiar problem: telltale signs of sawfly larvae. Of all jobs in the garden, anything that involves picking creepy crawlies off of plants is among my most hated, but that's what I did. You can see the sneaky bugger on the underside of a leave. Hopefully I caught them early enough to avoid any further damage.

 That's what's happening in my garden? What's the report from yours?