“Won’t you come into my garden? I would like my roses to see you.” – Richard Brinsley Sheridan
What a delight this morning to go out to the garden after breakfast and discover the buds on my Mr. Lincoln rose wide open. Mr. Lincoln is a sturdy tea rose bush with fragrant deep red roses, regarded by many as one of the best roses of all time. It’s truly lovely!
My big project for the week is rearranging my shade garden to accommodate an Empress Wu hosta that my mother-in-law kindly bought for me over the weekend. Empress Wu gets to be 5′ wide and 4′ tall, so some (i.e. a lot of) moving of plants here and there is definitely in order. In planning the new layout, I’m trying to come up with a pleasant design in terms of the plants’ varying heights, textures and colors.
“Half the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of the imagination” – Mrs. C.W. Earle Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden (1897)
… but of course, if one is a gardener, exercise of the imagination tends to lead to exercise of the entire body. Mrs. C.W. Earle forgot to mention that part. After all that digging I’ve done so far, boy is my body tired.
Here’s a picture that I took – while taking a break from digging – of one of my favorite foliage arrangements. (Bottom right, heuchera Plum Pudding; bottom left, hosta Liberty; top, unknown hosta variety.) This corner of the garden I am happy with so I am going to leave it be … for now ; ) Happy gardening!
Our irises started blooming about a week ago in back and a few days ago in front. They’re almost a month early this year. Usually they are at they’re peak in mid-May, right around time for K-State graduation and Mother’s Day. This year, they will probably be at their peak in about a week. There are lots of buds ready to pop open. These white irises really glow planted in front of sand cherry bushes! I just love them whenever they bloom. Expect more pictures in the weeks to come. 
A Taste of Morning 