Roses, etc.

The pink roses have bloomed, finally! I only have a few of them, and I managed to capture some pretty pictures—they are just about the prettiest, most delicate things I've seen! Unfortunately, I don't know what type any of my roses are, so if you do, by all means, tell me!

(As always, click photos to see larger—I urge you to, as these are so pretty.)













Plus, my first tomatoes of the season!


I planted two tomato plants directly into the ground when it was probably way too early... back in late April. One of the plants didn't make it, but I wasn't sure which one it was. Looks like these are not going to be cherry tomatoes, which means—Early Girl! Just on schedule, too. I can see three fruits so far.

The plant itself is not very big at all, but as long as it makes me some 'maters, that's all I care about. I'll probably try another plant in this spot in my front garden again next year, albeit planted at a more appropriate time!

Nifty.

Also in my garden news, I weeded the vegetable garden yesterday evening. The first zucchini seed that I planted in the back of what was to be the asparagus patch is getting quite big, and the additional seeds I planted in the front just a week or two ago are producing honest to god leaves already! One of the strawberry plants has blossoms, and the other is spreading runners. The black beauty eggplant, also planted too early, is looking better and better lately—maybe it will actually produce! The watermelon plants are doing just fine, too.

All the container tomatoes are growing like mad and starting to produce blossoms. I just noticed a wee salsa delight pepper on that plant in the veggie plot. The broccoli is starting to make, well, broccoli! I can see the tiny florets in the center of the leaves on each of the four plants.

I still need to get into the ground the lovely plants I bought at my new friend Gordon's annual plant sale. He has a spectacular garden in Buffalo and raises money to maintain it each year in this way. I came away with:

• Gooseneck Loosestrife
• Two varieties of phlox
• Solomon's Seal (what a beaut!)
• Black fennel (as a companion plant to my roses)
• French tarragon
and, my coup of the day!
• Pan Am hosta! This hosta is a direct descendant of a plant that was grown as part of the Pan-American Exhibition, which was held in Buffalo in 1901. What an awesome piece of history! Plus, the plant itself is just lovely.

***

Unfortunately, the front garden isn't looking so hot since I had the grand idea of, you know, moving stuff around. There's also not much blooming at this point, so it's looking a little barren and empty, aside from the thriving hostas in the front row. If you come a little closer, you can see some pretty details of things, but looking at it from the street is not so special. I'm sad by this, but know that it is just part of the process of creating something really beautiful in the end. I need to be patient.