Monday, June 29, 2009

Rainy day garden surprises

There were some surprises waiting for me in the garden yesterday when I went out in the rain to take outdoor shots of a hat I knit (yes, sometimes silliness is rewarded).

I treated myself to a clematis years ago, when my friend Kris Neri's book Revenge of the Gypsy Queen came out and I spotted this 'Gypsy Queen' variety in my favourite nursery. I thought it would bring Kris good luck to have her title growing in another part of the world, but the plant didn't do so well where it was, so I moved it.

And look!


The biggest bloom I can remember, and just a couple of weeks after Kris wrote to say the book has been reissued! We're both lucky. And so will you be if you order a copy - it's such a fun story.

I didn't give up hope on clematis when the Gypsy Queen didn't work out, so a few years ago I tried this one:


I unraveled it from the rose bush the other day and propped it up where it was supposed to be growing, and I guess it was pleased with me, judging by this nice gift (and more blooms to come!)

The detangling gave me some nice action on the rose front too. I was sure a rose bush wouldn't work for me considering how many other things die in my yard, but I was wrong, at least about this particular plant:


Isn't it lovely? And it blooms all summer, no matter how lousy the winter before. A good thing to remember at the end of a Stressful Time, don't you think?

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