JAM-PACKED

This little triangular bed next to the street has more flowers in it than it should but they all do well and there's no room for weeds to grow. Because my back yard is mostly in the shade I tend to cram lots of sun lovers into the smaller beds out front where the sun shines all day. The rose next to the street is Dainty Bess, with some pink lavatera and dark rose-colored valerian in front of it. The Blue Mist spirea is in full bloom and you can't see the purple asters behind them that think it's September. I can't remember the name of the pink rose in the foreground, shown in the close-up. Sometime this fall I'll grub around in the dirt and see if I can find the metal tag that is probably buried near the graft.

Also in this bed but not in the picture is a faux Gloire de Dijon rose. I was about ready to order one when I saw an unnamed variety at Home Depot a few years ago and it looked all the world like Gloire de Dijon and was twenty bucks cheaper. I'm happy and it's happy with a Comtesse de Bouchard clematis twining up the iron pillar frame around it. I think I was in my "pastel palette" phase when I planted this bed. Now I like lots of vibrant colors too. Here's my favorite Firebird penstemon that's in a bed farther back toward the house. It doesn't look as red in this picture as it really is. I love looking at these. Makes me feel like Georgia O'Keeffe.