It has been a long winter here in West Michigan, and a slow spring. But we’ve had just the right amounts of rain and sunshine lately and the gardens are lush. I have a brand new kitchen and in front of the window that looks out onto the gardens is a little desk where I spend so much of my time. The picture here was taken at the end of March before all the trim was up. 
The hansa roses are in bloom and so fragrant. I love their spicey sweetness. The old lilac at the side of the garage is gone. It was huge and each spring it was heavy with blooms and the drone of bees that drank the nectar and collected the pollen. But after the flowers fade it became just a tangled mass of shoots that came up from the ground. There was even old roof pieces trapped in the center that I couldn’t reach, and actually had little inclination to remove.
The empty space is an exciting opportunity to dream a new bed. I bought three flats of annuals today to tide me over. But there is an annabelle hydrangea there now and two caryopteris. I love caryopteris and I think its striking blue will be perfect against the big mops of hydrangea blooms. That is, if they flower at the same time. But it doesn’t matter.
I planted a limelight hydrangea at the corner of the house, to the right of my window that looks out onto the garden. I needed some height there and the limelight was so terribly on sale. I couldn’t resist.
A friend came by last week and helped me string twine on the vine supports. The dutchman’s pipe will take over this summer, I’m sure, and its tendrils needed some help. I will at last have my green wall that separates the secret garden from the lower garden.
The little bench under the garage window tempts me and I have bought several pots from Motman’s. I suppose a window box would be better, but it’s so much easier to just tuck the bench there and dress it with a pre-planted pot. Motman’s does it so much better than I do.
Garden 337 