Three years ago I envisioned an archway of white clematis.  This year I almost have one!  The clematis x white is blooming nicely and frames the entrance to the secret garden. Next year I’m hoping for a more dramatic show.  I love the fuzzy centers to these flowers and the fact that they linger long after the petals have fallen away.

Clematis x white archway

Clematis x white

The White Dawn climber is doing well, too.  It must like the warm bricks.  I wish I had either gotten a taller trellis or placed this one higher.  The tag on the rose said it would get 8 feet tall.  Guess what.  It’s a lot taller than 8 feet.  The canes are arching back on themselves by at least two feet.

White Dawn

Some of the hidecote lavender is actually ready to harvest.  If I continue to cut it, I get a summer full of blooms. I chose Hidcote because it is usually a darker color than Munstead.  I have some Jean Davis in the secret garden, and some Silver Edge.  I planted a couple other varieties late last summer.  They survived but they probably won’t produce a lot of blooms this year.  Maybe next summer.

Hidcote lavender

The Julia Child rose has made a bit of a comeback.  Last summer black spot almost did it in. This year I’ve been keeping an eye on it and so far it’s looking pretty good.  It isn’t as lush as it could be, but it is producing more blooms than it did last year.

Julia Child Rose

I read recently that Julia Child tried to block the naming of this rose after her.  I’m not sure why.  It’s such a wonderful buttery color.  And it has a wonderful fragrance.

The cherries are starting to take on color.  It will be a couple of weeks before they can be harvested, I think.  They are sour cherries, so I can’t really tell by taste.  I do know that right before they over-ripen, the birds discover them.  Within two days any cherries left on the tree are liberated by birds.  And a few squirrels.  In fact, one was nibbling on cherries this afternoon.

Ripening cherries

The catmint is in full glory now.  And so is the salvia.  In fact, I need to stake the salvia.  It has flopped.  That’s a Japanese Maple in the background.  The Zagreb Coreopsis is budded out but not yet blooming.  I’m hoping the catmint and the coreopsis will bloom together.  The other red in the background is just a pot of geraniums in a bird bath.  I bought the bird house at the Reed’s Lake Art Fair two years ago.  The wood came from an old barn on Patterson Ave.  Beyond the fence is a park with lovely old Tamaracks and maples.

A view of the secret garden