Nancy toured the garden with her camera over the past couple of days.

Here are some of the results.

We planted this fringetree, or Chionanthus virginicus, about five years ago as a bare-root specimen from Fedco in Waterville. This is the first year it has bloomed, and the fragrance is enticing. It is quite close to the strawberry bed, and I smell it while picking.

This was a Cary Award winner in 2007 and is supposed to get 18 feet tall eventually, so the strawberries could eventually be in trouble.

We love alliums, or ornamental onions, and they come in a wide variety of bloom styles.

This is Allium schubertii, which Nancy bought from the Bluestone perennials catalog. The blossom, which to us looks like a 1950s Sputnik-type satellite, is just barely pink now but is supposed to get a deeper pink to rose as it matures, as well as much larger.

It is located beside a birdsnest spruce right by our regularly used door, so it gets some attention.

I also like some surprises occasionally. Last year foxgloves, or digitalis, just started popping up in the wooded area near our compost bins. We don't have as many this year, but this one right next to an oak is impressive.

The week of rain isn't doing this flowers any harm at all. It is a good time to get out in your garden.

E-mail this entry to a friend