Some Spring Color

It has been overcast most of the day, with gusting winds that promise a big storm, though none has materialized.  Twice today it's been "spitting rain," as my father would say.  It was actually the perfect day for gardening, and I got a few shots from the Stepchild Garden while puttering this morning.  I like the contrast between the Centaurea montana and this pass-along yellow bearded iris from my friend Alice's garden.

The Clematis "Fireworks" is a pretty generic clematis, but it works well climbing up the New Dawn Rose.  Once the rose comes into bloom, the clematis blossoms still work with the color.  I got lucky when "Ortel's Rose" yarrow self-seeded itself there, since it provides a third texture in the same color family.  Pamela Harper and Penelope Hobhouse would be so proud!

This white bearded iris is not fully opened, but positively glows!  I don't recall ever having it bloom before, or even where I got it......but who cares about that, right?  Just look at this baby go!

I do remember buying this one called "City Lights" a couple of years ago, and it's finally blooming!  The color is a really shocking purple-blue that really doesn't translate well in a photo.

This little one was originally at the John Paul Jones House in Portsmouth, NH, planted in 1905 to commemorate the signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth.  I stumbled upon their plant sale last summer, and carried the irises in a ziploc bag in my suitcase for a week!

Even these Walmart azaleas that were planted by the previous owner looked good this morning.  I cut down a nasty sweetgum last year that was in the middle of the clump, which now makes the perfect base for a trio of pots --- "Royal Velvet" supertunias from Proven Winners, a red banana, and a brugmansia called Betty Marshall that blooms white with chartreuse veins