In the Garden and On the Roof

Thought I'd share a few garden photos and not because the garden is looking so fine. It was a rough winter and it has been a rough spring. Beyond that, I did a lot of culling last autumn so there are bare patches, odd clumps here and there, and thinned foliage. I am still not sure whether the azalea is going to make it. My darling was a bit overzealous with the angle of the cuts. My two younger azaleas are in similar shape from my attentions. The rhubarb has bolted to seed and I really need to get that under control. The lilacs are still here, but not for much longer.

The Bolero Lilies (Asian) are doing well and will bloom soon. I believe I have the pests under control this year by treating the soil and killing the grubs. 
I also have a new tool that is making gardening ever so much better for me. This tool weeds for me! It's a scuffle hoe, aka hula hoe, stirrup hoe, etc. 

It allows a bit of movement at the head and the blade (looks like a stirrup) cuts the roots below and lifts them out. I have created a nice rhubarb bed with it and I can keep ahead of the weeds in my small beds. We have a lot of baby oak trees trying to get a start. They have been a big problem because they don't pull out easily with that plug of an acorn at the end. The scuffle hoe works marvelously. No more endless tugging. My new project is creating a brick path for the mower to follow. This way, my helpful neighbor won't be getting too close to my flower bed blowing clipped grass back into it. That's the hope anyway.

A lot of purple just now with the bearded irises and various purple columbines. You can see the bare spots and just get a glimpse of the over-pruned azalea in the background at the near corner of the house.

Macro shots look better just now. I do love Columbines.

I know that some love Siberian Irises and, if I had one, I'm certain that I'd love it, too. I have bearded irises, which I love. I appreciate the fact that bearded irises look better with age. Not many things can say that!

Yes, it's something of a purple riot out there, but soon the roses will be blooming and the daylilies and the astilbe and, hopefully, the two lonely peonies. That's potentilla in the foreground, which blooms yellow, my personal favorite. It was one of the plants my mother brought to me one hot summer day saying that it wasn't doing well in her garden because a certain someone was bent on mowing it down. The story of her life!

John has been back on the roof fixing the entry way that a squirrel managed to create. That's right! We had a squirrel in the basement and it gained access from the roof. Ai yi yi! You've never known excitement until you've had a squirrel in the cellar. It's taken me weeks to get that sorted. In fact, Fioré has been so wound up that we may not ever recover.
Must scoot as "the kids" are having a yard sale today and tomorrow and I just so happen to have a bunch of stuff to donate to their cause. Yay for even slight progress! (I was going through the grands' toy box here and was overcome by all those Thomas the Train items that they don't love anymore. Apparently, I still do!)
A fun, relaxing, blessed weekend to you!