Gardening is a matter of your enthusiasm holding up until your back gets used to it. - author unknown.

I have always wanted a rose garden. I started it last year and unfortunately I put it in the worst place in the yard! They got almost no direct sun. Like all flowers location, location, location is the first ingredient in growing flowers. Of course now that I think about it, I really didn't put that much thought into where I was going to plant them. I guess it was a good thing that I only paid $3.00 a piece for them. Because had I paid more I would have been very upset when they all died!


Well, now its a better year. I didn't just have a baby and I now have time to plan.
So of course being the persistent person that I am, I just started again.


New location- back yard where we get sun pretty much all day!



New plan= (its actually a circle contrary to the awful picture.)










Arches covered in roses will be on the right and left side of the rose garden. Then in the middle we will probably get a bird bath and a bench??? Idk.


We already have the the roses put in the places they go, now the hard part... putting down all that edging so that the gravel stays in. Now that's going to be a job!

This is Snowfire.. I think. I will have a picture tomorrow of what it looks like open, Its a beauty!

This is one of the roses I got on clearance at the end of the season last year.

Knockout roses... blooming like crazy!

I am not sure which rose this is. I guess we'll be surprised when it opens! I LOVE surprises!
I am thinking its a Floribunda rose since it has so many little buds on one stem.

Iris's are blooming and they are BEAUTIFUL! I have added more Iris's for the list of bulbs to buy this Fall!



My little bitty shady lady impatiens from park seed.

Purslane from my tipsy pots.

Hollyhocks!!!

Another Salvation Army find! A little... idk what. But I am going to use it as a mini-trellis.

Did you really think I could go one post without saying something about my Wave Petunias???

"A garden is never so good as it will be next year."-- Thomas Cooper

This is the Snowball bush from Gurneys that I planted like 2 months ago. And its BLOOMING!

Its scientific name is Viburnum "opulus roseum" sterile (no berries)

This is the tip of my snowball bush and the neighbors tree.


Miniature rose bud!





My first rose bloom!!! They are really small!


Strawberry plants!

My pink tipsy pots! Its not full yet but it will be overloaded with.... Wave Petunias!

http://www.birdsandblooms.com/Tipsy-Pots-Project/detail.aspx

Just a pink feathery bloom from my celosia

Our brick pathway leading from the back porch. When we went and got our HUGE batch of brick we went ahead a picked up the broken ones. And of course we just had to use them (waste not want not LOL) so honey chipped up some more brick and Wah-lah! We added some stepping stones of, course. I mean who wants to walk on brick chips. OUCH!



Peony's are about to bloom! I can't wait!


I love this pot! Its perfect for another strawberry plant!

Now if I can only find some more of these planters : (