Tangled Brush

I knew this was something good, but I didn't know what... And then, to my delight, the buds turned yellow. Primroses! Sweet early summer flowers, among the lily of the valley leaves. A neighbour across the street has vigorous ones. I wonder if the birds planted these here?

I have a neighbour who decries Virginia creeper, but I like it. I admire its tenacity. Here, it is growing on the outer part of the fence. It flourishes, undisturbed, behind the shed. Between the slats of the fence, I see its pale green fingers seeking out a place to grip It also seems willing to serve as a host for other creeping things; in the photo above, purple vetch, a wildflower I quite enjoy, has clasped its tight tendrils around the stem of the Virginia creeper. Another plant in the backyard loves to creep, but this one on the ground. Below is the wildflower known as Creeping Jenny. She has pretty yellow flowers this time of year, and just laughs at us when we try to mow her down. Creeping Jenny is kept company by Creeping Charlie, an invasive weed that thrives in a sunny corner of the yard. If we were staying in this house I would make that patch my rose garden. We will see. Last year, my husband attacked a patch of the Creeping Charlie with great vigour.

I usually go to the Experimental Farm's Ornamental Gardens to drool over the peonies, but now I don't have to! Other bushes in the neighborhood are already in bloom but I have been waiting and waiting. Now to my joy I see... It's pink! How much beauty can one garden have? Well, come look in the backyard - I have a marroon beauty too! Ready for your closeup, darling?

Things started off like this.. And very quickly progressed to this. The aroma was heavenly, and I was so delighted to have a legitimate source of lily of the valley - I used to purloin them from public places (thanks, University of Ottawa! smooch) and now I don't have to! And there was another patch in the backyard, edged with white violets. I picked fragrant bouquets to my heart's content.

This corner of the garden is magic. I have planted some lupin seeds, but apparently they will only bloom next year (will we be here?). The other plants are gifts of nature, and keep surprising me. Magic; how else to explain this enchanting flower, which I have never seen before? And this -what could it be? Maybe the sprites know. July 27 Update:  I found out what the pink flower is! Not only that, I can even order it on Amazon.com (of course). It is....(ta da)  Nora Barlow Pink Columbine (Aquilegia Caerulea). I was at Canadian Tire today (hunting for gardening deals) and saw a similar one. That's when I knew it was some kind of columbine (I was thinking it might be, as the seed pod is the same as some other, traditional columbines that sprouted in other parts of the garden). As well, the leaves were similar to columbines. So, I looked up "different kinds of columbine" and, voila! Really, what did people do before the internet? It's a mystery to

We rented a house with an overgrown garden. I want to make it beautiful, but there are constraints. The main one is, of course, time. I have two small and tumbling kids and, for some reason, they don't find pulling up weeds as fascinating as I do.  "Mama!" "Yes?" "Come play with me! / I want to go biking! / Play a board game!" (etc). "Um, can I dig up a few more dandelions? Just five more, okay? Um, maybe ten?" So, you see.  Another constraint: we plan to buy a house in the next 3-12 months. Should I put significant time and effort into a garden when we may not be here next year to enjoy it? Or, to make it more concrete - that $50 rose tree covered in profuse, fragrant blooms is so beautiful. But if we buy a house in January, will I be able to dig it up and take it with us? (I live in Ottawa, Canada, so the answer is no).  And so, I dig, and weed, and dream, and buy annuals, not perennials.  Okay, I bought