Roses and Hearts

We visited Living Legacy Gardens near Staples Minnesota recently.

They had some very impressive roses.

This one was not marked.  It is some kind of hardy rose to withstand our winters.  The foliage was nice too.

This one is part of the Explorer Series it is called George Vancouver.  That is one stem with all those blossoms..like a bouquet!  I was impressed with the blooms but not with the foliage. The foliage had blackspot and looked sparse and not real pretty.

The Bleeding Hearts were still blooming. 

Dicentra spectabilis

Dicentra spectablis ‘Alba’

The Tall Garden Phlox will be in bloom in a few weeks and all their Lilies were heavy in bud.  The gardens have something blooming all summer.  All the work is done by volunteers. It is a great place to visit but they have a bumper crop of skeeters this summer. Much like the rest of Minnesota:(

When Does Spring Begin?

OK I have a question..When do you declare that SPRING is officially here? When is Spring.. SPRUNG? When do you officially throw in your snow-boots and shovels for crocs and lawn chairs? When do you say Arrivederci, Auf Wiedersehen, Au revoir to winter, hello spring, you beautiful thing .. so long winter, see you soon enough you old cold bugger .. ?

Is the first day of Spring on the calendar, your day..well just because the Sun starts to move north again doesn't mean a hill of beans here in Minnesota. The calendar lies. We can't plant a garden safely here in Minnesota until Memorial Day weekend. Should that be the new Spring?

Dicentra spectabilis 'Alba' ............White Bleeding Hearts

I say good bye Winter when I see my first Robin.. I am usually the last person to see one. My sister in law always sees them before me, I never get to call her and say "I saw a Robin..before you.. HA!" She is always first, sometimes I don't even begin to look until after her annual phone call. Just one time I would like to be FIRST, I swear she sits on her deck with her binoculars in one hand and her phone in the other ready to call me with the first Robin news. I guess it is okay, she is younger than me and I need more naps, but we live in the same woods..she must be baiting those Robins:)