That’s where I spent my afternoon. Mostly it was just pulling ivy out of areas I don’t want it growing. When we first came here, it filed the front corner garden, along with a lot of other overgrown weeds. It took us a while to clear that space. Over the past two or three years it started creeping back in.

This is the corner garden. Most of what I pulled out is in the pile in front of it. A bunch of ivy was behind that dark green vine that may be as invasive (It’s growing over the ivy, honeysuckle, an American bamboo and I don’t know what else in the neighbor’s garden above.), but I like better. Most of it was in the section of almost bare wall. The wall on the right is all ivy, which is fine as long as it is kept trimmed and out of where it doesn’t belong.

All of the ivy in this pile came from beneath the bush below the mailboxes, which extends to the ivy wall. (That’s the top of the ivy wall at the left of this photo.) There’s still a big vine branch on the fencepost behind the mailboxes, but it needs a heavier cutter than I had.

Most of my corner garden is gone. The phlox is less than half what it was. I may be able to salvage an iris root or two, but none there have leafed out. There are a few (7-10) of the red lily like flower that may be Crocosmia, instead of the dozens there were. My blue geranium is sad. It looked better a couple of weeks ago. The bluebells are hanging on. The daffodils, naked lily and comfrey are the only things that seem to grow well there. Probably all I’ll get to do this year is make sure what’s there gets mulched and enough water.

My new garden where the cherry trees were is so-so. The Butterfly Weed – Asclepias is doing very well, as are the lilies. I don’t see a sign of the cone flowers (I had 4), only one delphinium is coming back. So far one dahlia is coming back. Those are always iffy, so any are nice. I’m still pulling the arrowhead out. It had a lot of flowers this year. I’ll try to get a photo before I’ve pulled them all.

Just below that garden, next to the lawn, the iris are very sad. I’m wondering if the neighborhood cats are peeing on and/or sitting on them. The wild fern is doing well, but my Japanese ferns have disappeared. I have only one each of columbine and heuchera left, too, but both look beautiful.

Three, maybe four of last year’s hanging pots are still alive, though quite thinned. A couple are even blooming. Bacopa, I think.

Most of the dahlias in the circle dahlia bed are coming back up. Camelia is mostly petals on the ground. Lilacs are 99% done, all half brown, now, but WOW! They were prolific this year. Peonies are in full bud–gonna bloom any minute now. Yellow roses have bloomed. Old fashioned roses are starting to open. All roses are in various state of bud. Front clematis has about a dozen blooms right now. The back one’s trellis keeps falling over, but it has several buds and I’ll fix the trellis this week. The azalea has been blooming a while now and the spring rhodie has buds.

That’s all I noticed today. It was supposed to rain, but didn’t. That made for a lovely day working outside, but is concerning, since we are short on rainfall. I suspect it’s going to be another very dry summer.