Harmony

We had such a great, slow, steady, soaking rainfall this last couple days, I was forced to stay out of the garden and let nature take it's course. As I wandered out to hang a blanket on the line this morning I was pleased to find those bursts of growth that come with rain and warm overnight temps: tendrils of clematis grasping for something to cling, the early flowering varieties with buds pealing open, some tepals on rose buds already flexing downward, revealing some color. Delight doesn't begin to sum up the feeling. To look at huge delphinium plants covered with multiple flower buds soaring the sky, beside bursting lily buds, alyssum that's self-sown opening blooms, poppy buds looking like they could, well, pop, any second... my breath is really taken away. I think, 'I did it. I actually grew this stuff,' with nature's help of course. All those daily walks looking for slugs, watching for aphids, wrapping every clematis in chicken wire, tending to the garden, actually helped. And these plants are actually going to bloom.
Is this a new gardener feeling? I've been gardening for 6 years, but it still feels so new to me. These celebrations are so fresh. So deeply rewarding. And, I can't wait to share it with all of you as each bloom opens.
For now, the earliest clematis this year, "Pink Champagne" delivers it's beauty. I am so glad we painted the fence white, the color just pops!

A few aquilegia:

A colorful spot:

Bachelor's Buttons

Happy gardening!