Today's delights

I arrived back from a week in Quebec (with students, so the trip was work, honestly) to discover (no surprise) grass that needed cutting and weeds overrunning the planting beds, so the first order of business was to clear some of the mess. This evening, however, as we ate a lovely dinner on the porch (prepared by my wonderful spouse), I was able to notice some of the positives of our messy but always lively and varied yard.  The light was fading when I finally got outside with a camera, so the picture quality isn't all I'd like, but this evening brought delights. 

This combination is one that I actually planned (what a concept), and for once the plants are blooming simultaneously: clematis "Betty Corning," the David Austin rose "Heritage," and rosa "Laguna," the last rose I bought from Wayside Gardens (nothing against Wayside, I'm just not doing a lot of roses these days).





"Heritage"



"Laguna"

Out in the meadow garden, my favorite early grass, formerly known as stipa tenuissima, is in full bloom. (I do wish the people in charge of plant names would leave them alone. My favorite asters have now migrated into a genus with a totally unpronounceable and unspellable name.)

The real delight of the day, however, was the discovery that the plant I thought was virgin's bower, clematis virginiana, had been mislabeled at the nursery. Normally, this is not a good thing, but my formerly sluggish little clematis has, in only its second year, been revealed as (ta da!) clematis viorna, a native vine that, according to the Brushwood Nursery website, blooms all summer.