Picture post!

Images accumulated over the last week or two.

Front yard!



Featuring roses!





Must get a shot of the John Davis rose in its current state, i.e. ZOMG blooming like mad.  As things are starting to settle in it's starting to get gratifyingly colourful out there!

I have been busily filling in beds in the side yard - starring a Red Dragon japanese maple:



I had meant to plant some sort of vine to climb up the fence here, but lo and behold there's one creeping over from the neighbour's carport, and it looks very much like a dutchman's pipe - sweet!

Back yard (the half of it that's interesting at the moment)!



Again: ZOMG roses.  This is also the first time the salvia has really bloomed, and it's SO GORGEOUS, especially with said roses.

Some more detailed shots:

Shade bed:





Sun bed:



ZOMG roses:

I have been enchanted a few times this spring by the presence of this lovely visitor, who chilled obligingly in the hydrangeas while I ran and got my camera:



Today I ran into a passerby taking some pictures of flowers in the front border, and she pointed out this critter in the rue:



Upon closer inspection there were at least half a dozen of them munching away in there.  A bit of googling reveals that (a) these are the caterpillars of the lovely visitor above, namely an old world swallowtail, and (b) they looooove rue.  Who knew??  I bought the stuff because I liked the foliage.  Not sure whether the butterfly's presence explains the caterpillars or the other way around, but either way, I think I need a couple more of those plants!