Here are some spring photos of the front garden.

Purple coneflowers, artemesia, and four-nerve daisy

‘Carefree Beauty’ rose

View across front garden from driveway

Kids’ garden: Mexican feathergrass, zexmenia, and Blackfoot daisy

‘Belinda’s Dream’ rose

And from the back garden, the first daylily to bloom . . .

‘Gertrude Condon’ daylilies

By the end of May, nearly all the daylilies are blooming, and the black-eyed Susans have begun as well. Shown above is banana-yellow ‘Gertrude Condon.’ I am also fond of ‘Wilson’s Yellow,’ with its red band of color shading into the bright yellow. Set against the blues of the back garden, it really pops out at you.

‘Wilson’s Yellow’ daylily

‘Wilson’s Yellow’ daylily, heart-leaf skullcap, Salvia guaranitica, and garden orb

‘Best of Friends’ daylily

More ‘Friends’

The onset of summer brings out the vitex’s purple blooms. In a mere 3 years, this small tree has grown from a height of no more than 2 feet. It now provides welcome shade for our front room, which faces due west. Below it flower white gaura and purple coneflower.

Vitex in bloom