Lovely. Our spring was over before it began also.

I feel your pain, floridarose & Jennifer. We wait all year for the roses and they're gone so fast! I grow a lot of once-bloomers so it's especially hard to see they come and go in a week or two.

Thanks for the nice comments... some of the combinations of my garden are intentional and others are happy accidents! But I edit the ones I don't like fast so it gets better each year.

A few more photos... Alba semi-plena...

Some more combinations with peonies, geraniums and foxgloves.

So GREEN . . . <SIGH>

Looks very beautiful!

Gorgeous shots! And the weather has done the same thing here -- glorious for about two weeks, then the heat and rain finished the first wave. For the once-bloomers that were getting going, that's it until next year. I'm glad I captured them in pics. As much as I enjoy them, my area doesn't bring out their best -- some are so "cautious" about getting going in Spring that their bloom time coincides with our usual first waves of heat. I think that while they grow well here, they'd bloom much better further north, where 90F doesn't usually happen until after they're finished.

This is why I'm filling the last of the bare spots with some Chinas and Teas. True, they won't get as big and glorious for me as they do in California, but they keep going while the Bourbons, HPs, Portlands, and Austins pause during peak Summer heat. We in the mid-Atlantic are in that annoying area with Winters more to the liking of the old Europeans, but Summers that are better suited to Chinas, Teas, and Noisettes.

:-)

~Christopher

What a pretty garden, and so neat! I love the shot of the alba semi-plena. All my Spring blooms were gone in an instant too, but the Winter ones are great this year.

I thought that flash OGR flush was a function of our western climate. I did not realize it was a problem back east as well.

It happens wherever "Spring" is really just a month between late Winter cold and early Summer heat, and the sun is strong. Maybe in the PNW the season lasts a little longer, but the month of May here started with a few nights when I still turned on the heat, and two weeks later I was putting on the AC.

:-/

~Christopher

Compliments on your garden, Lori: it's beautiful!

Really lovely photos of your garden Lori - you must feel well-rewarded for all the hard work. Our Spring 'flush' was very brief this year, too. We had 10 days of temperatures in the high 20s (82 - 85F) starting around the 8th May. I've spent the past week 'dead-heading' all my roses. Then we had a couple of days where the top temperature plummeted to 10 degrees - really crazy. The roses were glorious while they lasted but three - four weeks doesn't really seem long enough! I have one rose which is now growing in part shade (because the peach tree has grown large enough to shade it) - it's still flowering well but it did start later than all the others due to my late pruning. Oh well, hoping for some of the recurrent flowering roses to come back soon.

Tricia

Highs in the low 80s here, Lori, so the 'Charles de Mills' you saw in full bloom is still going strong. Your yard looks brilliant.

Thanks all!

Sounds like I'm not the only one experiencing a shorter than average spring season. Spring got squeezed out with an exceptionally long and cold winter, and then sudden high heat (mid-high 80's and occasional low 90's) and high humidity which usually doesn't start until June here. The mosquitos also started biting extra early, middle of May instead of June. I had some family come over to see the garden in bloom and they went around and sniffed once and then wanted to stay inside. We're getting rain today and cooler temps in the next week but I don't know if it will extend the blooming.

Michael, your climate seems very agreeable to growing roses, except for blackspot of course. 'Charles' was stunning three weeks ago (as was all your garden with its beautiful views). As soon as we got home, it felt like a wall of heat and humidity engulfing us. We're considering Asheville as a nice place to retire to. How are the mosquitos there?

One more photo taken today before the heavy rain, Debutante climbing up an old cherry tree.

What a lovely garden, Lori!! We are in our hot and very heavy rain period in FL. So our flowers open at super speed. You have beautiful borders and great combinations of colors. I'm sure it does get better every year!

Alas, mosquitos are bad in Asheville since the Asian Tiger arrived maybe 8 years ago. We didn't use to have enough to notice.

Beautiful garden Lori.

Thank you all. The week's been cool and rainy so I hope I'll be able to enjoy some remaining blooms this weekend.

It's terrible about those Asian Tiger mosquitoes. Years ago, I never noticed the mosquitoes here before dusk, and now they are bothersome throughout the day all summer long. I suppose anywhere that's green and lush has them now.

Lori, your garden is simply glorious. Not only is it green but you have such beautiful blooms. Quite different from mine, where at the moment basically one rose is blooming, Souvenir de la Malmaison, and there's been nothing for months. I don't really know what to make of it. So nice to at least have some beautiful rose blooms and lush gardens to look at here.

Just saw this... amazing tree climbing rose. Bookmarked it for the future where I actually grew good roses. Thank you for the inspiration.

You have lots of beauties there, but the rose climbing up the tree is best of all. Love it!

Kate

lori_elf z6b MD: Thanks for posting the additional photos of your garden. Oh, how I'd love to walk through it, discovering surprises, smelling the wonderful fragrance, relaxing in the beauty of it all (I hope that's not too weird...promise I won't seek you out & show up at your doorstep or wandering through your gardens. 8-o). I love the rose growing up the tree. It's a goal of mine to grow roses in similar ways. I love them paired with certain clematis, rambling through large shrubs, and of course, up trees. Sure, I also love climbers on arbors & trellises, but I really love them combined in unexpected ways. An inspiration for me, even if some years their display if cut short.

Jennifer (or any of my rose buddies), if you're ever in the area I would love to show you my garden. I've been inspired by visiting other friend's gardens, seeing gorgeous photos and fantastic tips on garden web, reading tons of books, as well as trial by error. I'm thrilled to pass on what I can to others.

Just fantastic, It must be rewarding having so much room to grow things, I can only dream !!!!I always have two issues when the roses are out. Its either too hot and there done sooner than they should be or rain and they all ball. But there always still beauties no matter what..Great garden!!!

what a beautiful garden you have there! Even though the bloom cycle might be short, each flower really is a gift! And that climber through the cherry tree, just heavenly. Enjoy your hard work and your lovely garden!

Beautiful photos; that picture of 'Felicite' with the campanula is especially felicitous.

Thanks,

Virginia