Lots of pink in the garden

There's a lot of pink in the gardens right now.

 'Comtesse de bouchaud' looks gorgeous right now, with more blooms to come.

 I believe this is some type of dianthus (or it could be phlox). Love the color combinations.

The roses in front of my house look great. I only lost one from this area. The other eight I lost were from the back - and not close to the house as these are. I think that gave them some protection.

 I have some lovely pink peonies (cultivar not known).

Not pink, but certainly pretty - Peony 'Star Power'

 Now to look at a few non-pink bloomers...above is Clematis 'Betty Corning.'

 This is a type of loosestrife. It's not invasive; I've grown it for 20 years and its' spread has been very manageable.

 Evening primrose

I found a used nest under a tree. I added a birdie and Ron wired it into the tree. How cute!

Pretty in pink!

Ah, sweet pie!

Recently I purchased Ms. American Pie Buttery Good Pie Recipes and Bold Tales from the American Gothic House.

Since then, I've been on a pie-baking binge! There are so many fantastic pie recipes in the book, and thus far I've made 10 of them.

 My coconut cream pie turned out to be a very pretty pie! And it was delicious, too!

 Last evening I went to a book signing/pie demonstration by the author, Beth M. Howard. Here Beth is talking with someone and looking over her book. Both of her books are on the book rack on the left.

 Beth making pie crust

 I showed Beth my handwritten list of her pie recipes that I've tried so far. She wrote a very sweet inscription in my book and encouraged me to keep on making pie.

What a fun event!

Every day brings change in the garden

Every day things look different in the garden. For instance, the white peonies that were gorgeous yesterday have brown edges today, and the closed buds on the Martagon lily are beginning to open today.

My Martagon lily - I know it is a "species" lily but don't know a specific name.

 The lupines, one of my favorite flowers, are blooming now.

 There are many clematis at Sunsplash Gardens; this one is happily climbing up a birdhouse pole. I don't know the name.

 'Josephine', a favorite of mine

 'Piilu'

 'Piilu' is a small (short) clematis.

 'Proteus' on the left and 'Princess Diana' on the right

 'Rebecca'

 Geranium 'Johnson Blue' is just full of color!

 The orange Oriental Poppy is blooming now too.

 Baptisia

 Wrens are building in this gourd birdhouse.

 Anemone

Supertunia 'Vista Bubblegum' is filling in nicely. This is a fantastic petunia and I use her throughout the gardens.

They're blooming!

The garden is beginning to fill with blooms - and not just dandelion blooms, either.  lol

Take a little tour with me to see the flowers today.

 A pretty purple and white iris in the border garden

 Lily of the Valley, delicate and fragrant

 My favorite petunias, Supertunia 'Vista Bubblegum,' are spread in many containers throughout the gardens.

 Geranium 'Max Frei' has bushed out greatly over the past two years.

 Sedum looks great growing over rocks,especially when it's blooming.

 This is Yellow Archangel, which I just read is invasive. I'll need to keep an eye on it.

 Clematis 'Claire de Lune'

The alliums are just beginning to open up.

 Last but not least, I spotted a different type of oriole at my feeder. I looked in my bird book and I believe this is an Orchard oriole. They are known to summer in our area, although I've not noticed them before.

And here is the Baltimore oriole, for comparison purposes.

What's nesting and/or growing in your garden?