My garden grows out of control. Too much rain, not enough time to deal with the resultant spurt in growth. And all the bushes are either full of blossom which will produce berries for the birds, or they're full of birds nesting. So I can't cut them back.

What gorgeous colors -- and what a lively contrast they must provide in the drizzle!

and my garden, too, is out of control,but also parched from lack of rain in these parts....

Harry, isn't it always a challenge to do one's art AND keep up the garden? All the rain here too has made everything overgrown, needing pruning and moving, such back breaking work.

Maria, thanks. There's so much colour in the spring here before the hot weather sets in and the annuals get going. Sorry to hear about your drought. I wonder if we will have a dry summer here, which is usually the case.

Too much work, too many weeds, too many beasties eating my vegetables - on the other hand the flowers are gorgeous, the tomatoes are going from strength to strength, the grasses dance gracefully in the breeze, their seedheads shining in the early morning and late evening sun, ....

Beautiful combo of colours.

Gardens are all about struggle...

Oddly enough, I was just looking at some foxglove photographs and a single rose that I had taken in the last few days. You have beat me very elegantly to it in publishing them here. I love them. I never tire of flower photographs especially in close up.

Olga, how nicely you put it - the challenges and the rewards - indeed!

Lucy, yes, a struggle, but worth it?

Joe, I enjoy your flower photos too. I have to restrain myself not to post too many of them this time of year.

Lovely photos, especially the foxglove. My garden still grows but because of major thinning and cutting back not so colorful at the moment.

Yritän antaa puutarhan kasvaa itsekseen ja nyt kun ollut sateisia päiviä, ei ole tarvinnut miettiä kasteluakaan. Kuvasi ovat kauniita! Mikä ihmeen kukka tuo keskimmäinen on?

Joan, thanks! I always enjoy your garden photos.

Hei Tuima, ja kiitos! Yritän samaa mutta kaikki kasvaa aivan liian paljon että menee viidakoksi. Se on Common Foxglove, Digitalis purpurea, en tiedä suomeksi. Onko sitä sielläkin?

Don't hold back from posting "too many" on my account! These are gorgeous. Do you have a wider shot to see the layout of your garden(s)? The closeups are exquisite, but now I'm wondering where they are!

Leslee, thanks! As you can see I put up a photo of that spot because of your interest. The blooms here are ever changing, with the earlier spring ones gone now. The roses on the left are just in bud so don't show very well here.

Summer gardens is but a dream here in the wintery southern hemisphere. I shall have to go out to my garden and see what the winter offers!

Foxgloves, foxgloves! How wonderful. I haven't seen any of them for such an age and yours are such a gorgeous colour.

Hi Dijanne! I keep forgetting that the seasons are opposite 'down under'. Hope you still find beauty in your garden. Thanks for dropping by.

Herhimnbryn, another Aussie visitor! I can imagine you would miss them from back home. Do you have them in your garden, in your summer?

Thank you so much for sharing your garden with us! It's deliciously beautiful.

rr, thanks, glad you like it!

Suomeksi näyttäisi olevan rohtosormustinkukka. Eli kyllä niitä täälläkin kasvaa, minä vain en tunnista kasveja kovinkaan hyvin :)

Your garden looks lovely, balanced and well tended. I'm having a foxglove-fest here too, they seed all over the garden and are plentiful this year. I love to watch the bees disappear into the bells. I like your little yellow alliums, leastways I think that's what they are.

Tuima, sekin on erikoisen hauska nimi kukalle! En minäkään kaikki tiedä.

Anna, thanks. The floxgloves are quite glorious and proligfic here in many spots in our garden. Even the alliums, yes, are at their best ever.

Oh, such a beautiful spot! Thanks for putting up the wider shot. You have such a lovely view there. (And it looks like you've been hard at work, too.)