A wet and cool spring

Winter hung on for so long, snow until the end of April.  Just like last year, and it looked as if the blackflies' cycle might have been interrupted by this weather.  But no, they have arrived in full force.
So much so that even our poor dog had to see the vet as she had licked herself and got infected in her private parts. She is now wearing one of those collars that look like an Elizabethan ruff. She even managed to lick herself with this on last night and proceeded to puke afterwards.  More than you want to know, I am sure.  All this to show what a nasty spring this has been.

Some things are growing like crazy though. The grass needs cutting every week for sure; I have set the blades lower so that we don't have to cut it as often, but then it seems to burn in the sun.

I have only one plant left to dig in, that is a honeysuckle that I saw sitting at the grocery store and no one bought it. So I said "if it's still there when I go today, I'll buy it".  Now, where to put it?  I might just put it right next to the other honeysuckle on the fence and let them grow together. I don't know what colour of flowers this one has, but two different colours would actually be nice.

I have lost a few plants. A re-blooming lilac planted in mid May hasn't survived. So I replaced it with a Pinky Winky hydrangea. I am putting plants around in a kind of square in the middle of the garden to have some kind of "garden room" if that is possible in this non-descript rural backyard. Most people just plant on the edges of their yards, but there are a few brave souls who have replaced their grass with plants and have yards jammed full of plants.  I do like to have some kind of order in the planting and I think that you probably have to have some paths between things to do that.

the land of sheds - the raised bed has beefsteak tomatoes in it

these raised beds have tomatoes, peppers, carrots

and the nearest one is potatoes

The young tree is the apple tree planted two years ago

A Rebecca clematis with giant fuchsia/red blooms

I haven't even started on the front yard and the three beds there need weeding badly. One bed on the west side of the lawn is being encroached on with ferns. They are rather nice ferns and perhaps I should just let them be the backdrop to a few plants, rather than trying to get rid of them.

I'm still thinking about the hedge of hydrangeas around the driveway.  I would have to have 7 hydrangeas all the same kind and would have to be prepared to dig in 7 semi-grown plants.  Do I have the energy?  It might be a project for July.

It is raining again today and the temperature is a chilly 15 degrees Celsius which is no good for outside work but certainly makes the grass grow.