All the pretty flowers

The first of the Gallardia blossoms. I feel blessed by their cheer. I was told that it would be best to treat these as an annual because they bloom so profusely that they exhaust themselves and don't normally come up the second year even though they are sold as perennials. They did look quite worn out last fall, but I treated them like all the other perennials just in case. That is, I mowed them down and covered their shorn heads with burlap. I was quite pleased to see them sprouting a bit of green when I uncovered them in May. They're going to put on quite a show this summer, and since they bloom right through the most killing frosts the show will last a long, long time.



The first of the Campanula Carpatica. These too should bloom through the summer. They appear to have doubled in size since I put them in last spring. I have a few more places I'd like to put them so I'll probably be separating some of them at some point. They are perfect rock garden plants.


The white Campanula Persicafolia are so pretty. They look so delicate in their dance with the wind. It was difficult to get a clear picture because they dance with the slightest breeze.

The Spanish sea grass is another of those exceedingly perky rock garden plants. I quite like the pink, though the white is rather too plain for my taste. I think I'll move the white ones in among the red dianthus where they'll stand out a bit more. If the move is successful I'll post a pic or two.