Peaceful End of May Garden Tour

The garden looked very peaceful on this cloudy morning, so I caught some broad views of the landscape.  In this view I like the contrasting foliage of the maroon Little Devil ninebark and Blue Star junipers along with all the green.

It's always hard to photograph this southeast corner of our yard since there are electrical boxes in the foreground and trash cans in the background, but it looked pretty today with the Coral Supreme peony, Walker's Low catmint and Heartthrob Korean dogwood tree in bloom.

My Eglantyne rose is ready to burst into bloom next week, but meanwhile the different foliage textures and colors carry the day.

The west garden invites you further into the backyard.  The Fine Line buckthorn on the right looks odd after being weighed down with sprinkler water, but it will pull together as it dries out.

Thunder showers are expected this evening, but for now the backyard garden is calm and soothing.

Here is the west side of the backyard with newly limbed-up lilac shrubs in between the crabapple trees.

The main sunny bed is just about to get started on its big June burst of flowering.

Soon the many salvias will come into full bloom, but meanwhile the Globemaster alliums are the stars.

The rose Medallion Oriental poppies are a softer color echo of the maroon leaves of the Royal Purple smoke bush.

The view of the center north side of the backyard will improve as the various shrubs and trees continue to mature.

I made the mistake of pruning the honeysuckle too hard in late winter and it experienced a lot of die back when cold temps shocked the newly-pruned stems.  The right side has recovered much better then the left.

This chair in the northeast corner provides a nice view down the path toward the maroon crabapple trees.

The white garden is taking a blooming break after the tulips have finished and before perennials get going.

I requested a Lacy Hearts Chinese hydrangea vine from the local nursery to train on this arch, but I don't know if they'll be able to find one for me.  It looks a little bare for now.

This view of the back of the house will soon be framed by the Starlight dogwood at right and the Stellar Pink dogwood at left.  Just a few more years to wait as they grow . . .

We've been out on the patio enjoying the warm weather this week.  My patio pots were all planted from perennials from the garden this year and they've finally filled out nicely. 
Recently I've felt discouraged by the challenges in my garden: vigorous aspen roots/suckers from the neighbors' yard, suckers from my lilacs and flowering cherry tree, tulip virus, root weevils, apple scab fungus, leaf rollers on my trees and roses, scale on shrubs, blackspot on my hellebores, earwigs, boxwood blight, and the endless aphids, thrips and slugs.  I've had a harder time keeping up with needed chores thanks to tendinitis in both my hands, though my husband and kids have been generous to help me.  I have to take a deep breath and remind myself that nothing worthwhile is easy, right?  Peaceful mornings like today help me regain enthusiasm.