The Spring garden

We've been having warm afternoon weather here lately, and that, in combination with all of the rain we've had, has caused the garden to burst into bloom!

Here's our wall of clematis - blooming like crazy!  There are also mandevilla vines on this fence, but they haven't bloomed yet.

This is a linaria plant - we got it at the SF Home and Garden show.  It's an annual, but these bright flowers are incredibly fragrant.  This picture was taken awhile ago, and it's tripled in size and covered in blossoms. 

Before our trip to NZ in January, Lee bought two tree roses at Costco.  We didn't have time to get them in the ground before we left, so put them in pots out in the yard and wished them good luck!  Fortunately we got lots of rain in January and February, and as you can see, they are doing beautifully!  Also very fragrant.

This geranium was very happy!  It's since had a major haircut, so you can now sit on the bench.

We've deferred to the gophers and planted things that they don't like in the flower beds.  They don't like geraniums and pelargoniums! 

You can see the hostas in the back bed that get bigger each year - kinda scary!  In the lower bed are the early peonies.  They are finished and the big pink ones are now in bloom.

Another wall of clematis!

Here are some of the pink, fragrant peonies.  We have discovered that if we pick them as they bloom, the plants don't end up all flattened out, with blooms on the ground.  They last for days in the house, and are wonderfully fragrant.  We've had peonies in the house for weeks, now, and still more booms to come.