Mystery, Lovelies, and Oddities

Fabulous w/e. The weather was and still is perfection. Plants growing like crazy. Really hope we get the rain today as promised.

Took my car into the shop today - it's a Honda CRV '99 - for its emissions test so I can get my new licence. I've noticed I've had chirping brakes for about a month, so I asked them to check on them too. Aaaaaaagh. Well, nothing is ever simple or inexpensive when it comes to a car. The brakes come in three parts - the calipers are original and need to be replaced, the pads are worn and some time this afternoon, the car will have passed its emissions test (with no little hiccups and more $$$ to spend) and the brakes will be so wonderful, I'll be able to stop at any garden centre no matter how fast I'm driving. Too bad there won't be any money left to buy anything.

As the title to the post would suggest, I've got a mystery I'm hoping someone might be able to help me with. This very nice little plant was a pass-along from another Barbara who parceled out portions of her lovely perennial garden before she headed up north to her new digs. Does anyone know its name?

On to the lovelies:

Clematis 'Josephine' is coming into bloom and is going absolutely mad. As the petals open, you get a new layer of colour - almost like sewing more tulle into a tutu.

My Mahonia repens is fruiting for the very first time in almost 20 years! And the berries really are blue.

As lovely as Erodium is, I never realized how much the buds remind me of earwigs.

Bart trying to catch the chippy in the woodpile. Chipmunk 43 Bart 0 (thankfully).

My favourite Dr. Seuss tree.

Here's an odd one - dormant grass in May.

A variegated volunteer from my Persicaria polymorpha - wonder if it will bloom?

My buddy Judy came out this w/e while Kevin was off golfing in a tournament. We walked down to the lake with pastries from Patisserie D'or (best French pastry shop in Oakville, or almost anywhere) and sat on a bench drinking in the day, our coffee and devouring our yummy pastries (cinnamon raisin for Judy, cheese & strawberry for me). We walked back through the church garden - look at this peony.

Little (maybe Miss Kim) lilac hedge leading you into a side door.

This home has a marvelous rhodo garden - my pictures just don't do it justice.

Judy had come out to see my sister-in-law Patricia Conroy at a song-writers conference. She was up from Nashville performing at the Moonshine Cafe on Friday - the song writers told us a bit about a song they'd written and then performed it. It was a fun evening.....but just had to share this little oddity with you. Here is the stage. See how small it is. The reason its so small is that the ladies washroom is so large.

You see the photos pasted on the wall above - that's the outside wall to the Ladies Room. Here's the inside view - just half of it. A little disconcerting to realize that you might inadvertently be part of the performance.

Back to the garden to show off my new creatures. I noticed what looked like a little speck of loose dirt between the leaves of the Polygonatum. I blew on it and the speck exploded as these tiny little spiders flew out on their spidery silk and hung alone between the leaves.

Since that day, they've been busy, building webs wherever they can. There are at least five in this picture on the front stoop. As messy as this is, can't bring myself to destroy their creations.

And in the backyard.I find it wonderous that something so tiny can build something so large and fantastical.