I’ve been taking a much-needed break from social media, but I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to review my garden on this last day of April. The first part of the month served up several severe storms, but the weather has been beautiful in the last couple of weeks. We’ve replaced one of our wooden gates, which will help our comings and goings at that side of the house. I’ve been planting some of the new things I recently bought, but I’m not close to being finished. And the weeding – the weeding! There’s always May.

I don’t have a name for the top photo’s Siberian iris. But, whatever it is, I love it. It has settled nicely into its place in the Spring Corner and has continued to multiply.

Speaking of names, I downloaded a new garden app that allows you to name your garden’s sections, add photos, and keep plant lists, logs, and to-do lists. I have identified and named my beds and borders, taken current pictures, and started logging new plants, problems, and possibilities. I loved the garden journal that I’ve kept since 1991, but I hope this is far better. It’s “My Garden Notebook” in the I-phone app store, with a watering can as the icon.

Okay. Back to the flowers. The Knockout rose in the center of the backyard has been fabulous for the past couple of weeks, loaded with hot pink blossoms. I need to deadhead now so that it will keep this up until December.

This year’s azaleas have all stretched out their blooming seasons. Bringing up the rear is my Frosted Orange doing the same thing the earlier ones did. Since each shrub didn’t bloom all at once, there hasn’t been a big “ta-da!” But I’ve enjoyed the flowers for a more extended period.

This bed behind the patio still has hardy gladiolas blooming, while the ones in the front yard have finished. You can see another Frosted Orange azalea with a few blooms behind the glads.

Some new tall walking iris have surprised me. I bought them last year and forgot what they were supposed to look like. They are small but striking. Each unusual bloom only lasts one day, like a daylily. But, I think as they multiply, they will make a nice showing en masse.

Finally, one of the English dogwood shrubs is in full bloom now. This one is at least a week earlier than the one in the back, probably because it gets more sun. I should move the back one to a sunnier spot after it blooms in May.

So much of my gardening has been trial and error, no matter how much I read and learn and ask better gardeners than I am. It is still trial and error. There is always so much to learn, but that’s half the fun of it. The other half is the joy of the surprises when it works.

Shalom, Dottie

I want to credit the guy who founded this fun Six on Saturday idea. He lives in Great Britain, and his Twitter handle is @cavershamjj  You can find his blog at:https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/