Time to play

Just finished the April 23 GardenLife Newsletter and now I finally have some time to play in the garden! Many of my roses are abloom, especially my "celebrity" varieties: Yves Piaget is a romantica rose from Star with a rich saturated perfume, plus its full pink-lavender blooms resemble peonies (it helps assuage my peony-envy since peonies do not thrive in mild climates); Angela Lansbury is a pastel pink hybrid tea, a perfect rose for a lovely namesake; Queen Elizabeth is at the top of my list for favorite grandifloras and so regal with those long stems; and Pope John Paul II for a profusion of white flowers and an appropriately heavenly fragrance. It is time to deadhead many of my spent flowers and when it is too dark to putter outdoors, I plan on finishing Rosemary Harris's latest garden mystery, "Dead Head: A Dirty Business Mystery (Dirty Business Mysteries)" An opening sentence is so important to grab a reader's attention and Rosemary's is perfect. She starts her tale with "So many lies." Happy gardening and reading everyone!