Waiting for the rain . . .

Still itching, both physically and figuratively. I had planned on having all my gardens planted by now but it has not rained in weeks so the ground is like concrete. I can't dig the new bed I want to create or widen the border in the backyard or finish the bed I started widening in the front yard. Thankfully, the weather has remained cool.

The iris has started blooming. It's early this year. Usually it starts on Mother's day or later. I wish I knew what kind this is. It came with the house. I've never seen any like it.

Lots of blues and purples blooming now. The wood hyacinths have started blooming. I seem to be down to two clumps. I'll have to order more eventually.
The roses have also started to bloom. I thought that Baronne de Prevost would be the first to bloom:
But the largest Blaze rose beat it. It's so competetive!
I can't wait for all the blooms to open. The window in the background is where I have my computer. For one month each year, I look out on a sea of roses.
The other mystery plant in the semi-shady garden has finally bloomed. It wasn't foxglove after all. It's Dame's Rocket. I had purple Dame's Rocket in the Purple Garden last year. It was so pretty, I decided to plant white ones in this garden to offet all the pink and red flowers. They are a biennial so they didn't bloom until this year.
Now a new mystery is emerging. There are tiny columbine seedlings coming up. What kind are they? I don't remember planting any. Are they offspring of the Grandmother's Garden columbine?
This is the only time of year that the back of my house looks nice. I haven't found anything besides the iris and roses that will grow there. It gets early morning sun only.

This year I am trying Johnny Jump Ups and columbine here. We'll see how they do.