There are good times to…

There are good times to move roses, in theory. Late fall, early spring, on a cool, rainy day. And then there's the day when you just decide, hey, if I don't do it now, it may not happen for years, so let's just move it and see what happens. Front left, William Shakespeare, a David Austin rose that has been struggling for some time in semi-shade, moved into full sun. If it survives and thrives, good. If not, I'll go pick up a William Shakespeare 2000, the improved variety. My garden is very Darwinian -- there is little cosseting of the plants; if they can't handle my slapdash approach, off with their heads!

"Like the lily,
That once was mistress of the field and flourish'd,
I'll hang my head and perish."
-- Henry VIII (3.1.168-70)

There's lots of little lovelies in this picture, though I don't know how clear they are to you -- clockwise from the rose, you get pink monarda / bee balm, tall white spires of fairy candles / black snakeroot, a bit of culver's root framed by the redbud leaves, a tall milkweed popping up, hopefully soon to lure a monarch butterfly or two, some purple salvia near the bottom right, and Quickfire, my first lacecap hydrangea to bloom, so elegant in form. I think I like it better than Annabelle, which may be native, but is a bit annoyingly top-heavy and floppy. And then we're back to sweet William.