Saxifraga ‘Golden London Pride’ Saxifraga × urbium ‘Aureopunctata’. It’s taken years for the one plant I bought to grow into this clump. I wish I had bought more – the delicate mass of blooms that appear in spring are so cool.

I call this our 80s Rhododendron. I’m pretty sure I had some Jellies that were this exact color. Came with the house so I’m not sure which variety it is. Probably ‘Cindi Lauper’.

A mystery white azalea. Comes back every year despite my draconian trim-job in the fall.

A mystery red azalea. Also comes back every year despite my draconian trim-job in the fall.

Caged radish sprouts! The chicken wire is to discourage the neighborhood cats from contributing unneeded fertilizer to the garden. It worked last year so I went for it again. If you try it, I’d recommend bending the wires downward (as I’ve done half-heartedly here, must fix). The idea is not to hurt the kitties, just make it an undesirable surface for walking on and scratching.

Solomon’s Seal Polygonatum odoratum. A cottage shade garden stalwart. These are great for propagation – the ones pictured here are in the corner of our front yard, which I had transplanted 2 years ago from their original spot next to our sidewalk. Free plants are the best!

This guy peeks out of the rockery every year. He’s the only one, and he’s been here since we moved in. It seems to be some type of Hyacinth.

Summer Gold Japanese Maple Acer palmatum ‘Summer gold’. I went looking for an Autumn Moon Japanese Maple for our deck and bought a Summer Gold instead. Not sorry.