Well, it's gardening time again,

...I'm gonna leave you.  It's no secret to my friends that I'm intensely allergic to all forms of gardening, unless it happens to be from the viewpoint of the deck while the husband-in-residence (aka John) does it all.

Against my personal wants/wishes/desires, I knew that the time had come to get out into the iris patch.   It presently appears as though there is only one lonely iris anywhere in the area due to the horrendous infestation of quack grass which has appeared in increasing numbers every year.

We have a lovely back yard, which John has turned into a cornucopia of heritage tomatoes,

blackberries,

garlic,

and other soft fruits and vegetables too numerous to mention.

And while John's interest definitely lies in the direction of food (is that a guy-gardening thing?), I've a fondness for flowers, so he kindly indulges me.

The deck is awash in florals (with some handy-to-the-kitchen tomatoes thrown in for good measure) where even the barbeque is now ready for summer.

Of course you're wondering how the iris patch is looking after all my intensive weeding, so I thought I'd take a second photo...

I like it much better this way.