Neighborhood Walks

The veggie garden is in full swing and until I establish more garden beds in my yard, the upkeep is pretty simple.

It is a wee bit too full but I am eating loads of stuff out of it

 the days are also nearing the longest of the year, leaving lots of daylight hours to explore my newer neighborhood. I adore walking around neighborhoods, spying on the things people have in their yards. You can tell whose houses are the party houses, the people that hire out their landscaping, and the people who share my plant obsession. There is one house about 4 blocks away from mine that is packed with a whole myriad of shrubs, creating a haphazard hedge and making the yard look packed from a distance, even though there is still space for some grass. I also use these walks to enjoy plants that I can't grow in my own space. My yard is now a place of blazing sun so shade loving plants do not do well. There are however, other yards nearby with shade loving Hostas, ferns, and Huecheras that I can walk by slowly.

Or hydrangeas. I really love this variegated one

 At the moment, I am smelling any roses I see in bloom. I don't have any yet, but from the looks of it, they seem to do pretty well in my neighborhood. The Pacific Northwest is not a great place for roses normally, the humidity and cooler weather makes the roses very susceptible to fungal disease. My neighborhood walks are great research for plants for my future garden beds and if my fiance is with me I can figure out what he likes too (his needs are pretty simple, he like anything with purple foliage).  It's a great way to find local inspiration and enjoy the things you cannot grow for  yourself.
Happy walks everyone!