To dispel any misconceptions, I do not ramble through the garden. With any opportunity, I will ramble endlessly about the garden, or any plant until the listener wanders off. I stroll through the garden, most often leisurely and looking for moments of beauty rather than compiling a list of chores (that I would quickly forget).

Yes, I paused yesterday to admire ‘Lemon Meringue’ baptisia, and it’s likely I’ll stop again on the way up the path. This one is in nearly full sun while ones with purple blooms in part sun are a week from their peak.

By midsummer I must remove stems on the lower side that arch to shield a favorite clump of Blackberry lilies (Iris domestica), but the baptisias are well behaved, slowly clumping, and with pleasant foliage. For the gardener looking for a deer resistant perennial that demands no care, this is it, and of course, it should be planted more commonly.

The Calanthe orchids (Calanthe discolor) suffered in the recent freeze, so their flowers were disappointingly short-lived. Several Bletilla orchids (Bletilla striata, above) were damaged, though a small number and all will survive. Their splendid blooms reminded me to salvage a group that had been overtaken by a tall sedge. I’ve potted many as giveaways, but this clump was dug and planted in the expanded area in the front garden where there is just enough morning sun.

Flowers of the tall, deciduous Exbury azaleas along the garden’s southern border were spoiled by the recent freeze, but blooms on lower branches were not damaged. Two smaller azaleas that were crowded by a spreading Lady fern were transplanted to a narrow opening just before yesterday’s rain.

I’ve witnessed the difficulty of growing rhododendrons in poorly drained clay soil, but several thrive. The variegated foliage of ‘Silver Edge’ (above) continually seems distressed, but it grows ever larger and more floriferous in recent years. ‘Roseum elegans’ (below) is a bit off the path, but worth the stop.

While flowering of redbuds and dogwoods was a bit early with our early spring warmth, flowers of ‘Venus’ dogwoods (above) have been slow to reach their full size. The blooms (actually bracts surrounding small flowers) are much larger than other dogwoods’. In the side garden, we look down from the kitchen on the splendid flowers as the evergreen ‘Autumn Twist’ azaleas (below) begin to fade.

Birds have discovered a hidden perch within the ‘Henryi’ clematis covered obelisk (below) just outside the sunroom. Another reason to stop and enjoy.