Here's why I intensely dislike squirrels

No, this isn't why I hate squirrels. You'll see why at the end of this post. Before I started shoveling compost today I took some photos. The garden is changing moment by moment, and I have to start paying attention. This is Maman Cochet, Climbing. Her flower is much smaller now due to the cool temps, and the color is deeper than in summer, but she still has lots of petals!

Another flower and more buds. The squirrels did a job on her, chewing off a few inches from 4 new canes that were 6" to 12" long. @#$%#@%!!

This is Reve d'Or. Can you tell I didn't prune her yet? That fact is mostly due to not knowing how, but today I needed to put some compost under her and figured it was either learn to prune her or come out from under her in shreds, so... My method is called "trimming the bangs". I walked along and cut under a new shoot at about head-high, and boing! Up into the air went the suddenly lighter canes. It worked, and I think she'll be fine. It was near dark so no "after" shot. You know, even a good haircut isn't good the same day.

I don't know if this is a good photo, but when I turned around and saw 'Aloha' all covered in shiny new leaves and a few buds, I was stunned. This rose has never been a climber for me - just a tall, thin freestanding bush. And I didn't prune her either. (Apparently, I only got two thirds of the way around the house.) So I'm excited that 'Aloha' is progressing well on her own.

Here's 'Louis Philippe' down to about 5.5' tall and leafing out pretty well.

'E. Veyrat Hermanos' was another non-pruning, but this evening just as it was getting dark I trimmed up his bangs, too, but he wasn't as cooperative as 'Reve d'Or' in that he already has big buds all the way down his long arching canes. I was sentimental about those buds, so he didn't get as short a trim as RdO, and I swung some of the long canes upwards and sideways. He's not a hazard to life and limb anymore.

'Mrs B R Cant is being beautiful now. This flower is 3" across.

This is last spring's snapdragon that lasted through the summer and winter and is now back blooming again. Pretty cool!

I just love 'Leonie Lamesch'.

A China aster grown from seeds sowed in September. The color should be a bit bluer.

'Gruss an Aachen', planted in the ground last fall after languishing in a pot for way too long, has leafed out really well and is showing her stuff. Her coloration is a little unusual. Oh, man, I forgot to smell her.

Now would you risk a blood-letting for this beauty? This is 'Le Vesuve', first bloom of 2011.

The second bloom.

And there are eight more buds in less than half a square foot. He is a bloom machine, that's why I couldn't care less that he is not fragrant.

Two and a half weeks after pruning. Handsome, isn't he?

A China aster in the center and cheerful pansies.

This part of the garden is my pride and joy. That's 'Bermuda's Anna Olivier' on the left and 'Enchantress' on the right next to the daylilies. I only had to cut out the dead stuff on these two. 'Enchantress' never lost her leaves, and BAO was leafing out very early and is now full of red new growth. In the middle is a clump of  'Summer Carnival' hollyhocks, one of my seedlings from last year. It's already got a bloom started, and it looks like it will have several stalks. I'm very excited about it. Notice the beautiful compost?

This is clematis 'Westerplatte', a big bloom on a little post-pruning, second-year plant. Photo color should be a little more like wine.

Now you know why I hate squirrels. If they ate the flowers, I would be slightly less unhappy, but they just chew them off and run, leaving the precious bloom face down in the compost. #%$$@!