Grand Finale of the Tulip Show

I'm back from another visit to Vancouver, BC. I forgot how large the hostas there can be. Wow. I guess it makes a difference when a hosta can grow year round, vs. retreating to an underground bunker until mid-May only to give it a go for a 4 month romp in the sun. The Vancouver "steroid" hostas could swallow up a cyclist, making mine look like stunted lettuces. I revel in the fact that we have few slugs here (unlike Vancouver), but considering the size of their lush plants, it could take the slugs a long time to decimate the landscape.

Back at home, I went out to see the "Skagit Valley" single late tulips. They have purple-edged white blooms, which are quite lovely and unlike my other tulips. The purple seems to become more evident as the blooms age.
Here is a nice view of the large raised bed. Snow-in-summer (Cerastium tomentosum) is the white groundcover blooming in the foreground. I have had it for a year and have yet to experience its apparent invasive tendencies. Maybe it lies in wait to ambush you, like the catmint did this year. At least its carpet of catmint seedlings is keeping down the other weeds.