Clematis and Siberian Iris

I planted a pair of clematises together and the effect is striking.  Since the roses haven't quite started their show yet, and the irises are mostly past their peek, it's nice to have this wow spot in my cottage garden.

Just to the right of them is this Siberian Iris that my daughter found for me.  I have had it for a couple of years and I finally get to see what it looks like.  I love it.  It almost looks like a painting in this shot.

The soapwart is another old faithful. I started the mother plants from seed three gardens ago and kept bringing volunteer seedlings from place to place.  This one actually made a detour to my daughter's garden making this at least the fourth generation of seedlings.

Behind the soapwart is the beauty bush I just planted this year.  The spot is under an awning and gets very little rain.  There was a small orange rose bush there, but I didn't want orange in this garden, so I gave it away and got the draught tolerant beauty bush. 

What I wasn't told was that the center of the beauty bush flowers are orange. I give up!  What good is a cottage garden without a little color variety anyway!