I know they're weeds

They're just plain old common wild sunflowers. They smell bad and they're a nuisance to the farmer, but they're green and growing and blooming in my yard. How much happier plant could I ask for? All this joy with absolutely no input from me.

Tuliphouse decked out for the Fourth.

More roses

These are wild pink roses that periodicly threaten to take over the entire front of my house. When I moved in, they ran along nearly the whole front, rarely bloomed and were generally just a breeding ground for rabbits. I've hacked them back, again and again and again. Last night I went out and worked at pruning them again. After 20 minutes or more you couldn't tell that I'd done a thing, but I had a bushel basket full of clippings. Except for the brief three days in June that they bloom, I wish they'd just go away.

Pansies

It's been cold and rainy here for what seems like months. It's probably only been a week. It's been depressing but the up-side is that the pansies have been loving it. Usually by this time we've had hot weather that has burnt the pansies to a crisp before they really got a chance to bloom. This year, they've been adding lots of cheer to my garden.

I've been remiss.

Here it is, flower time and I have practically nothing posted. Shame on me. And if anyone actually reads this blog, sorry. I'll try to do better.

These gorgeous yellow roses aren't actually in my garden. The grow beside the sidewalk next door and I get to walk or drive past them every single day. Ain't I lucky? :)

Bedazzled

Dazzling was the only word I could think of when I walked around the corner of my house and saw and smelled the spirea in the sunshine this morning. A photo cannot capture the way the breeze was gently tossing the branches and wafting the aroma thru the air. Nor can the camera capture the buzz of the insects that were getting as much enjoyment out of the blooms as I was.

Iris

This is the beginning of a tale of a friendship garden. I'll tell you more as the summer goes along. My friendship garden is a flower bed filled with things from gardeing friends and family.

This iris rhizome was sent to me by a dear on-line friend from the other side of the country. She was thinning out some irises in her yard and she sent me something like three roots. And they have had a rough start in my garden. The first year, the cat dug them up. The next year, the dogs covered them too deeply with dirt when they were digging out a rabbit nest. But slowly, they've perservered and multiplied. In spite of being in a spot that gets beaten by the sun and whipped mercilessly by the wind, these iris are spectacular this year.