Surprise Lilies

The Naked Ladies are back in our yard (snicker, snicker). I just can't resist saying that. This year I have surprise lilies in two places and they have more blooms than before. It's amazing how fast they shoot up - it really only takes a couple days from nothing to blooming. Beautiful.

Pygmy Hydrangea Tree

I found this tree on clearance last year for $25. It has done beautifully on the side of the house and is in bloom now. Each branch from last year shot out three new branches this year. The blooms are actually made up of a few large white flowers and tons of tiny flowers. The bees love them and so do I.

Purple Aster

This plant comes on very slowly in the spring and early summer and then explodes into bloom and doesn't stop until autumn. I loved it last year and am considering adding more to brighten up late summer in the backyard.

Hostas

These Purple Hosta are just beautiful.

The Daisy

My neighbor's mom sent me some daisy starts in the mail (Thanks GiGi). Some survived and much to my surprise, I had ONE bloom when I returned from vacation. It was actually really cute to look over and see only one daisy on a plant. Next year it will be covered.

Blue Mist Spirea

I planted this last spring. It was about 2 feet tall. You can almost watch it grow in the spring. It has tiny, purple flowers all over. It didn't show up on the big picture, but gives a nice, soft effect in person. This is the hottest, driest, place in our yard and it has thrived.

Rose of Sharon

This tree blooms in July. It doesn't have the traditional style flowers, but has white flowers kind of like carnations. It is more common to see this as a bush, not a tree. It's pretty, but I have my eye on a start from my grandma's bush (pink and white flowers) which was transplanted to my parents' yard.

For some reason, the lighting made it difficult to really see the blooms on the branches. The close-up shows it better.

Black-Eyed Susans

I have these in three places and they're doing great! They love the sun and don't seem to be bothered by the heat or dry spells.

Cone Flowers

The White Cone Flowers are still blooming and gorgeous!


The Purple Cone Flowers were planted too close to the Willow tree and have lost their sunshine - we'll have to move them this fall.

My Favorite View

This is my favorite view of all my flower beds. I'm not sure why, but I like the way the plants all go together. Right now almost everything in this area is blooming and it looks so nice as we come home each day.

White Cone Flowers

I think these will still be blooming in two weeks when we get home, but if not, here's the very beginning of the blooms.

Hydrangeas

The hydrangeas in the front are blue/purple and the ones on the other side of the house are pink. It's weird that our soil is different in those two places.

Century plants

Century plants are very common in my neighborhood ( I have several in my yard)...not exactly beautiful or friendly, but better than most of the cacti. Anyway, they are named century plants because people traditionally say they only bloom once a century - it's really more like 25-50 years, but once they bloom they die..which if you look at the bloom you will understand why =). They typically are just the spiky leaves with no stalk at all in the middle. One right by my house started blooming a few weeks ago and it has been remarkable to watch!
Doesn't it look like something out of a Dr. Seuss book?

Tiny Yellow Roses

My friend Carol gave this rose plant to me to thank me for altering a formal dress for her daughter. I was happy to do it and I love a plant with a story behind it. It has been in the ground for over a month and seems to be doing well with a new batch of blooms. I look forward to seeing it grow - yellow is my favorite color rose!

The Purple Plant

I have no idea what this is called. I have two of these and they bloom again if you cut them back. I think they add a nice color behind the yellow lilies.

Lilies

I have several types of Lilies blooming. The yellow day-lilies are great because they keep blooming off and on throughout the summer. The tall orange ones are from grandma's yard and actually bloom for about 6-8 weeks. They are taller than me this year.

Peony

My peony bushes are blooming. The light pink are Grandma's and the dark pink I added last year. Sigh... I love spring.

Rhododendron

This pink bush is amazing! The blooms have gotten better each year. It's not in full bloom yet, but I kind of like the different stages all at once.

Iris

Grandma's Iris are blooming this week. I love how they smell.

What a Difference a Year Makes

Look how much our willow tree has grown in only ONE YEAR!

Purple Alium

I planted these Alium last year. My friend in Indiana had an old farm house and these grew SO BIG all around her house. She was also our piano teacher and she had a fresh bouquet of flowers in the kitchen every week. When I saw these last fall it reminded me of her and I just had to get some.

Lily of the Valley

This is another one of Grandma Katy's flowers. The first year it barely came up, the next year it got stepped on and broken off, and I didn't think it would come back. IT DID! Hopefully it will spread and I'll have more next year.

My Yard Buddy

Zoey spends hours outside with me when I work in the yard. She loves it. I took this picture of her the other day when she was stretched out enjoying the sunshine.

Dianthus

I got this plant two years ago and it was about 3 inches across. Now it is taking over the center of this bed. It blooms for many weeks in the spring and smells really good. I can always smell it as I come walking out of my garage.

Lynn's Hybiscus

This is growing in Lynn's yard at her new house.
Beautiful.

Purple Leaf Sandcherry

These bushes were blooming over the weekend. They're out by the willow tree.

My Favorite Tulip

I have several colors of tulips, but this peach one is my favorite. It's funny, because I wouldn't have picked this color, I think I got it by mistake. I'm glad I did because I think it's beautiful.

Little Purple Pansies

I always think of that primary song this time of year. I can't resist a few "little purple pansies touched with yellow gold" for my planters.