Special Mother’s Day Gift

This past weekend was absolutely beautiful and I was totally spoiled for Mother’s Day!  We had a lovely picnic at the park and I even got to spend a little time in the garden.  I was surprised by an extra special gift when I walked out back later in the afternoon.  My mom gave me some of my great-grandmother’s iris about 12 years ago.  I remember them blooming beautifully at her house, and my mom has tons that always bloom at her’s.  Mine have never bloomed in all the years I’ve had them.  Never.  Not once.  I’ve moved them, fed them and begged them.  Nada.  I walk outside Sunday and what do I see?

I’d like to think it was my great-grandmother sending me a Mother’s Day gift.  🙂  I’m so happy to finally have them bloom.

Dew drops on strawberries.  I love how there is always magic in the garden if you take a second and look around.  There are a lot of evenings when I will sneak out of the house for a few minutes just for a quiet moment alone with the plants.  You can call it therapeutic or renewing or spiritual, but it really is good for the soul.

Can’t wait for them to ripen!

I really can’t believe how healthy the plants are!  The leaves are HUGE and you can tell how happy they are this year!

My unused chives in bloom.  🙂  Aren’t they pretty??  They earn their keep making me smile.

Remember the Pink Senorita Zinnias I showed you growing in my greenhouse?  Well I dug through my photo files from last year and found a shot I got while they were blooming.  I don’t know if this is true for all Zinnias, since last year was my first year to grow them, but the blooms lasted FOREVER!  I hate when you have this gorgeous flower one day and it is gone the next, so I was thrilled to death to go out day after day after day and see these.  I actually bought seeds for two other kinds of Zinnias to try this year for that reason.  I’m really hoping to attract and keep some bees around, so I am adding lots of flowers to my garden this year.  The drop in our bee population is very noticeable and very scary.

Does anyone else have an obsession with succulents?  I love the colors and shapes and how easy they are to care for.  I have this spot at the bottom of the deck stairs, right up against the house that is overrun with weeds every year.  Nothing grows well there, well except for the weeds.  I’m trying a pretty succulent garden there this year and hoping that they really are hardy enough to survive the heat and cold.  I found this beauty over the weekend at our local farm stand and might have to go back for another.  I’m in LOVE!!!!  I’ll have to do a whole post one day soon about succulents.  They really are a LOT of fun!

I hope all the mamas had a wonderful Mother’s Day!