Almost a Poppy Bloom

One more day...and the first oriental poppy bloom will make a showing.

Baby Robin

I thought I saw a new kind of bird in the yard this week. It was high up on a branch, and since I'm near-sighted, I couldn't see it very well until I zoomed in on the photo after taking it off my camera. I was thinking maybe it was a kind of wren. Now I see it's a baby robin :)

Fuchsia Hanging Basket

I purchased a fuchsia hanging basket for the shady entryway this year. It's been a few years since I had one. They tend to not be happy when it gets hot.

Fairy Flower

A perennial in one of the entryway flower pots. I recommend this plant for planters and foundation plantings. Tall and strong spikes of purplish-pink flowers all spring and summer.

Classic Iris

This the color I think of as "classic" for irises. The irises will be blooming for another week or so.

Purple Iris with Reddish Center

It's iris season. This bloom has water stains from all our recent rain.

Lupine Blooms

The lupine will bloom several rounds through the summer.

Little Tea Cup

A companion piece to the big tea cup featured yesterday. This one's home is in a front planter.

Big Tea Cup

A flower bed decor item I purchased at Art in the Park last year.

Yellow Iris Surprise

This is one of the yellow surprise irises. Purple ones had bloomed for years in this spot, and then last year, some yellow ones showed up. They are super sweet-smelling.

Oriental Poppy Head

Although the leaves on this plant look similar to that nasty thistle yesterday, these hairs aren't stickery. This is an oriental poppy about to bloom.

Serious Weeds

A couple of nasty surprises in the rose garden during clean-up. Thistle plants. They grew on top of the landscape fabric so they were easy to oust.

Margarita Sweet Potato

Who knows if anything will come of it? I saved the margarita sweet potato tubers over the winter. I had two, and one got soft and moldy. This was looked like it had little live eyes on it, so I tucked it into a planter of petunias.

Gerber Daisies

I love, love, love this color. A few gerber daisies went into the backyard planters over the weekend.

Candy-Colored Dahlia

I let my daughter choose a few plants each spring...and she always chooses a dahlia. She calls it a "dolly flower."

Pink Columbine

The pink columbine is in bloom. The purple is, too, and it will be tomorrow's star on the page.

Front Yard Quail

A surprise outside my home office window yesterday. Mr. and Mrs. Quail just made a quick stop in my front yard.

Sleepy Visitor Kitty

The neighbor's kitty cat-napping near the strawberry patch over the weekend.

A Tree Wearing Leg-Warmers

I looked out my window and what did I see? A pair of legwarmers on the maple tree.

What Happened to My Red Tulips?

A close-up of one of my "red" tulips along the front walkway. They bloomed red the first couple of years, and then morphed into different patterns and lighter colors.

Sunset Tree

The tree across the street was literally glowing last week during sunset after a day of storms. This tree is clearly green in the daylight.