Day 146

THANKS FOR THE MEMORY

a perfect reminder of Pete & Shauna for gifting me a beautiful peony plant

A few years ago I received a beautiful peony plant for Mother's Day and it continues to delight me each spring with huge flowers.

Sometimes I wonder why I insist on growing a vegetable garden. What I REALLY like is flowers so next year I think I will skip much of the veggies and plant some flowers instead. I need to make a list of my favorites. One of my absolute favorites is gardenias but I have not had the best of luck with the hardy variety, BUT I think I will try again! Oh my, I have several Asiatic Lillies that are gorgeous and my Helleborus is in full bloom right now. It is white and I have ordered another one since white is not my favorite. Dahlias are gorgeous but I'm too lazy to dig them up and store them properly so I will forgo those. I have Astilbe in my garden but could use a bit more. They need shade and the one I planted in the shade of the huge rhodies didn't get enough shade so it fried to death last summer. The hardy fuchsias that survived winter are doing OK but not spectacularly so don't hold out much hope for them. Heuchera (coral bells) of the newer variety with colored leaves are pretty nifty and I have one which I am hoping will survive. I planted some Crocosmia corms but when the landscapers dug out our rhododendron roots they got disturbed and have not popped up so I guess I will need to replant next year. I have some beautiful Siberian Iris that is blooming right now and I have ordered some special colors of iris that will arrive for fall planting season. Ack and I must get more Canna!

I remember digging up all the iris tubers at our "farm" house many years ago because they had not been divided properly and they were an ugly twisted mess. I much prefer gladiolas so I may add some of those in the fall as well. At least we don't have deer in our development to eat them before I can enjoy their beauty.

Let's see. What else am I particularly fond of? Of course there is lavendar. I only have one plant so may need to find a different variety for next year. Who doesn't love pinks? I don't have any but I do have a huge clump of candy tuft. Once again, white! I must buy some Rudbeckia (coneflower) but only a bit because I much prefer the Ecinacea purpurea or purple coneflower.

I remember when I painstakingly planted Anenome corms all along the variegated boxwood by the deck at our last house. I was so excited to watch it come up and discovered much to my dismay that Dave thought they were weeds and pulled every last one up as they popped through the dirt. I was not amused! But I learned that I needed to keep reminding him of what I planted where.

Then there is Columbine which I think is such a delicate and delightful plant. I wish my Bleeding Heart would bloom longer than it does but I do enjoy it for what it is. Daisies...I have one clump and once again....white. Not that I hate white! It's just that there are so many luscious colors out there to choose from. Why do I need white?? Well, an accent here and there is fine. And they do add something to a flower arrangement. 

Which reminds me. I need more green stuff that I can cut for flower arrangements. Oh shucks. This is a tiny yard so I guess I should just stop thinking about all this right now. I only have so much space and even if I use my vegetable containers I won't be able to have all my favorites anyway. And I haven't even mentioned Poppies and Lupine and Hollyhock and Forget-Me-Nots and Alstromeria and Sweet Violets and Allium (I remember spray painting the "flowers" red after they bloomed years ago and from a distance they looked like they were still in bloom) and Fritillaria. O MY!! 

Did I mention how much I love flowers??