Home sweet home

I am officially on vacation for a week. No grand adventures planned, just knitting and sewing and spending time in the wonderful little paradise I've created for myself.

And it's a paradise in bloom!

The red Columbine continue to show off. Just look at all those blooms!

The Iceland Poppy is blooming. It's a really cool plant, because it puts up different coloured flowers. Last year I got red, yellow and white from it. It's hard to tell in the picture, but the upper poppy this year isn't white, but almost a beige. It's really cool.

And any day now, I'll be able to finally see what my Passion Flower blooms look like.  I had buds last year, but they are vary delicate and I accidentally knocked them off by poking at it too much. I am going to be much more careful (and patient) this time!

Speaking of being patient... it's finally paying off with the peonies. It's been three years since I transplanted some from my Dad's but, I'm finally getting buds. And as you can see the ants are hard at work gobbling up the peony sap. These will be a nice bright pink when they bloom.

The irises are starting to bloom. These dark purple ones came from Mom and they've spread so much.  But I've also got a lovely red, and added a new pretty yellow and white this year.

And I'd forgotten about the deep yellow one I stole from Dad's garden last year

 It also looks like my Shaker's Prayer Iris is finally going to bloom too (it's been a couple year since I planted it, and it hasn't bloomed for me)

The Lily-of-the-Valley is just starting to bloom and that corner of the garden smells amazing. I planted a pink one this year, but won't see blooms on it until next year.

It won't be long before the lilac pops too. Sadly, I've only got a couple bloom spikes on the bush this year. Last year she put on quite a show. But I love her, so I'll take what  I can get.

Lastly, all this blooming  means the yard is once again a-buzz! The cats have been having a wonderful time chasing the Bumblers and Honey Bees who've come for a visit so far. Though  Burton got the wrong end of a Bumbler, and ended up with a swollen paw for an afternoon.