The Color is Coming Back to My Garden

The warm weather is early this year and it's a delight to see the bursts of color in my garden.  My peony is just budding and I believe it will be flowering in a week. I can't wait. I also planted some cosmos last weekend as I like the gorgeous pink and lilacs of the flowers.

We've planted our vegetable garden too as well as some planters and hanging baskets.

How's your garden coming along? Trying anything new this year? Any gardening advice?

 

Peony in Full Bloom

My peony is in full bloom this week. Rain predicted for this evening though so the flowers won't last too much longer!

My Gorgeous Peonies

I just LOVE peonies! What's your favorite flower?

Peony Power

My peony is flowering. It looks stunning in our front garden. Today I shall cut a few and put them in a vase in our kitchen.Here's a poem about this gorgeous flower that I thought you might enjoy.

PEONY

Carman, Bliss, (1861 - 1929)

Arnoldus Villanova
Six hundred years ago
Said Peonies have magic,
And I believe it so.

There stands his learned dictum
Which any boy may read,
But he who learns the secret
Will be made wise indeed.

Astrologer and doctor
In the science of his day,
Have we so far outstripped him?
What more is there to say?
His medieval Latin
Records the truth for us,
Which I translate--virtutem
Habet occultam--thus:

She hath a deep-hid virtue
No other flower hath.
When summer comes rejoicing
A-down my garden path,
In opulence of color,
In robe of satin sheen,
She casts o'er all the hours
Her sorcery serene.

A subtile, heartening fragrance
Comes piercing the warm hush,
And from the greening woodland
I hear the first wild thrush.
They move my heart to pity
For all the vanished years,
With ecstasy of longing
And tenderness of tears.

By many names we call her,--
Pale exquisite Aurore,
Luxuriant Gismonda
Or sunny Couronne d'Or.
What matter,--Grandiflora,
A queen in some proud book,
Or sweet familiar Piny
With her old-fashioned look?

The crowding Apple blossoms
Above the orchard wall;
The Moonflower in August
When eerie nights befall;
Chrysanthemum in autumn,
Whose pageantries appear
With mystery and silence
To deck the dying year;

And many a mystic flower
Of the wildwood I have known,
But Pionia Arnoldi
Hath a transport all her own.
For Peony, my Peony,
Hath strength to make me whole,--
She gives her heart of beauty
For the healing of my soul.

Arnoldus Villanova,
Though earth is growing old,
As long as life has longing
Your guess at truth will hold.
Still works the hidden power
After a thousand springs,--
The medicine for heartache
That lurks in lovely things.

Poem is in the public domain..

More Shots of My Peony!

As I said in an earlier post, I'm taking pics of my Sarah Bernhardt peony as the buds develop and open.

Here's a few from yesterday.

Oh, and don't forget I'm taking part in Etsy Yart sale. Free shipping on all orders over $25, excluding shipping!

My Gorgeous Sarah Bernhardt Peony

Yes, it's that time of year when my favorite flower in the garden blooms. It's my Sarah Bernhardt peony. It's a lovely pale pink with a copious number of fragile looking petals. It blooms for about a week, during which I always try to cut a flower for indoors without ruining the appearance of the shrub in our front garden.

This year I'm tracking the progress of the blooms. These are the first few and I'm sure you'll be seeing some more in the next couple of weeks. Notice the little ants. Apparently they are crucial for the flowers to bloom well.

Enjoy!

Dreaming of My Summer Garden

It's a bit dull outside but a lot of the snow has disappeared.  So has my snowshoeing, which I was really enjoying.  However, now I can see the earth in my garden and a few hardy plants have shot up some shoots.  So in anticipation of spring, here's some pics from my garden from last year!