Morning Flower Strolls with Ginger

Ginger and I made a meandering visit through our garden the past two mornings.  I wanted to bask in the friendly flower faces and check on the fruit in the cool morning sunshine.  Ginger wanted to weave in between my ankles meow abundantly, and eat grass.  She loves being outside and I certainly can't blame her on a day like today.  The birds were singing like a mad choir.  What a lovely way to start the day!

Johnny-Jump-Ups aka Wild Pansy aka Viola Tricolor.   We've got a thick patch of them this year and they're among my favorites.  Pansies always have been.

Our Haralson apple tree has many firm, green applettes growing.  This was the tree that fruited last year for the first time.  We only ended up with one solitary apple.  Here's hoping for more this year!

The clematis which fills out the shared fence with our neighbor was rudely shifted all the way over into our yard this year as the neighbors are putting in a new fence--solid wood and not the highly vine-able chain link.  It is a pretty sad mass this year as a result.  But blooming none the less.

An overview of the garden, including the 3/4-built greenhouse.

Must. Have. Cilantro.  So.  Much. Cilantro.

Geraniums

Green strawberries of promise!  Seriously though.  Our strawberry patch is looking phantasmagorical this year.

Matt and I transplanted out the tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants last night.  

It looks more and more like a garden every day.

I have no idea what these pretty orange flowers are, but...gosh!  Do I appreciate them!

Ginger continues to show very little respect for flowers and other seedlings.  Nibble, nibble, flop-and-roll.

The Honeycrisp apple tree is also fruiting this year.  Hooray!  Honeycrisps are my favorite apple variety, even if Matt's orchard friend teased me and called them "Moneycrisps."  The price is right with homegrown!

Peonies make me think of my mom.  They were one of the first flowers I ever learned about--as I inquired about the ants, of course.  

Our Peonies are lush and full this year.  In fact, they've completely overshadowed the Bleeding Heart (another flower which brings Mom to mind) so that it didn't come back this year.  The big bad hail storm a few years back coupled with an overly vigorous neighbor spelled the end.  I might have to get another.

This gem had to grace our dinner table.

Pam, my swell neighbor, gave me a bunch of irises last year.  It has been a delightful surprise seeing what colors I ended up with as they reveal themselves.  We have at least five different kinds now and added some more from my cousin's place in May which I don't expect to do much this year...though one did bloom a spindly, short cream-colored little iris so who knows!

This iris is especially slender--leaf and bloom--and it my favorite.  The contrasting colors, the intricate pattern in the yellow.  It is just a dazzling creation.  Yesterday morning they hadn't yet unfurled, but by the afternoon there was a pair of them.  How cool is that?!

The detail work in flowers is truly astonishing.  It took me many, many years to get on board with flower gardening, but my oh my!  What glory for the eyes!  And the bees!

When we moved in this Hen-and-Chick was the size of a salad plate at best.  Now it is as big as our dining room table!  I plucked one of the little Chicks and potted it to bring inside.

The Red Currants are going gangbusters again.  We're still enjoying the Red Currant-Raspberry Jelly from last year, too.

These Austrian Copper Roses are so beautiful and so brief.  They're a dynamic representation of life each spring.  Matt is convinced the yellow flowers spread more and more each season.  The first year there were only a few.  While it lasts they add some real splendor to the front of the house.