Some new babies!

And by babies I of course mean flowers. I'm still so sad that gerbera daisies are annuals. I just love them. These are the "festival" variety -- red and apricot.

These Ultra Rose petunias are definitely filling in the windowbox.

I think it's time to give up the ghost on this poor cyclamen. I just couldn't make it happy. :(

Elphaba has been up on this shelf a lot lately. She's such a little demon.

These guys are crabapple seedlings from Dan's uncle. We're hoping they get big and strong.

I really really like these begonias. They're so pretty!

I think this is a lily, but the stalk looks so dark. I've got my fingers crossed that I didn't let a weed get huge and take over.

In other news, we finally figured out where to put the windchime! Merry Christmas to me! :) Thanks, Mom and Dad!

This little guy is a new addition: a Japanese iris named Imperial Magic. Isn't he beautiful?

I also got one named Pink Lady (I didn't have any pink irises!), but she isn't blooming right now.

This sprout is coming up back in the corner by the windchime, columbine, gaillardia, etc. Not entirely sure what it's going to be.

Speaking of!

The Russian sage is really pretty too.

I love the texture of the sedums so much, so I thought I'd try for some close-ups. This is the serrated variety.

And here's the Kerry sedum.

They're just little paddles. I love them. :)

And the close-ups just kind of continued. Here are my precious little violas. :)

Wee yellow trumpets.

This one came out really well. My little Sarah Bernhardt peony.

I'm pretty sure this dianthus is just called Pink Picotee.

And my Granny dianthus. On both of these dianthus pictures you can see sooo many buds!

And speaking of buds, look at Stella!

I tried several close-ups, but bleeding hearts are so hard to get focused. This one of the white turned out pretty well. :)

My creeping phlox.

The very happy Shastas.

Crazy intermittent showers

They're kind of wet from being watered, but you can see how much my Ultra Rose petunias have filled in the windowbox. :)

There are several different pictures, each from a different angle, of this bunch of Las Vegas irises, but it's because every one of them turned out well.

The Jacob's Ladder to the left and the hostas to the upper right look almost like mirror images of one another in this picture.

So many of them!

Look at all the Shastas!

Princesse Caroline is just too beautiful...

...not to be featured often and from every angle.

This little baby that's coming up behind the irises is a glad!

And about a foot away is what looks like a dahlia or two coming up? I don't remember planting any there, but they're definitely not weeds, and they look like dahlia foliage.

Three other glad shoots coming up through Firebreather's roots.

Look at Sarah Bernhardt!

Granny's dianthus. It's growing straight up a lot more than last year. The other dianthus, which is less than a foot away, grows out more than up.

I think I counted seven or eight simultaneous blooms on this baby. :)

The whole caboodle.

It's really blurry, but you can kind of see the buds coming up from the Stella d'Oro.

Again, kind of blurry, but the exotic geranium's shoot is starting to show some color!

Iris Explosion

Shastas!

My rebel irises (the ones on the other side of the porch) have started opening! Like I told Mom on the phone a few days ago, I think I counted about 37 buds on this patch.

See?

My bleeding hearts are soo happy!

Last year's Ginger Ale coralbell is coming up with flowers!

Sweet little violas.

Look at all those Las Vegas!

Princesse Caroline, thinking really really hard about opening.

Trop Jaloux! (Pronounced Troe Jah-LOO, with the "j" sounding like Zsa Zsa Gabor.) Look at those five purty blooms!

They look like little dollops of vanilla icing or something.

So beautiful.

I just think it's so cute when they haven't uncurled yet.

Anna's favorite, Gaillardia.

And Seaside Daisies. Considering that when I bought both of the previous two plants they were completely without blooms, they're looking spectacular.

MY NEW HOSE CADDY!! Isn't Dan wonderful? I worked a double yesterday and he sent me a picture message on my phone of this, saying he was late to see me because "of your new present." So cute!

Anyone know what would cause our little peach tree's leaves to look like this? I told Dan he needs to pinch off a leaf and take it to a nursery and ask. I don't have any idea. :(

The Return of the Indestructible Wisteria!

And this is a little Portland Rose named Comte de Chambord. It's not really much to look at right now, but hopefully I'll have some pretty roses someday. :)

Dan made this woodshed-type thing in the corner of the yard for our firepit.

It IS lily of the valley!

I even got down there and smelled it. It's so precious!

So cute!

My Granny dianthus is blooming!

Tiny Hope is belying its name by having five flowers open at the same time.

My Stellas are thinking about opening. Can you see the buds?

Look at my sweet Ginger! (With Trop Jaloux in the background.)