Living the Dream in Retirement
After long stretches of sunny, unseasonably warm temps in Michigan, signs of Spring are appearing earlier than usual. I took these photos yesterday and this morning woke to the sounds of rainfall with prediction of more rain for the next seven days….
Yesterday the flowers in my garden appeared to be in a competition to out bloom each other. Irises, peonies and poppies dominated the flowerbed alongside my driveway.
Enjoy my Iris Slideshow, just a few of the beauties blooming over the last two weeks.
The new blooms in the garden are yielding so many flowers that I’ve brought in bouquets to enjoy. Our home is filled with the scent of lilacs and peonies, so fragrant and lovely.
Today, more blooms appeared in my garden. First one, then another peony opened with so many to follow in the days and weeks ahead.
My irises continue to open at break-neck speed with Michigan’s hot, dry days. Each iris is more delicate and showy than the next. The pale peachy-pink iris is new this year.
In Michigan, we’ve had summer like temps but little to no rain. As a result, the garden is growing quickly, everyday yielding new blooms. This morning I was thrilled to see even more blooms in the garden, including my Dwarf Korean Lilac.
Much to my surprise, under the lilac bush, I found two of the feral kittens born about seven weeks ago on our porch. I imagine that the fragrance of the lilacs is relaxing for them.
Lots of shades of purple and yellow abound.
As I strolled around this morning, I found several “volunteers” that I didn’t plant but am happy to see all the same. My rule is, if it’s growing in a crack but it’s a flower, vegetable or herb – leave it be!
As one of the 59 Candles, 59 Things (that make me happy) series, I recently posted pictures of my irises that had bloomed as of that date. Since that post, the remainder have revealed themselves and were simply too pretty not to share.
And not to leave out some other happy surprises, the first peony (of several hundred blooms between three bushes) has opened as well as my lovely Dwarf Korean Lilac Bush, given to me by my step-son and daughter-in-law. My yard is launching into it’s fragrant phase…
Twenty Sixth thing: Returning home from vacation, I was anxious to see my garden. Last year we traveled at the same time of year but with an unseasonably early and hot spring (we’re talking mid-March and no final snowfall) everything was in bloom. We’d come home in time to see the end of our irises, just a few blooms left. Not so this year. They’d only just started opening and with just the right combo of rain, heat and sunshine, are coming into their season. They are so lovely that I had to make them my 27th thing. Here’s a little gallery of my irises that have bloomed so far:
