Hi there! It is February and thankfully the weather has eased up a tiny bit. I was able to get out into the garden more this week and every minute was such a blessing. And while I do have pictures from this past week, instead of sharing those, I’m going to share my pictures of some of the flowers that I am looking forward to seeing in just a few months. I’m using them as motivation! I’ve started with my feature image at the top of the page, which is what the garden looked like in July last year!

I’m joining Garden Ruminations for the Six on Saturday meme. 🙂

I hope you enjoy my motivational trip down memory lane!

In Peace,
Dana

1 – Fruit from the garden. Last year we finally caged up our blueberries. What a harvest we had! Up until then, the birds were the beneficiaries of the delicious blueberries. We had a decent harvest of strawberries, too. The strawberry ice cream we made was quite a treat! It was the best harvest yet for our pears. My husband made a pear and almond torte (twice!) that was absolutely delicious – and well worth the work that went into making it. Finally, our apples: red eating and yellow/green cooking. There is something quite satisfying about eating an apple from your own tree! 🙂

2 – David Austin roses. Clockwise from top right: Princess Anne is a beautiful deep pink rose, Boscobel is a pretty salmon color. The next one is either Olivia Rose Austin or Ancient Mariner, I have both, but at this point, I don’t know which is which and they are very similar. The last one is Harlow Carr, and this I know because it is *very* thorny! They all are scented, which is something I look for in flowers. I had a super rose season last year, and I have to give credit to Uncle Tom’s Rose Tonic, which I used for the first time. Per the label: it contains pure potassium phosphite. It’s not cheap, but I did see an improvement in the health of my roses.

3 – Iris from February through July. We can start with Iris reticulata (bottom center) that blooms in February. Mine aren’t blooming just yet this year, but are up from the soil. We then have a bit of a break until May when most of the others start to bloom. We have Dutch Iris (top right), bearded Iris Benton Storrington (middle right), and the Siberian Iris ‘Shirley Pope’. The Siberian iris (top left) also blooms in May/June. And lastly, to finish out the iris season, we have another variety of Dutch iris that blooms at the end of June through the beginning of July. It is planted among the Incrediball hydrangea. I usually use it in a fourth of July arrangement.

4 – White balloon flower. This simple little beauty is happiest in sun and provides sweet white flowers, starting in June. They will continue to flower with deadheading.

5 – Allium. Starting in May and going through June, allium are a treat in the garden! I planted some en masse and I really like how they look. I usually cut some to bring inside as they dry beautifully, too. I’ve even spray painted them! My favorite type is Purple Sensation, but the ones en masse (bottom three photos) are a really neat star-like shape which I find to be as pleasing as the coloring of the Purple Sensation!

6 – Poppies. Of course we have poppies! Each year they seem to find a new spot in the garden. We have had a range of colors, including: orange, red, lavender, pink, and coral! The seed heads are also fun to work with in arrangements.

That was so much fun! I hope you are as inspired as I am. Which is your favorite flower? And of course, thanks for stopping by!