I love flowers.

This is our house. As everyone knows, the house only becomes a home with personal touches that each of us bring to it. We built our house as newlyweds and while Andy has truly built many parts of our home, I hope that my touches of decor and homeyness have helped to make it as comfortable as it is today. On the inside, those touches are paint and furniture. On the outside, my flowers are the beauty that I like to add to our home. Since the outside is just as important to us as the inside, this is a fun and rewarding, neverending project!

In the early spring the yard starts to wake up. I plant hanging baskets on Mother's Day each year and the past couple of years, I've had some eager little helpers. I think the planting on Mother's Day is very appropriate, since I can't take much credit for my flowers, without giving credit to our moms! They have divided perennials from their yards to add to mine, helped me transplant, gifted me with new plants and are always willing to give advice when I need it.

The Peonies are one of the first to bloom and they are spectacular, but only for a short time.
These came from Andy's mom's yard and I have hot pink and some pale pink, too. This white one was particularly stunning though.

Buttercups make me smile! This year the girls rolled around in them, picked them and played endlessly with the small blooms. That made me smile even more! Also early in the spring we have purple irises, red tulips and some flowering trees in bloom. Then come the yarrow and yellow Stella Lillies along the front walk.

In July I've become quite attached to having sunflowers in the garden.

And these Plantation Lillies are spreading in my perennial beds almost faster than I can believe. Early next spring they will have to be split and moved, along with several very large Hostas. After 8 years, the perennials that were small starts when we moved in are now thriving, large plants.

Gladiolas (and Dahlias) are very high on my list of favorites, but they are high maintenance. Each fall the bulbs have to be lifted before the danger of frost. This makes them undesirable for a working mother of two! Some day I'll hav row after row of them, but not right now.

A new addition this year, for it's visual appeal from a distance. This Hibiscus has blooms that are easily 6 inches across. I must get a couple more next spring!

Let's pause for a moment to reflect on Abigail's 5th birthday party, which she chose a flower theme for. Does anyone wonder why? She follows me around the yard, loving to help rake and weed. With her little gator to drive, she's really helpful at dumping my weeds in the woods.

Another new addition this year, I'm a little late to the Knockout Rose party. They're everywhere in the past couple of years, but we now have one. This little plant didn't go all out this year but did prove to be very drought hardy.

Disappearing Lillies, mentioned in a previous post, from my maternal grandmother's yard. Passed down by mom to me. I planted these on the day that Dobbie died. They are so special to me.

After a colorful and fragrant growing season, the grand finale wraps up the summer. Sweet Autumn Clematis climbs up our porch posts in a vibrant green vine all summer long. It thrives in most any weather and the three vines are around 8 feet tall and up to four feet wide in some places. When the blooms finally come they are petite white flowers with the most fragrant scent of the whole summer. It lasts about two weeks (unless there is an especially early frost) and the scent covers our porch the whole time. Warm afternoons make it smell even better!

In the foreground of this picture is a rosebush that Andy's older sister gave us for a housewarming gift.

This past week Andy tilled up the vegetable garden and I began cleaning out flower beds for the fall. The last bloomers and the green foliage will be around for awhile but with so much to clean up for the year, it's best to start early and (try to ) stay caught up. It's kind of refreshing to 'but the yard to bed' each fall because it creates a clean slate. And reminds me of all of the pretty flowers to look forward to next year!