Pink Blooms, Purple Blooms, and Life.

My gardens have been alive with purple and pink flowers.

Do you see that little pink poking up there?

It is one of my treasures, slow-growing but diligent to come up every year.

It is a hardy orchid.

I have had it for about 5 years now, 

and it finally has a baby next to it.

Bleeding hearts remind me of childhood days at a friend's house.

I loved her mother's bleeding hearts.

 

That rhododendron was one of the first things I planted when we moved here.

See it around the other side of the tree?

Hardy Gernaniums are a favorite because they seem to rebloom all summer.

These pink with black eyes are Patricia Geranium.

I recently read that although they share the name 'Geranium',

annual and hardy geraniums are not related.

Annual geraniums are actually Pelargoniums.

They don't look alike, but they share the same name:

just a curiosity.

These 'Brookside' geraniums grow large and full so that they actually look like a bush.

Planted with them is a patented specially bred Mountain Bluet.

It's blooms are spectacular.

Another purple that I noticed blooming is my Blue False Indigo.

They usually seem to bloom a bit later than this time, especially with how cool it has been this year,

but these are planted up by the barn where the heat radiates off the cement foundation.

Everything up there seems to be advanced.

The Russian sage up there is much larger than the one I have planted by the house.

I love the smell of crushed Russian sage on the hands.

There is lots of purple blooming in the front flower bed as well.

The dwarf wisteria vine stands tall on its trellis.

The salvia is always buzzing with bees.

These Pink Haze Siberian Iris seem to be much more prolific growers for me than the regular iris.

I think the clay content in our soil is not dry enough for regular iris,

but this one fills out so much, I am able to dig some out of it every year to sell at my plant sale.

Of course, the lilacs were grand this spring, too.

Some of the Miss Kim lilac even made it into the kitchen to lend their fragrance.

Apparently, somebody thought they would be good for more than just a bouquet.

Life with children:
giving new meaning to the garden bouquet vignette.


Linking up to these fun blog parties:

Joyfulhomemaking.com

Nominimalisthere

Raisinghomemakers.com

Firefliesandjellybeans.com 

Gnowfglins.com