Blooming Beauty

If you've been reading this blog for the past couple of years, you may remember my previous "Peony" posts. Every year, they are the flowers I look most forward to.

 

Aren't they just take-your-breath-away beautiful?

 

Mario & I were outside taking pictures, and he took this one of me just before I cut the peonies and took them inside.

 

And I took this one of him watering his beloved carrots. {gosh, I hope they grow! he'll be so disappointed.}

 

I think May blooms are my favorite. Between the Lily of the Valley, Peonies & Roses, I'm in flower paradise for a few weeks at least. As far as roses go, this one is heavenly. It's a David Austin rose called St. Cecilia and it smells incredibly fragrant. My mom had one in her garden and clipped a blossom off for me before George and I flew to Italy on our Honeymoon. I wore it in my hair for the entire flight and still have the dried flower almost 6 years later. It held it's fragrance for a couple of years. I loved it so much she bought me my own plant!

 

Let's see...what else is blooming?...

Well, the Pansies are holding on nicely. Not bad for almost-June. They remind me of my childhood.

 

Clematis growing up the arbor:

 

The Iris' are so delicate, and here today, gone by noon. But very pretty and soft.

 

I should've taken some shots of the Azaleas.The previous owners of our house apparently had a love affair with Azaleas. There are 10 of them. My front yard looked like a sea of shocking pink for a good 10 days. Every year I want to transplant some of them to another part of the yard, but we never do. We're lazy like that. Maybe next year. They are pretty though, just a bit much all together.

I hope you're enjoying the beauty of late Spring too. Summer will be in full swing before we know it.

Comments

[Andrea]

Andrea,
The first picture is beautiful! I like
how you arranged the flowers in the vase
and trophy cup. The color of the flowers
are amazing.
I never heard of the Saint Cecilia flower
that is something about the fragrance!
I hope Mario gets carrots too!
Enjoy your weekend!
Andrea

[Holly Abston]

You and your peonies are gorgeous! So is your sweet Mario watering his carrots. I LOVE David Austin roses. I don't have that one, but it's on my list! I love the story that you wore one of the blooms in your hair on your honeymoon. Such a precious thing to tell your children.

[Jennifer Stewart]

Oh my goodness, Andrea....your flowers are so gorgeous. Those peonies..wow! I love the photos of YOU behind the flowers and of Mario watering. So sweet. :)

How I wish we could grow flowers like this. I'm thankful for 18 trees in our backyard, but it's completely shaded and nothing will grow. Nice for hot Texas, but bad for gorgeous landscaping. Thanks for sharing your beauty with us!

Jennifer

[Kim V]

Yes , I love peonies - and if I had all those in my yard I'd be blissed out too , lol. But freesia's now - insanely delicious scent , have you buried your nose in a bouquet of those yet? They're effervescent , and smell like fizzy bubbles somehow :}

Love your flowers , and thanks for the heads-up in the post below too , re: Bluebird Diaries. I've made a note of it and will be going back to find out more.

[luckygirlgifts]

Oh, I'm so impressed with all of your beautiful flowers. I want to garden so badly, I have the space, I'm just too busy or too lazy. I haven't decided. When I grow up I want to have a garden like yours. Thank you for the pretty pictures. I hope your sons carrots grow.

[Alison Gibbs]

So many beautiful flowers.
The peonies are spectacular
Alison

[amy faldet]

Smiling from ear to ear! This is a delightful set of a delightful time! Blessings from Amy

[fitty]

gosh look at your flowers.. love the roses and peonies.. beautiful! your garden is lovely.. hope the carrots wont disappoint Mario.. Have a great weekend

[laura dellaorta]

Hi Andrea. beautiful pictures.. how nice to have little Mario learn & help his mama garden... I do miss the springtime up North especially the Lilacs ..Have a great weekend!!! xoxo laura

[wendy]

Thanks for sharing your beautiful flowers! I think I'm going to plant a peony today! Really!
Wendy
PS Grow, carrots, grow!

[Denise]

your garden pictures are so wonderful! My big peonies haven't bloomed yet. I love little gardeners in the making....i sure hope they grow too!

[koralee]

Ohhhh...what an amazing garden you have...my word...those peonies are unbelievably beautiful...one of my favourite flowers in the whole world!!! Thank you so much for sharing those images!!! I keep my fingers crossed for your son's garden!

[Suzanne Duda]

Once again I am reminded that I MUST plant Peonies...they are absolutely gorgeous!

[hope]

You know, all the times I have been over we have never gone OUTSIDE. Next time I am there (which should be soon I hope) I want to see your garden in person!

[Spencer]

Mmmmmmmmmm............I LOVE your peonies! Aren't they just the PRETTIEST flowers? I like them better than roses. I bought THREE peony trees this year.....can't wait until they're nice established trees!

Blessings,
Spencer

[jessi nagy]

hey there sweet cheeks,
wow, your flowers are gorgeous!!!
i love all the bright colors.
cute gardner boy you have too. tee hee
oxoxo,
jessi

[Michelle Grace]

Peonies are my favorite! Yours are just beautiful! I'm still waiting for mine to bloom. We had a really late spring here in Colorado and everything seems to be a bit behind. Thanks for sharing your garden with us!

[Gabrielle]

Andrea, you look beautiful! And what a handsome gardner you have! Hope his carrots grow. The peonies are so pretty!!

[Kathy Colby]

Wow I love the pink peonies they are so beautiful!! We just planted a garden today and my kids will be devastated if their crops don't come up:) ~Kathy

[Zita - Mlle Magpie]

Your garden flowers are gorgeous, Andrea. The peonies and your St. Cecilia rose are spectacular!

[Sue]

Your peonies are wonderful! How did they manage to survive all the rain? Mine really suffered here in Maryland, but I was able to cut some for the house and some for drying before the rains started again.

Sue

[Susan]

You just brought back wonderful fond memories for me growing up in Iowa. We had Lilly of the Valley in our back yard that I remember sitting next too in the garden and looking at for hours! Our neighbor lined her yard with Peonies and I would look at them from my yard -- she didn't want us kids touching her peonies, but we loved looking at them! Thanks for the stroll down memory lane :-)

[Farrah]

If those little green sprouts are the carrots, looks like they are starting off great!

I remember flipping through a plant catalog as a child and trying to decide on my favorite flower by the pictures. That was the one I decided on and it's still my favorite!

[Andrea Edwards- Australia]

Hi , love the Peonies, i have followed you blog for some time now and noticed your annual peony blog, its lovely and inspires me to get some ans plant them, i have an AVON perfume called peony which is just beautiful, and its box was covered in pale pink peonies , ive have it on my bathroom shelf and it's faded now but still beautiful, and i love the smell still, something abouth peonies huh? You are so photogenic, remember to get in front of the camera more often, its lovely to see a face behind your "voice" as it's such a lovely face too! we never take enough photos of ourselves, to look back on in years to come.. XX

[Sonia Audelo]

Loving your flowers. They are beautiful . You look wonderful. Love the picture of your handsome boy watering his garden. I also hope his carrots grow.