You're Gonna Miss This...Flowers

When we bought this house we decided to wait, as most people do, a full year before doing anything with the gardens to see what was there as it came up.

I often feel like I hit the jackpot as far as gardens go.  Mine have always been horribly neglected and unkempt (I am not a gardner, by any means!) and they probably could have benefited from some redesign or basic TLC, but the flowers that came up every year with little to no effort were some of my absolute favorites!!

In the Spring, I get the most beautiful daffodils and hyacinths.  Just as Winter has chilled me to the bone, the promise of beauty peeks through the ground and reminds me that warm temperatures are coming!

Shortly after, the tulips come in the most beautiful reds, yellows, pink, and even this purple-white variety. I love tulips!

In May the lilacs come out.  I grew up surrounded by lilacs and always wanted my own.  However, this house didn't come with any, so for Mother's Day, the year Nate was born, Dave bought me a lilac tree (bush?) to plant in our yard.  The year after, I got another one (purple, this time!) to plant right next to it.  They've gotten quite large in the 4 years since we planted them and I will miss them when we're gone!  I wish I could bring them with us!  I love the smell when they bloom and they're so pretty!

Peonies are gorgeous.  I remember my Mom telling me a story about how she loves peonies because they always bloom around my birthday.  There's something so beautiful about peonies, even with their ant infestations, and fragile petals.  They're so full and they're among my favorites in the whole world!  Our neighbor had the most beautiful row of peonies separating our house and his driveway.  When his house was foreclosed on, the house stood vacant for quite some time.  I would sneak over and cut a few peonies at a time to enjoy while no one was there to appreciate it.  One day in the Fall, I came home and Dave had "transplanted" some of our neighbor's peonies into our garden so for the last few years we've had our very own to enjoy.  The peonies in that yard grew back with nary a hole.  Again, I wish I could bring some of them with me but I will be sure to plant new ones, and in different colors, too!

When I worked for DES, my boss gave me a little hosta to bring home for the new house.  I planted it in the back yard and then Frodo (our first dog) proceeded to destroy it every time it came up.  Since he's been gone, the hosta has taken over my garden in the back.  It is huge and healthy.  Dave transplanted some of my hosta to a planter we can move with us so I will still have this one!

At our first house party after we bought the house, a 9-1-1 friend brought us a beautiful pot with hens and chickens in it.  The pot got blown over in a storm and broke so Dave replanted the survivors in our back garden.  Since then they have survived many cold winters buried under feet of snow and have multiplied like little bunny rabbits.  We'll be taking some of these with us to infiltrate our new gardens as well.  

Random other flowers grow around our house all year long.  We have one lone Iris (or is it a gladiola??) that grows once each year and usually gets blown over within days of blooming.  We (used to) have two wiegelia bushes that Dave has since grown tired of and taken out but they used to bloom beautifully.  Clovers and dandolions are plentiful in our yard as well!  And while some may deem them "weeds", I still think they're pretty.

 

In the Spring the cherry blossoms and the crab apple tree are just gorgeous!  (More on that to come later!! )

The possibilities at the new house will be fun and I look forward to building a new collection of favorites while incorporating some of my old ones.  I can't wait to see what 'springs' up in my new gardens!