This bed of Bearded Iris took my breath away.  The purple was SO deep and its beard was bright orange.

 

I love how Iris bloom for a day or two, then close up and let the next one open.  It even works when you cut them and put them in a vase.  LOVE, LOVE LOVE!!!!!

 

 

HAPPY SPRING!!!

 

Isn't this fabulous?  YES, IT IS!!!

 

 

HAPPY SPRING!!!!

 

I had never seen the Gardens at Duke.  It was part of the 3-mile Angels Among Us walk.  Oh my goodness!!!  What a gorgeous place.  Acres and acres of big trees and flowers and water features and on and on.  Right there on the campus of Duke University.

 

I just love these Alliums:  the flowers are about 3 feet tall, and there are 4 curved beds of them.  Don't they look just like my leeks?  I might have to plant some of these in my garden.  

 

It is definitely a place to go see if you are anywhere near Raleigh/Durham.  Do it!!

 

 

HAPPY SPRING!!!

 

On Saturday, my friend and I participated in the Angels Among Us Walk at Duke Medical Center in Durham.  Since she was on a committee to work with volunteers, we had to be there at 5:45 AM!!!  When I saw this cool sign for the walk the sun was just coming up and the sky was pink.  

 

What a great way to start the day:  seeing the sunrise.  I might start getting up early every day.

 

 

HAPPY SPRING!!!

 

As I was walking the other day, I noticed this nice little kitchen garden alongside the flower beds.  There is Yarrow, Parsley, and these beautiful chives.  So I pinched a few leaves of chives and added them to our Lemon Orzo.

 

Maybe I will add that to the recipe section.  It is easy and delicious!!

 

 

HAPPY SPRING!!!

 

See the little tree with the dark red leaves?  It is a Redbud!!!  I didn't get to see it when it was blooming, so I don't know what color the flowers are, but it is really pretty now.  The leaves will stay this color until the fall, and then I have no idea what color they will be before they drop for the winter.  I guess I need to come back to Yorktown to find out.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

I love the bearded iris, and these are SO pretty.  They smell good too.  They are on my morning walk path here in Virginia Beach.  If course, I have to bend down and give them a sniff.  It makes my morning!!!

 

 

HAPPY SPRING!!!

 

This is the cutest thing.  See these yellow "dandelion" flowers?  This is one stem with two blossoms.  Linda picked it last Wednesday on her walk.  That night the flowers closed up.  She thought it was done.  BUT, WAIT!!!  The next day when it got light they opened up again.  Not new blossoms, the same two.  That's so cool!!

 

Well, they closed up on Thursday night and opened on Friday;  closed up Friday night and opened again on Saturday.  I wonder how long they will last.  I'll let you know.

 

Oh, yeah:  it's called Common Cat's Ear.  Love it!!!

 

Here she is:  last year's Mullein.  It grew in my driveway from a seed and this beautiful rosette survived the winter.  It was not pretty, but it survived.  Now it is thriving, getting bigger and will bloom.  

 

When I cut down all the bloom spikes last fall, I walked around my yard shaking the stalks.  I hope to find some first year plants from that seeding.  We'll see...

 

But for now, we are going to have a Mullein bloom!!!  Yay!!!   Even if it is in the driveway.  

 

 

HAPPY SPRING!!!

 

Remember buttercups from when we were kids?  I know you remember the legend about holding the little flowers under your chin and if you like butter your chin glows yellow.  This is from my memory, and when I looked it up in Wikipedia it said exactly that!!!  The petals have a luminous sheen that reflects the color onto your skin.  It also said that the flowers and leaves can be poisonous to livestock, and I am assuming to us.

 

Well, I think this is the biggest buttercup I've ever seen.  Pretend you are holding a giant beach ball, and barely touch your fingertips together.  That's how big this one plant is.  And the flowers radiate from the center.  Pretty, huh?  

 

It's ok to pick them and admire the flowers, but don't let them grow in your vegetable patch, because you don't want to eat the flowers or the leaves.  That's your garden tip for today.  DON'T eat buttercups.

 

 

HAPPY SPRING!!!!