Beautiful flowers

I arrived home from two weeks in Houston to my flower garden full of blooms.  The spring flowers often times don't bloom for long periods of time.  A storm can easily blow their petals off.  There were a few that had a white mist on them.  Then I realized that the house had been power-washed the day before in preparation for painting.

Honeysuckle

Although the honeysuckle is an early sweet treat, one of my favorites is the iris with it's naturally beautiful and lacy petals.  It looks like an elegant ball gown, doesn't it?

Purple Iris with variegated leaves

I didn't realize how blurry this fuchsia bouquet was or I would have retaken the photo.  It was windy and this precious punch of color was tucked between a batch of weeds that grew twice as fast as everything else.  

Dianthus

Bachelor buttons are beautiful.  The large number of flowers on each plant nearly ensure that the following years you will have many more plants in your garden.  Look at the bud on the right hand side getting ready to open.  Isn't the geometry and color amazing?!  That would make a fabulous quilt pattern!

Bachelor Buttons

The columbine is another natural ball gown.  The scalloped leaves that host the multi-colored petals of the flower.  Columbine plants look similar to a honeysuckle.  But one major difference is that the blooms of the columbine are significantly larger.

Columbine

The peony is one of those love/hate flowers.  They are a beautiful flower and there are many varieties and colors.  Notice how mine is placed right next to the side walk.  As far away from the house as possible!  There is a reason for that.

Peony

Peony buds are covered with a special coating.  The coating is a special spring treat for the ants.  They have a symbiotic relationship.  The peonies won't bloom unless the ants remove the coating that protect the buds.  They seem to know exactly when they are ready to bloom.  It must be at it's sweetest point (for the ants anyways.)

Peony Bud opening