Your wish is my command (this time :wink: ) I took these pics this morning just as I left for work. I call it my "tortured rose garden", because I barely even water it, much less add plant food or anything.

sue

Here's a few more...

Sue, you've certainly got some purdy flowers!
kathy

Those flowers are so beautiful. I miss So. Cal. because of that, but I sure don't miss the crowds. I noticed the ants on the roses and wanted to tell you what I was told about peonies. They have a very tight plethora of petals when they bud, and they need the ants to crawl over the buds to help loosen the petals so it can open more fully. Have any of you heard that before? I wonder if there is anything to it. Good story though. Oriental peoples have wonderful stories of how different factions in nature work together for the benefit of all.

Mmmmm I can all most smell them...........beauties

Those pictures are exactly what I needed today. For the third day in a row it is snowing and blowing. Someone forgot to tell Mother Nature that Easter is tomorrow. Last Sunday the temp. was over 70, today maybe 22. It is so overcast and dark that even my sewing room couldn't brighten my mood. The flowers have reminded me that it won't always be this cold, and the best things are worth waiting for. Thanks :D

Oh good grief! You barely water them? You rarely feed them? I'm going to cry, I work at it and my roses struggle. I don't know if it's my sandy soil, the coastal winds or what...they are beautiful but not nearly as lush. I have a yellow Thomas Jefferson that makes me move it frequently, he likes lots of light and has rejected three places so far. They tell me they are miserable by not producing.

My Iris are budding up but it will be Memorial Day before they bloom. I'm so hopeful the freeze tonight and tomorrow night don't cause them to stunt. We normally are in the 70s and 80s this time of year but it's awful this year.

Happy Easter!!
Sharon

Sue, your irises are GORGEOUS!!! I'm in Bakersfield, and mine just started blooming - late this year because of the freeze we had in January. Anyway -- they are really, really lovely!!! My favorites!!

Sue,

Your flowers are so beautiful. I love your roses. Our roses here in WV haven't started blooming yet. It had been getting so nice and warm and then this weekend it started snowing again. We have about 3 inches of snow and counting, some already melted off. Hopefully, that doesn't hurt the process and stunt their growth. They are so pretty...

Shhhh, I know where she lives. I'm gonna pick some of those beautiful red ones. ;)

Please send me one! Irises are my favorite. I've just moved home into my own house and am just getting started doing my thing. a flower garden along with a kitchen garden and setting area and small green house are on my list. I've been moving so much that I guess all those little homey hobbies have been burning a hole on my todo list. I get so excited I can't decide which to tackle first :lol: :lol: :lol: My poor hubby must feel like he's spinning!!

your flowers are beauitful love the blue iris

Hi Susan - If you are interested in getting some iris blubs, there is a huge iris farm here in CA. It's called Schreiner's Iris Gardens, and they have a huge catalog online.

I'll take a look. I may want to buy some in the future. I also enjoy the pics.

Hi Susan, your flowers are beautiful, thanks for sharing them. I miss CA too. I use to live in San Diego. I can't seem to get my flowers to grow here in MO like the did there. I miss that.

Pat Hi! Thanks!, but, those are not my flowers. They are Sue's. :lol: :mrgreen: :lol:

I bought a pot of Daffodils at Wallyworld about a month ago. they still have a couple flowers but the smell has mostly gone. It was a heady fragrance tho while it lasted. Which is one reason I bought them. We are getting topsoil sometime this week. From my hubby's job site for free. For the price of gas for the dump-truck anyway, which shouldn't be more than $20.00. We don't live far from the site. And tomorrow is MANURE DAYS at the County Fair-grounds. I'm so excited for the opportunity to go shovel s__t! :D I have little tiny corn stalks coming up in pots. And some peas, carrots, beans and at least one gord. And some salad. After the dogs slept on my tomatoes and some of the other seeds and flattened the pots (Paper starter pots) I may have to buy some tomato plants this year. I don't think the pumpkins made it either darn it. Oh well I plan to badger my husband until he builds me a little green house and next year OH BOY.!!

Norah,
You asked toward the beginning of this thread if anyone had ever heard that peonies needed ants in order to bloom. My grandfather had many peony bushes in his yard in OH. I have heard both my grandmother and mom say that the ants (especially the LARGE, black ants) were necessary to "eat" the sticky substance so the flower could bloom. I have a couple of peony plants now and for the past few summers there were no ants and no blooms, only buds that died. So if its a story, then its a good one and one that makes sense to me. I love the peony fragrance which reminds me of playing among my grandfather's flowers. What a wonderful smell and memory!!! Whoa, snap me back to reality!
The pictures of the flowers are so lovely. My compliments to the gardener who has quite the green thumb. :wink:

Sis

I heard the same thing about the Peonies. They always had black ants on them before they bloomed.

some of my flowers.

Love those! Always enjoy the vibrant ones.

BEAUTIFUL!! I love Pansies. My Grandmother always grew them. Clematis is one I intend to plant in my new flower bed. My Tiger Lilys just started blooming. I took photos. Will get them on line somehow. Eventually.

Beautiful