The first blooms.

Lilacs! Lavender lilacs are my favorite, but the white ones smell just as nice. My mom brought over two sucker lilac plants from her garden three years ago. This one has been getting progressively bigger each year and while it's still rather small, this is the first year it has bloomed. Very exciting. Last year I transplanted the second plant to another spot and it struggled all summer. It looked like a goner at the beginning of this spring, but now it is getting new leaves and looking good. But it probably won't bloom for another year or two.





The California poppies that I planted from seed last summer not only came back this year but are spreading like mad. I love it. I need to take another pictures since only the pink ones are open here. Now there are red and bright orange open too. So pretty!



The irises are so big this year and seem to have more blooms than ever. It's from all the moisture we got over the winter. They came back in full force in the front and side yards. The ones in the back are taller than last year, but for the second year in a row, they did not bloom. Not sure what that's about.



I planted pansies in a big pot in a shady spot in the back yard and they are so happy. Two years in a row I planted them where they were getting full sun and it was way too much heat for them. Finally got smart this year! We need to start adding them to our salads too.



These pretty pinks were an impulse buy. And for some reason, I did not keep the tag so I have no idea what they are. They're so bright and lovely, I hope they continue to bloom throughout the summer.

I'm a little late getting to this post so these pics are from two weeks ago. Now some things are on their way out (lilacs and irises) and more things are coming in! Echinacea is coming back nicely and I planted more in a spot in the back. I'm finally starting to get smart about planting more perennials so that I don't have as much to do in the coming years. It's hard not to get sucked in by the all the annuals at the nurseries, but I did pretty well this year. Of course I got my zinnias and dahlias, and marigolds for the vegetable garden. But I didn't go overboard like I usually do.

I'm just about done planting. This past week I put in the tomato plants, a few pepper plants, eggplant, spinach and some herbs. The lettuce seeds are coming in slowly but surely so I hope to have fresh lettuce later in the summer. It was so nice last year! I still have to plant my zinnia seeds and I have some cucumber seeds that I might plant if I can find a space for them. I want to get a butterfly bush for our "sandbox" in the backyard, but I haven't been able to find one. If I don't find one, I guess I might put flower seeds in there again. It needs something. All in all things are looking pretty good out there!