These are a Few of My Favourite Things

I may or may not have mentioned here before that I am not a gardener.  I have come to terms with it but that doesn't mean that I am going to stop trying to be a gardener.  Each year I learn something new and have a little more confidence in the garden.  This is a weed.  This isn't.  Should I move this?  yes, I should.  I could dwell on what I still need to do, what I shouldn't have planted and what I should know but don't.  Instead, I am going to focus on the few things I really like about my garden at the moment.

Purple Iris

 
When I purchased this purple iris a few years ago, I was afraid I was being a little cocky.  Irises just seem like a fancy flower, you know, a flower I shouldn't be able to grow successfully.  It makes me happy to see it each spring.  I only wish the blooms lasted longer.  Oh, and this is not a special speckled iris.  Those bright splotches are pine pollen sticking to water droplets.  We have several large pines in our front yard and for the past three days, they have been sending out plumes of pollen, coating everything in a fine yellow powder.  It is quite cool, actually.

birthday present from my brother-in-law

lupin seedlings

I planted lupins a couple of years ago.  Last spring I noticed some lupin seedlings and this year, there are even more.  They are scattered throughout my perennial bed.  I have high hopes of some year just have one huge bed of lupins.  They remind me of my grandmother and Atlantic Canada and I am always hope to bring a little bit of the East to our home.

Is there anything extra special in your garden today?