First and Last Azalea, Strawberry, Pansy, Dianthus and Tulip Flowers

First pink azalea blooms: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

Happy Earth Day, floral Friday and welcome to "this week in my Maryland garden!" Our pink azaleas started blooming this week and they brighten up a very shady part of the yard.

Last Angelique tulips: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

 This is probably our last Angelique tulip of the year so I might cut it and bring it indoors to savor.

First dianthus: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

Our window box dianthus survived another winter and put out its first flower this week.

First blue yellow volunteer pansy: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

 I found this volunteer (spontaneously growing) blue and white pansy in a sunny garden bed.

Last yellow red tulips: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

 The yellow and red tulips may be the last of the season but they are gorgeous.

First strawberry blooms: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

The strawberries that survived the winter started blooming this week too. I received three new ones as a gift with purchase and planted those today as part of my Earth Day observance.

How did you celebrate Earth Day? Thank you for visiting! May God bless you and our planet!

Related posts:
Pansies and tulips: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/05/pansies-primroses-lilacs-and-angelique.html
Angelique tulips: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/04/angelique-tulips-pansies-yellow-and-red.html
Baby finch and tulip: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/04/primrose-blind-baby-finch-angelique.html

Pretty Pink Fringed Tulips

Pink fringed tulips: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

Happy floral Friday! These pretty pink tulips were becoming translucent, a sure sign that they wouldn't last much longer, so I thought it'd be nice to photograph their fleeting beauty for you.

Pink fringed tulip from above: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

 Thanks to their interesting center, these pink flowers are even more beautiful inside than out.

Pink fringed tulip at an angle: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

 Though I enjoy them from every angle.

Pale pink fringed tulip from above: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

I hope they brighten your day. Thank you for visiting! May God bless you!

Related posts:
White tulips: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/01/white-tulips-for-floral-friday-in.html
National Cathedral tulips: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/04/spring-tulips-at-national-cathedral.html
Lilies: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/04/lilies-for-good-friday.html

White Tulips for Floral Friday in a Blizzard

White tulips with yellow centers: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

Happy floral Friday! With the blizzard starting here in Maryland and it being the middle of January I thought we could all use some floral cheer. My prayers are with all those affected by the blizzard and extreme weather everywhere. May God bless you and keep you safe and warm.

White tulip macro: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

My super thoughtful husband bought me these tulips last week. I love the contrast between the white petals and yellow insides as well as the fringed edges.

White tulips in brown vase: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

We've kept them away from heating vents in hopes that they'll last longer.

White tulips from above: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

They certainly brighten my days. I hope they do yours too! May God bless and keep you!

Related posts:
Orange fancy tulip: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/04/tulips-daisies-and-more-flower-photos.html
Bright spring flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/05/pansies-primroses-lilacs-and-angelique.html
Early spring flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/03/happy-spring-floral-photos-this-week-in.html

Primrose, Blind Baby Finch, Angelique Tulip, Baby Bunny and Daffodil

Yellow primrose: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2015

Happy floral Friday and welcome to "this week in my Maryland garden"! Because I was under the weather and missed out on posting this week's "wild Wednesday" feature I decided to include some of my yard's wildlife in today's post.

As you can see in the photo above, our primroses are at peak; I love this cheery yellow one.

Blind yellow finch: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2015

I'm no expert but I think this is a blind baby yellow finch. The other eye looks even worse than the one you can see in this image and it pokes around for a bit before finding the food hole. I am amazed at this little bird's tenacity and thrilled that we're able to contribute to its well being. It's the first blind bird I've ever noticed at our feeders. 

Angelique tulip: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2015

The Angelique tulips are our favorite. The National Arboretum has a much larger collection of them (and theirs are even larger and nicer looking) but it's nice to have a few in our own yard.

Cute yard bunny: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2015

Our first rabbit of the year has been feasting on our weeds (and hopefully will stay away from our flowers). We enjoy watching his cuteness hopping around the yard. 

Stormy daffodil: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2015

This might be the last of our daffodils but, by God's grace, there will be a nice variety of flowers coming throughout the year. Spring has just begun and I sure do appreciate its beauty.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you and those you love!

Which was your favorite picture? Do you have any tips for helping a blind bird survive in the wild? Or getting wild rabbits to eat just weeds and not flowers? I'd love to hear from you!

Related posts:
Orange Angelique tulip and more: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/04/tulips-daisies-and-more-flower-photos.html
Cute yard bunny: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/09/cute-yard-bunny-photos-for-wild.html
Tulips at National Cathedral: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/04/spring-tulips-at-national-cathedral.html

Spring Tulips at the National Cathedral

I love the National Cathedral's Bishop garden. While it's most impressive in the summer (there's an amazing rose garden and a great variety of other flowers), I was thrilled by the abundant tulip blooms. The garden was much less crowded on this visit than any of my previous summer visits.

As you can see from the artwork embedded in the stone wall, the National Cathedral's gardens have delights for the eyes all year.

Although I live not too far north of Washington DC, I'm in a completely different planting zone and our tulips have just barely started to bloom.

Going south to see favorite flowers before they bloom in my area helps extend the season (as does going north after they finish in my area).

I hope you enjoyed this mini tour of the National Cathedral's Bishop garden's tulip beds. May God bless the National Cathedral's staff and may He bless you too!

Related posts:
National Cathedral photos: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/04/national-cathedral-photos-and-good.html
My red and white parrot tulips: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/04/tulips-fire-poker-lilies-japanese-maple.html
My orange Angelique tulips: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/04/tulips-daisies-and-more-flower-photos.html
My pink and white Angelique tulips: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/04/azaleas-lilacs-ghost-ferns-tulips-and.html
Tulips, daffodils and spring blooms: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/03/happy-spring-floral-photos-this-week-in.html

Columbines, Widow's Tears, Irises & More: This Week in My Maryland Garden

Happy May dear readers! Here is our first columbine bloom of the year. I think it's a McKanna's Giant Columbine that reseeded from one of our original plants.

The Widow's Tears are in full bloom. We used to have both white and blue flowers but so far just white are blooming this year.

Last week I posted our first dark and light blue iris blooms of the year and now you can see we have a whole lot of irises blooming (and we still have a whole lot sitting in pots and buckets to be replanted from the excavation too).

This is our first rose off of our bicolor big rose. I don't remember the real name so I think of it as my strawberries and cream rose.

I think this is the same tulip I posted about last week and it's still quite lovely.

Some of the birds have been poking at our seedling pots but these cosmos seedlings that Ben started back in March are still looking good. I really should divide them or thin them soon. There's so much to do in the garden and only so much time to do it all. My plan for the cosmos was to put them in big pots so when they get tall they'll block an unsightly view from one of our windows but the county has a contractor who's had a bunch of equipment parked near our house for months now and we might just plant them on the street side to block the equipment view instead. Of course if enough of the seedlings survive we could do both.

What's growing in your neck of the woods? May God bless you!

Tulips, Fire Poker Lilies, Japanese Maple & More: This Week in My Maryland Garden

In between rainstorms yesterday I popped out to take these photos for you. Here is what is likely our last tulip of the year and it's a beauty. I think it's a parrot tulip and like the red and white contrast.

Here is one of our first rhododendron blooms of the year. We only have one rhododendron bush but it's a big one. The azaleas are still blooming too.

I suspect that these are fire poker lilies. They're in the shade (imagine we should move them but we still have hundreds of plants in clumps in pots waiting to be replanted since the yard excavation so moving things is taking a back burner to getting our front yard put back together).

 Looking forward to seeing blue iris blooms before next week's post.

When our windows are open the Josee lilacs fill our rooms with their sweet scent. Our old fashioned lilacs aren't likely to bloom this year but I'm just happy they survived the overzealous pruning they received last fall. We still need to dig out the dead wood (which is more obvious now that the tree like bushes now have leaves) so that air will circulate better and hopefully the lilacs will get even healthier.

The Japanese maple seedling I posted about last week and had transplanted directly into the ground wasn't looking so good so I got three more (in hopes that at least one will survive). One is pictured above. They're all in pots and seem to really like the potting soil more than the regular garden soil.  Of course, they'll be more likely to survive if I weed around them so I think I'll go do that after this post.

Every time I view the amazing variety of plants and flowers in my garden or anywhere out in the world I'm amazed at God's creativity and thankful for the beauty on this side of heaven. Imagine how much more vibrant and amazing it will be in paradise! May God bless you and may you enjoy the beauty around you.

Tulips, Daisies and More Flower Photos: This Week in My Maryland Yard

This is our first orange Angelique tulip. It makes me smile just to look at it. I took the photographs for this week's photographic flower tour of our Maryland garden. yesterday. Let's take a look at the prettiest blooms of the week.

Here you can see the orange tulip contrasting with its pink counterpart. Tulips are blooming all over the Mid Atlantic region this week.

 A white African daisy with touches of purple in it's petals and a nice lavender/violet center.

 The hellebores (also called Lenten roses) are still blooming.

The ajuga, both in the grass and the transplanted ones, are blooming. The transplanted ones are smaller and have smaller flowers but by next year should look healthier as they won't be competing with the grass for nutrients.

Thanks to those who have commented on the blog and in person about saving the violets! Ben still thinks they're weeds but now sees that I'm not alone in appreciating them. Turns out we'll be loosing a lot more than violets from our garden this week. I'm sad to say that most of our front flower bed will be victimized by a backhoe tomorrow. Although repair work from the November flood is not yet complete, we have even more serious plumbing challenges now so the garden will be taking a back seat to managing these new trials. Prayer appreciated.

What's growing in your garden this week?  May God bless you and all you set your mind to this week dear friends!

Happy Spring! Floral Photos: This week in My Maryland Yard

Happy spring, dear readers! I took all of these photos today on this first day of spring, 2012. Can you believe our first tulip is blooming today? It seems so early but I don't mind at all. I think this is an Angelique tulip. We saw them in the U.S. National Arboretum and had to try them in our yard. The Arboretum's were much taller and pinker but it's still neat to have them in our own yard.

Here's a lovely  primrose with raindrops on its petals.

We do have forsythia in our yard but no sweet gum trees and I thought the combination was uniquely beautiful. The photo was taken on my "celebrating the first day of spring" walk today. I thought about changing the title of the post to "This Week in My Maryland Neighborhood" but because "This Week in My Maryland Yard" is a regular blog feature I kept with the tradition.

 This is a neighbor's bi color daffodil. We have some of these too but theirs looked better.

And this is the same tulip as the first picture only I cut it, popped it in a tiny vase and added it to my inspirational arrangement on my dining room table. It's amazing how changes in light, location and angle can make a flower look so different. We'll have more tulips outside but I wanted one inside to symbolize and celebrate this first day of spring. May God bless you this springtime and always dear friends!