I should start charging...

My mother-in-law has enlisted me to help transform her flower beds. It makes me excited because she has a gorgeous yard with SO much potential! She's already done quite a bit but really just needs my help to move some things around, add a few more things, and help bring it all together. Anyway, I'll post before/after pics when/if I get them! There have been a couple people who have asked me to help re-arrange things in their gardens...maybe I should start charging! Haha :) Just kidding...maybe.
Here are some pics I snapped this morning from my garden:

Iris in bloom:

There is a lot of stuff crammed into this garden space: Iris, Cats mint, Wormwood, Peony, Hens and Chicks, Daisies..to name a few. Its a pretty mix of things.
Tried to get a good shot of this peony bloom, but it came out a little fuzzy. Boy, the ants love eating the sweetness from these blooms!


Lambs Ear.. I just love the velvety texture of this plant! It adds neat variety.
More Iris in bloom. I was really suprised at how much taller the blooms grew on the dutch iris! If you look at the picture, its a significant difference. Is that typical? Also, I didn't expect the dutch iris to get multiple blooms on a single stalk. The white iris don't do that as far as I know.

A lot can happen in a few days!

My family came to visit this past weekend for my college graduation...we had such a great time! I had wanted to get some new pics up before they arrived, but in the midst of cleaning and getting things done around the house, I did not get a chance to. I figured all of my fellow garden bloggers could wait a few days :) So, here ya go! I snapped these Friday morning:

Pretty Vibernum shrub...I can't remember which variety this is....maybe V. prunifolium. Anyway, I will post more pics of it in a couple days because these little white buds are all beginning to bloom! This yellow flower is blooming off of a neat groundcover that a gardener friend gave me last year. She didn't know the name of it and I don't either. I will have to look into identifying it. Any ideas? Last summer, we planted a white dogwood tree in our front yard. Unfortunately, the poor thing didn't make it through our long winter. Soo, we replaced it with a Magnolia tree which I've always wanted! Even though its really small at this point, I'm so excited to have it as an addition to our yard. Blue grass, Iris, and Marguerite Daisy

Bue Grass & Bleeding Heart

Blue Oat Grass. I've been getting more interested in ornamental grasses...they add such neat variety to flower beds. I planted this one last year...It has grown a lot even since I snapped the below picture. I love how it stays in a mound.

The blooms on this bleeding heart are so delicate! This is actually the first year I've seen it bloom since last year mom gave it to me...it sprouted as a seedling in her yard in Michigan. Maybe it'll produce some seedlings that I can plant elsewhere in the beds...I don't think I could ever have too many Bleeding Hearts :)
The Rhododendron is in full bloom! It is still a small shrub..it will be great in a few years when its had a chance to grow bigger. Planted underneath it are Coreopsis Zagreb which produces pretty yellow blooms. I was hoping the Coreopsis would bloom at the same time as the Rhododendron, but I'm thinking it'll bloom a little later. At least in a couple weeks.

Unique Visitor

This little guy was hangin' out on this leaf for quite awhile today. I hadn't seen him at first so it kinda suprised me when I saw him sitting there :) This year, I've seen quite a few frogs...maybe because its still so damp out.

Springin' Up!

Peonies are getting bigger...can't wait to see them bloom! I can't remember which variety/color I planted, so it'll be a fun suprise :)

These Iris are gettng ready to pop open...
These were the mystery plants that the previous owner of our home musta' put in the ground...so pretty, I'm glad they opened up.

Bleeding heart just starting to produce blooms. This is my first bleeding heart and I just think they're such beautiful plants.

I put this basket together to add a little variety. Pansies are such delicate flowers.

Compost composition...

Lee brought home this container which works perfectly for storing compost! It's full of lama beans, ash, leaves, and kitchen scraps.