Just got home on my bike… and noticed my first dahlia of the summer!!!
Small, but mighty… and hopefully the first of many this summer!
Fingers crossed…

A pop of color to start your day! Some beautiful asiatic lilies in my neighborhood…
and I’m loving this new color combination!

Colorful clematis climbing & blooming in my front garden today! I would love for it to grow larger & produce more flowers… but “someone” may have planted it where it doesn’t get quite enough sun. Darn it!!!

New in the garden this morning… one of my peony bushes is finally blooming! And it’s the first year with a good number of blooms. So exciting… and the scent intoxicating!

Some of the beautiful iris that are currently blooming in my garden… kind of a pastel purple.
These have been in my garden for years… well-established & spreading every year!

So I remember buying this & planting it last Spring. Did I keep the tag?… of course not.
But I’m loving that it survived the Winter & is blooming in my garden right now on tall stems.
The plant looks kinda like a ‘columbine’ of some sort… but the flowers aren’t even close?!

UPDATE : Thanks to Tracy… apparently this is Columbine Meadow Rue

So these little cuties decided pop-out in my patio flowerpots today. Too cute! Eventually they will become beautiful flowering vines that will climb up my “curtain of rusty gears.” C’mon… you can do this!!!

Enjoying a little afternoon sun & some more iris blooming in my garden. Sure, I “should be” prepping, pricing & packing for this weekend’s art fair in Schaumburg… but we all need a quick break now & again, right???

While the day is gray, the colors are still blooming in my garden. I love these purple bearded iris! The colors, the patterns & the scent which brings back childhood memories.

Gotta love iris season! So many great colors & combinations. Too bad the flowers don’t last longer… although I do enjoy the green “sword-like” leaves as well. Luckily, I’ve got a good assortment in my garden… including these pretty bi-color ones! And they’re all starting to bloom!!!