# Lifestyles & Discussion > Personal Health & Well-Being >  All Of The Pretty Flowers

## Natural Citizen

I enjoy looking at flowers. For a lot of reasons. I have a little bench in one of my flower beds that I sometimes hang out in on nice days. The bees and the butterflies kind of just float and buzz around.  Just doing their thing. It's relaxing. Fuel for the soul. You know? I was talking to one of my friends about this particular lily yesterday. It's my favorite flower because it just popped up a couple of years ago. It's really pretty. I didn't plant it. It just got there. Hard to say how it did given that it's obviously a bulb. It just kind of exists there on the edge by itself in a  bed with different kinds of flowers. So, it stands out. My friend had mentioned that God sure is a wonderful artist. I tend to agree. For me flowers really are a part of my overall positive well being. Especially in the morning right when the sun rises and I go outside for a morning cup of coffee to see what popped. It's relaxing. You just never know what you're going to find. Sometimes they mix and create different variants of the same flower. Except the petals sometimes change shape or the colors are shaped differently.

Anyway. I post some pretty flowers here from my gardens. If you have some pretty flowers that you enjoy that brighten your day, you can post some, too.

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## phill4paul

Petty flowers are....pretty.

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## donnay

Asian lilies are my absolute favorite, right next to the peonies.

It's raining today so I will have to take some photos in the coming days.

Peonies:

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## Suzu

I love peonies. I planted one a few years ago. It was a small cutting from a neighbor. It grew well for two years. Then it simply failed to come up. I have no idea what happened to it. I generally have a very green thumb, so this shouldn't have happened. I want more peonies but can't afford to buy anything non-essential.

There were a lot of flowers on this lot when I moved here. Most are still present and have spread a lot. Irises in three colors are abundant. I keep digging them up and giving them away, and they keep coming back even thicker than before. There are also thin-leaved irises. I have jonquils, daffodils, crocuses and bleeding hearts. Snowball plants, Rose of Sharon, lilacs, day lilies and many others. Here's a shot of some of the irises:

Attachment 5009

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## donnay

> I love peonies. I planted one a few years ago. It was a small cutting from a neighbor. It grew well for two years. Then it simply failed to come up. I have no idea what happened to it. I generally have a very green thumb, so this shouldn't have happened. I want more peonies but can't afford to buy anything non-essential.


It's weird about my peonies, someone gave it to me as a gifted plant for some occasion.  I had it indoors for a while then I planted in my yard.  I thought it died, for a couple of years, nothing.  Then last spring I saw these shoots coming out of the soil--didn't quite know what it was so I let it be.  A month later the buds started appear, I was so surprised it was my peonies!  I also have a peonies tree that seems like it is in shock and not doing much--I am going to leave it be to see if it does anything this year.

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## Suzanimal

I love peonies, too.

Right now my favorite is a star gardenia planted in front of my house, by the front door. On nice days, I open the front door and windows and the fragrance fills the house.

I'm a horrible photographer.

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## Suzanimal

I also love my butterfly bushes. I planted 10 of them near the pool and the backyard is full of butterflies all summer.

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## Carlybee

Not mine but from my hood

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## donnay

> I love peonies, too.
> 
> Right now my favorite is a star gardenia planted in front of my house, by the front door. On nice days, I open the front door and windows and the fragrance fills the house.
> 
> I'm a horrible photographer.



I love gardenia, they remind me of my Nana.

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## donnay

> I also love my butterfly bushes. I planted 10 of them near the pool and the backyard is full of butterflies all summer.


Butterflies love milkweed too.  So don't get rid of a lot of it--people look at them as weeds.

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## Danke

> I love peonies, too.
> 
> Right now my favorite is a star gardenia planted in front of my house, by the front door. On nice days, I open the front door and windows and the fragrance fills the house.
> 
> I'm a horrible photographer.


I'm guessing that seemed to be in focus at the time you took it.

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## Natural Citizen

A supercell just passed through here. Most of my flowers just uprooted. Trees down...neighbor's roof on my lawn. Sigh...

Was nice while it lasted. Guess I'll get my chainsaw and head outside.

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## Suzanimal

> I'm guessing that seemed to be in focus at the time you took it.


Franzia focus.

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## donnay

> A supercell just passed through here. Most of my flowers just uprooted. Trees down...neighbor's roof on my lawn. Sigh...
> 
> Was nice while it lasted. Guess I'll get my chainsaw and head outside.



Good Lord!  I hope no one was hurt?

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## Danke

> A supercell just passed through here. Most of my flowers just uprooted. Trees down...neighbor's roof on my lawn. Sigh...
> 
> Was nice while it lasted. Guess I'll get my chainsaw and head outside.



That's why I hate nature.

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## Suzanimal

> A supercell just passed through here. Most of my flowers just uprooted. Trees down...neighbor's roof on my lawn. Sigh...
> 
> Was nice while it lasted. Guess I'll get my chainsaw and head outside.


OMG! I hope everyone's okay.

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## CaptUSA

> I love peonies, too.


Yeah, we've heard that about you.

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## Suzanimal

> Yeah, we've heard that about you.


I'm a shameless peony lover, that's a fact.

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## Danke

> Yeah, we've heard that about you.


Yeah, notice she used the plural.

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## Natural Citizen

> Good Lord!  I hope no one was hurt?


No, not that I know of. I got the tree cut up and the big stuff cleaned up. At least condensed for now. I'll tell you what, though, never try to nail down a sheet of your neighbor's roof plywood in 50 mph wind. It's like a wing suit.

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## Natural Citizen

Anyway. Here are some pretty lilies from last year. They haven't bloomed yet this year. But they're much fuller this year so when they bloom, I'll post them.

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## Natural Citizen

Yeah, I always keep a few of these around, too. Butterflies love em.




> Butterflies love milkweed too.  So don't get rid of a lot of it--people look at them as weeds.

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## FunkBuddha

None of my peonies bloomed this year... I miss them.

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## Natural Citizen

Apple Blossoms. 

I might get 20 pies off this tree this year. Some cobbler maybe. I don't know. Cider. Something.

There's a honeybee in the middle there some place.

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## Natural Citizen

Lil feller hanging out in my pink Phlox last year. The pink Phlox really pops on a sunny day.

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## Natural Citizen

Black Eyed Susans...

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## lilymc

> Lil feller hanging out in my pink Phlox last year. The pink Phlox really pops on a sunny day.


Awwwwwwwww.       Too cute!

ps - does he have a flower in his mouth?

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## Natural Citizen

> Awwwwwwwww.       Too cute!
> 
> ps - does he have a flower in his mouth?


Thanks. He's a pretty boy alright. But, yeah, I have to watch him with that stuff, though. I think I showed you that picture after I took it last year. Or maybe it was a different one. That was probably around the time he ate my phone. Remember that? I was talking to you when it happened. I didn't even know he had it. Heh.

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## Suzanimal

Anyone else looking over their shoulder for Carol before they look at the flowers?

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## opal

I have a bunch of favorite flowers.. pansys, johnny jump ups, violets, roses, portulaca, Lillies of the valley, lilacs and there's a tree that grows near the coast down here called jaqueranda... lovely purple flowers like lilacs but droop like willows, and carnations.. and mums...

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## donnay

> No, not that I know of. I got the tree cut up and the big stuff cleaned up. At least condensed for now. I'll tell you what, though, never try to nail down a sheet of your neighbor's roof plywood in 50 mph wind. It's like a wing suit.


Well that is good news.  Crazy weather.




> Apple Blossoms. 
> 
> I might get 20 pies off this tree this year. Some cobbler maybe. I don't know. Cider. Something.
> 
> There's a honeybee in the middle there some place.


I have two dead apple trees with lichen on them.  I am so sad.  Rabbits got to the roots last winter.  Arrrgh.

My cherry trees bloomed beautifully this year, though.

I also plants some hazelnut, pecan and walnut trees this spring.

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## Natural Citizen

> Well that is good news.  Crazy weather.
> 
> 
> 
> I have two dead apple trees with lichen on them.  I am so sad.  Rabbits got to the roots last winter.  Arrrgh.
> 
> My cherry trees bloomed beautifully this year, though.
> 
> I also plants some hazelnut, pecan and walnut trees this spring.


Ooooh, we had black walnut trees when we lived in Tennessee. Mmm mmm mmm. I used to love those things. It'll take those trees a long time to get big, though, donnay. Lots of Christmas and Thanksgiving nuts for baking with those trees, though.

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## Suzu

> Ooooh, we had black walnut trees when we lived in Tennessee. Mmm mmm mmm. I used to love those things. It'll take those trees a long time to get big, though, donnay. Lots of Christmas and Thanksgiving nuts for baking with those trees, though.


Black walnuts actually grow pretty fast -- at least twice as fast as a silver maple. I planted a silver maple nine and a half years ago. It was about three feet tall when I planted it. In the meantime, a let a black walnut that came up voluntarily nearby keep growing. The walnut started from a nut a little over five years ago and is now the same size as the maple.

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## Natural Citizen

> Black walnuts actually grow pretty fast -- at least twice as fast as a silver maple. I planted a silver maple nine and a half years ago. It was about three feet tall when I planted it. In the meantime, a let a black walnut that came up voluntarily nearby keep growing. The walnut started from a nut a little over five years ago and is now the same size as the maple.


Yeah? Hm. Maybe it just seems like a long time to me because I'm waiting for those wonderful nuts. That's my favorite nut, the black walnuts. Especially in some good pound cake. Phhhht. To die for.

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## luctor-et-emergo

I've got Clematis here growing on some fences. Together with regular Hedera Helix and some other green plants. It's green all-year-round but because these Clematis things flower at different times of year there are pretty much always flowers from spring-fall but in different colors.. Pretty cool. I've got red, white, yellow, blue, purple.. I think the only colors I don't have is pink and green.  Pink exists but I don't like it. I've got the stronger colors..

These are my favorites I think (Not my pic); 

"Multi-Blue"

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## luctor-et-emergo

> Yeah? Hm. Maybe it just seems like a long time to me because I'm waiting for those wonderful nuts. That's my favorite nut, the black walnuts. Especially in some good pound cake. Phhhht. To die for.


I have a Giant Sequoia here.. People keep telling me how it's a slow growing tree because it takes hundreds, thousands of years to grow to 300ft tall... What people don't understand is that even though it takes a long time for a tree to get so ginormous, these trees actually have one of the higher growth rates when it comes to trees. The amount of mass they can 'grow' in a year is  absolutely staggering.. My little tree is 2 years old, got it as a small seedling.. At the moment it's a 2ft high but pretty bushy Christmas tree like thing.. Pretty damn beautiful really but it GROWS FAST. Therefore it's in a big pot and I'll make some kind of bonsai out of it. I don't have the space here to plant a tree that will become MASSIVE within 10 years.  If I had a large field, I'd plant a couple, just in case I'd have kids at some point, they'd be the best trees to build tree-houses in.

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## Natural Citizen

Oh, yeah, Clematis are pretty flowers. I've only ever seen them in purple. They trickle right up things, too. 

Sequoia would be an awsome treehouse.

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## Suzu

> Yeah? Hm. Maybe it just seems like a long time to me because I'm waiting for those wonderful nuts. That's my favorite nut, the black walnuts. Especially in some good pound cake. Phhhht. To die for.


My area gets positively blanketed with black walnuts every fall. You could drive down 2-3 blocks and collect a hundred pounds of them in the street. Most people don't even bother to collect them.

Incidentally our trees made nuts starting in their third year.

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## Suzu

Could be that the walnuts here grow so fast and so easily because the soil and climate are just right for them.

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## donnay

> Ooooh, we had black walnut trees when we lived in Tennessee. Mmm mmm mmm. I used to love those things. It'll take those trees a long time to get big, though, donnay. Lots of Christmas and Thanksgiving nuts for baking with those trees, though. 
> 
> Hey, another lily bloomed next to those two in the op. I went out early this morning and took some pictures of it as it started to bloom. I wasn't going to post them here but I already uploaded them so may as well. 
> 
> Here you go...https://plus.google.com/photos/11206...91932035519393


Beautiful, just beautiful.

I was told the black walnut trees will grow fast--so we shall see.  I was told the hazelnut trees will grow fast and produce nuts within three years.  The pecan trees are cold hardy, and it is supposed to produce the nuts within 3 to 5 years.

I was also told that when you grow black walnuts, you need to put it in an area where you are not growing food (or ornamental landscaping), because it produces it own insecticide called juglone.  This natural substance will kill anything that is within 50 to 80 feet from the trunk.

However, black walnut hulls made into a tincture will help kill parasites and worms in your gut and do some other good things.




> “Black Walnut Hull may help to lower blood pressure and serum cholesterol levels and is believed to burn up toxins and fatty materials while balancing blood sugar levels.
> 
>     The tannins in Black Walnut Hull (and leaves) possess an astringent quality that is thought to shrink the sweat glands and reduce excessive sweating.  The herb is said to help control menorrhagia, the excessive loss of blood during periods. It is also used to control diarrhea.
> 
>     Black Walnut Hull is considered a tonic that aids digestion and the intestinal system. It helps to relieve colic, heartburn and flatulence. As a cholagogue, it stimulates the flow of bile into the intestines and is thought to ease bilious colic and pain in the spleen.”
> 
> Perhaps Black Walnut’s most well-known property is its ability to fight intestinal parasites. It is a well documented vermifuge that is effective at helping the body rid itself of parasites. As a laxative, it expels parasites as part of its cleansing of the body and the high tannin and juglone content is thought to oxygenate the blood and kill parasites. Black walnut is effective against pinworm, ringworm, tapeworm, and other intestinal parasites.


http://wellnessmama.com/257/black-wa...-herb-profile/

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## Suzu

> I was also told that when you grow black walnuts, you need to put it in an area where you are not growing food (or ornamental landscaping), because it produces it own insecticide called juglone.  This natural substance will kill anything that is within 50 to 80 feet from the trunk.


I tend not to believe this idea, because I have several black walnuts growing all over the yard here, and each of them is surrounded by live plants of all kinds, growing right up next to them and all around them, with no apparent ill effects. I do pick up the dropped walnuts every fall, which might be making a difference.

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## donnay

> I tend not to believe this idea, because I have several black walnuts growing all over the yard here, and each of them is surrounded by live plants of all kinds, growing right up next to them and all around them, with no apparent ill effects. I do pick up the dropped walnuts every fall, which might be making a difference.





> *Companion plants for black walnut trees*
> 
> Purdue University has informal lists of plants that tolerate juglone and those that are sensitive to it. Choose from the following list for best results in planting near black walnut trees or walnut trees grown on black walnut rootstock. Follow these guidelines for planting within the dripline of the tree and, according to the University of Wisconsin, up to 50’-80’ from the trunk. Naturally you need to consider the sun and shade requirements of the plants, as well.
> 
> Vegetables: lima bean; snap bean; beet; carrot; corn; melon; onion; parsnip; squash.
> 
> Fruits: black raspberry, cherry.
> 
> Landscape plants: arborvitae; autumn olive; red cedar; catalpa; clematis; crabapple; daphne; elm; euonymous (burning bush); forsythia; hawthorn; hemlock; hickory; honeysuckle; junipers; black locust; Japanese maple; maple (most); oak; pachysandra; pawpaw; persimmon; redbud; rose of sharon; wild rose; sycamore; viburnum (most); Virginia creeper.
> ...


http://www.groworganic.com/organic-g...-tree-toxicity

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## Natural Citizen

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## Natural Citizen

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## Natural Citizen

Accidentally deleted my flower folder...

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## Natural Citizen

Pink Spirea out back...

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## Natural Citizen

Rhododendron blossomed out front...

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## donnay

My peonies.

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## MelissaWV

No lie: I was not sneezing until I read this thread.

But!  Very pretty, ladies & gents.

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## Natural Citizen

Here is some Honeysuckle. I was thinking about cutting it all out and getting rid of it. Thing is, though, that it just smells so good. Plus I like to suck on them, too. And the Humningbirds dig em. I like the Hummingbirds, particularly. So, I don't know. I might keep some around. I kind of forgot about this thread.

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## Natural Citizen

Daylily (?) I'm not sure. They keep spreading, though. Might have to thin them out soon.

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## Natural Citizen

Bumblebees like these ones. I don't know what they are but they must have some sweet nectar or something. But these only flower for a day or two and, then, die off. But they do flower all summer, at least. I have these everywhere. I think they self-seed.

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## Suzanimal

> Here is some Honeysuckle. I was thinking about cutting it all out and getting rid of it. Thing is, though, that it just smells so good. Plus I like to suck on them, too. And the Humningbirds dig em. I like the Hummingbirds, particularly. So, I don't know. I might keep some around. I kind of forgot about this thread.


I planted a honeysuckle bush near my feeders. It has huge orangeish red blooms. It had a few blooms when I put it in but my niece picked them. When I get more, I'll take a photo because they're gigantic.

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## Suzu

> Daylily (?) I'm not sure. They keep spreading, though. Might have to thin them out soon.


Not Day Lily. Not sure what it is, but here's how Day Lilies look:

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## Suzanimal

My butterfly bush.

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## Suzanimal

Another one.

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## donnay

> Daylily (?) I'm not sure. They keep spreading, though. Might have to thin them out soon.


I just planted daylilies all around the side of my house.  Beautiful.  I love flowers.

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## Natural Citizen

Ah, man. I deleted that folder that I had with all of my flower pictures in it on my Google+. So, then, all of the pictures I've shared here are a mere memory. Dang.

Ah well. At least I still have them on my computer.

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## Suzanimal

I have a dragonfly friend. I noticed him hanging around the pool a lot and then the other day when I was walking around skimming the dead bugs off the top of the water, he hopped on the part of the net that sticks up out of the water and rode it around until I shooed him off. I felt like Snow White.

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## Natural Citizen

> I have a dragonfly friend. I noticed him hanging around the pool a lot and then the other day when I was walking around skimming the dead bugs off the top of the water, he hopped on the part of the net that sticks up out of the water and rode it around until I shooed him off. I felt like Snow White.


I accidentally stepped on one this morning. He was hanging out on my paver walkway and I didn't notice him until I came back from turning on my sprinklers. 

It's a shame. He was a pretty blue color. He's still out there but the ants are doing a number on him.

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## donnay



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## Suzanimal

I planted these things over a year ago and thought they died because nothing happened with them. The garden center had them labeled as Six Inch Bearded Tongues but they're not six inches or bearded. I think it was a sales trick. Here I've been telling Mr Animal I can grow my own and it looks like I'm outta luck.

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## Natural Citizen

Cool flowers, donnay and Suz. I really like that red one.

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## donnay

> I planted these things over a year ago and thought they died because nothing happened with them. The garden center had them labeled as Six Inch Bearded Tongues but they're not six inches or bearded. I think it was a sales trick. Here I've been telling Mr Animal I can grow my own and it looks like I'm outta luck.


Very pretty--not sure what it is?

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## Suzanimal

> Very pretty--not sure what it is?


Some kind of lily. It's starting to bloom again.



My butterfly bushes are covered in these guys and that's some of my lavender sticking up. Smells heavenly. 



My hydrangeas - taken Monday when it was rainy.

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