The Dawn of June

There’s a saying, “April Showers bring May flowers.” I suspect who ever first penned that phrase lived maybe 300 miles south of where I live.

While I get all giddy about planting the annuals when the hardy varieties like petunias and impatients show up in the department store garden centers in mid-April, to be honest that’s a bit early for our weather.

Yesterday was the first day of June, and I’d like to share the brilliant blossoms that are bringing me great joy at this time.

I have a patio pond (400 gallon poly-tub that is home to my goldfishes) in which I’ve established marginal plants like these varieties of aquatic Iris. They are perennials, and survive our frigid winters – but full disclosure we keep a low temperature heater in the pond which leaves open a bit of surface area for wild birds as well as to support our goldfishes. The three colors of Iris’s graciously stagger their bloom times so that they don’t overlap much and I get to enjoy changing colors for several weeks.

The $3.99 red tea rose plant that we picked up at the farm store a few years ago, barely requires any maintenance, and is magnificent this Spring. I’m not sure how much nectar the roses might offer the Hummingbirds, but their color certainly attracts them to the place where we hang feeders. In fact, in the image above you can see a hummer perched on the feeder, and in the below image I unknowingly captured a Hummingbird flitting nearby while I was taking a photo of the rose bush.

I typically purchase impatients and petunias to fill the remaining corners of my patio with color. It’s amazing how such a simple addition to one’s life can improve a sense of tranquility and serenity. It’s well worth getting a little potting soil under your nails, not to mention the duty of watering the flowers is both relaxing and presses me to step away from my computer for a little jaunt outdoors.