May Showers. .AND May Flowers!

Oh My!!

What a whirlwind of activities!!

School is now officially OUT. .

And summer vacation is IN!

We have been to play day for Devin. .

Preschool graduation for Camille (complete with the caps and a processional). .

And though the weather hasn't been perfect for gardening. .

We are getting some of that squeezed in!

We had nearly 3 inches of rain last weekend after high school graduation. .

See how my back yard looked after it came in a torrential fashion?!

We also had hail with it. .

But not as large as the hail that broke through multiple panes of my greenhouse the week before!!

We have had quite a bit of rain this spring. .

and cooler temperatures than the last two years at this time. .

So, we are hopeful for a break in the drought pattern!

The rains filled my pond to the brim!

And the pasture pond that belongs to our neighbor!!

It's been a while since there was water there. .

And it was a beautiful site for sore eyes!

We enjoyed a little pasture tour the one beautiful evening we had. .

And found some great wildflowers. .

that I don't even think we saw last spring!

This is what I love about Kansas when it is nice. .

Big, wide open spaces. .

and super blue skies. .

The yucca plants are nearly blooming. .

I will have to go out this weekend and see if I can capture a photo. .

They are SOOO gorgeous in full bloom!

The yard is starting to explode with color too. .

I have been hard at work planting, planting, planting. .

and watering, watering, watering. .

over the last several years. .

But THIS year. .

Things finally seem to be coming together. .

and it is looking like a garden instead of random plants and bushes!

Two of the three honeysuckle bushes survived. .

I thought they would be fragrant. .

but they aren't.

I was going to yank them back out. .

but they have a nice dense habit, that will be good for wildlife. .

And they do produce some red berries, that always seem to get eaten. .

So they will stay. .

not to mention,

I am liking the upright structural element that they are finally providing in their garden spots!

The spirea that I snatched from my mother in laws hedge are ready to bloom. .

and the dwarf spruce trees in the background are turning that wonderful shade of 'new-growth blue'. .

The spiky foliage in the foreground is a red hot poker, and I noticed in the last couple days that it will be blooming soon too!

The iris are blooming. .

This peach one is probably one of my favorites. .

I don't think we had ONE iris blossom last year. .

But the plants are loaded this year. .

I even found this pink and white bloom. .

that I think came from my friend Sally. .

I've never seen it before!

The Russian garden is looking pretty pathetic. .

but better, after Grant spent some time weeding out the cheat grass!

I was pretty surprised to find this long, tall bud in the Texas Red Yucca plant. .

The surprising part was, that the same type of plant right next to this one. .

which is about quadruple the size of this little guy. .

Has NO blooms yet. .

It should finish opening any day now. .

And is more red than the pink color it was at the beginning of the week when I snagged the photo.

THAT should be a hummingbird magnet for SURE!

My other hummingbird magnet. .

The orange honeysuckle. .

 is blooming and climbing up the structure. .

but I haven't noticed any hummingbirds coming near it. .

Maybe this weekend as I have time to sit, I'll see one!

The neighbor said she has seen several already.

Nellie Moser clematis is blooming. .

And so is the primrose plant that I got from Garden on Sherlock Street last spring. .

Speaking of GonSS. .

I was hoping for a real live tour of her Garden tomorrow. .

That was. .

until Miss Thing ended up with the stomach flu this evening. .

Now I'm just hoping for a little sleep tonight. .

and that the Lysol and Clorox will effectively protect the rest of us!

Sickness wasn't what I had on my agenda for the weekend. .

But. .

It is what it is!

And. .

in between some cleaning tasks. .

and a little gardening. .

I hope I'll find time to just sit still. .

And enjoy all nature has to offer!

Hope you have time to do some of that too!!

Enjoy your long weekend!