floral reminders.

I can almost set my calendar by the flowers in my yard.

I really don't have a green thumb,
but I can count on a few pops of beauty every year.

Spring's arrival is announced by purple tulips

on the west side of my house

and blooms on the bush by my front porch.

They get me all excited (along with the first robin-sighting),

because they hold the promise of renewal and new life.

I usually smell my lilacs before I realize they have bloomed.

My parents had lilacs lining the back of their postage stamp yard.

I used to fill vases and put them all over the house.

I still do.

I set out pots of geraniums around Mothers' Day.

I love them because they survive my lack of attention and summer's sun.

The peonies? Well, they tell me school is almost done,

and summer is around the corner.

I took pictures of my peonies this weekend.

School is almost done.

Summer is around the corner.