Welcome to the front garden, pretty flowers.
Today three peonies opened wide. My dear wife Karen and I said aah!
We know the blooming period is short for these beauties at the corner of the front garden of our home in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood, so we always count down their arrival and admire their dramatic full effect.
Most happily, there are a lot of buds that are behind these first-comers.
That means there are more happy mornings on the near horizon.
What flowers make the most dramatic entry to your garden? What’s your favorite flower? Do you prefer a plant full of flowers, or is one, single, dramatic flower more your style?
Mark Bialczak 
I love that you and Karen both enjoy your garden.
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She has gotten me to enjoy it more every year because she loves it so much, Kim.
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I love peonies !!
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You would love these, Leyla. They are bright and lovely.
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Aww, you lucky ducks, you!!! I am anxiously waiting for mine to bloom. I check them everyday and they are close, except that the temperatures went down yesterday and today and we haven’t had much sun. 😦 I’ll be sure to let you know when they do. 🙂
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I want to see the glory, Mrs. B!
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Beautiful!! I love a group of flowers by the front door of homes – all different colors in one planter – it always makes me smile 🙂
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That is a nice way to be greeted at the door of a home, Christy!
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Beautiful handiwork team Bials! I always look forward to the azaleas in bloom. They are always vibrant and abundant. Looking forward to seeing how the rest of your garden comes up. It’s nice to see you giving the snow shovel a break.
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Snow shovel? What snow shovel, Sandra? Oh, yeah, that snow shovel. We tend to have short-term winter memories around here. We have to! We love our azaleas out front, too. Red and bright.
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I loved looking at your peonies, Mark! You have such a bright fuschia colored plant. I like pink and white peonies, too. I have visited them at friends’ homes. I chose bright deep pink phlox, as my favorite blooming and spreading plant cover, in the garden leading to our front door. We had pretty pink azaleas, too. In my apartment, I like to display a pretty plant for each season. I had daffodils this Spring, in a pot. Last year, I think it was verbena, in a pretty peach color. This fall, it will be a magenta mum on my table or end table. I like dried bittersweet, which I put out in the fall on another table. Sometimes, I don’t mind silk flowers!
This peony today, was a lovely plant to greet you and Karen. As you said before, there will be a few more mornings of pretty buds opening! Hurray for pretty flowers that brighten our lives, Mark!
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I like your style of different colors for the seasons in your apartment plants, Robin. That sounds quite marvelous to me. We will enjoy the colors, right?!
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For them only having a short lifespan, you took an amazing photo where they will be forever preserved. 🙂 When I was a kid, we had a cactus against the side of the house that was slightly taller than the roof. (Don’t worry… Unlike your neighbor’s pine,it was far enough away so as not to pose a threat to our neighbors if it fell.) The cactus only bloomed at sunrise a beautiful, large purple flower and it closed before breakfast was over. Sadly, my grandma’s days spent during The Great Depression gave her the mentality of “Don’t waste the film,” so we never got a photo of the cactus in bloom. If only we had digital cameras back in the day… Thanks for sharing your peony with us! 😀
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Oh, Rachel, it is sad that you did not get one shot of that purple cactus bloom. So sorry. I’m glad I could share this peony shot.
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🙂
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Any flower that shows up in my yard would be an amazing miracle. Though the grass is thick and green we haven’t planted flowers. Though with our picket fence I’m considering more zebra grass in the corners. But I do love color. 🙂
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I am rooting for a miracle in the plant world, Colleen. A plant coming from a floating seed.
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🙂 If it happens I will send you visual proof of the joy!
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I must say, my daisies. They’re an unremarkable, simple flower but I have a patch that’s grown quite large so when they do bloom, it’s beautiful:). The simple things often are! Love those peonies.
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I’m glad to hear that your daisies make you so happy when they bloom, Kay. Fantastic! You’re right. Simple can flip the right switch.
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i love, love, love, love, flowers, my fav in my garden is a little peony tree. the first year, there was only one bloom, but it was huge and beautiful. i think that is my favorite. as for yours, they are beautiful too, they bring such joy, and i know they have to be enjoyed quickly, they are like a popsicle and vanish if you don’t enjoy them right away.
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I like the sound of your peony tree, Beth. Last year ours only kicked out a few buds, but they were huge flowers. This year, more, but smaller. Interesting. I wonder if it will alternative over the seasons.
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Three pretty flowers, Mark. I love those, too. My favorite is the daffodil. I wish they lasted a little longer. Gone in a flash those beauties are..
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Yes, fast and furious gifts from nature, they are. Thanks Audrey.
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I love spring! Daisies are my absolute fave flower and I also love tiny flowers. If I had a garden I would plant wild field and mountain flowers!
Diana 🙂
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I like the concept of bringing the mountain to you, Diana! Someday, my friend … I hope you are having a good day out west.
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I am Mark! I hope the same for you! 🙂
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What beauties!
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Thank you, Dora. They are eye-openers for us!
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In a rain soaked grey day, your peony picture made me smile. Thanks Mark.
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Glad to perky up a rainy London for you, Rachel!
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What pretty peonies! Like a pop of yellow lemonade inside a flower of pink lemonade.
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Yes. Perfect description, Kerbey. As I sit here with my second huge cup of coffee, I now want some lemonade.
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Well, I for one am going to brew some more coffee. Cheers.
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Enjoy the roast.
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My peonies are show-stoppers but are not my real favorites. It’s kind of like picking which kid is the favorite but if I had to choose: my iris. And I like a big, generous swath of blooms. Your peonies are definitely post-worthy!
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Thank you for sharing your garden favorites, Silver. Generous swaths. I like that image a lot.
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Oddly enough here in Ottawa one of the first flowers to bloom are the tulips – and they are beautiful. I say oddly because they are not indigenous and the ones on gov’t property here were a gift from Holland many years ago.
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Tulips come up early around here, too, Paul. I think they are early BECAUSE they come from Holland climes, maybe. Just guessing, though!
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Love, love, love peonies! I had some in my garden from my Mama’s and mother-in-law’s gardens. Now the are also in my daughter’s yard and soon some in Skanatetes at my son’s. Our peonies are a family affair!
Could you resend me Angies new address, please?
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I am glad you are in with the peony crowd, Anne T.
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Hi, Mark. My peonies look different from yours. Is your peony bush a mini one? Or is it a baby? If it is a baby you will be in the future, getting huge flowers. You’ll see mine when I post them. You will not believe your eyes. (((HUGS))) Amy
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This is year three. The first year it did not flower. Last year it had just a few HUGE flowers, Amy. This year it has more buds, but the flowers are a bit smaller.
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Hmmmm……I have SO many buds this year I cannot believe my eyes. Now you are making me think. Perhaps my flowers won’t be as big this year. They were huge last year. My bushes are about 10 years old so they have had more time to be established. HUH. Well, I will just have to wait and see what these flowers are going to do this year. LOL Love, Amy
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Probably, big buds, big flowers. Seems logical to me, Amy!
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Yes, but now that I am looking, the buds have stopped getting BIG, not like last year. Hmmmm…..perhaps more flowers but smaller? Makes sense to me. A plant has only so much “energy” to produce flowers. xx
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Maybe across the board, this is the year of many peonies, not huge peonies. Interesting concept we have stumbled upon with our posts this morning.
Any other peony planters out there to join our study?
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(smiling) Interesting indeed. I LOVE to observe Nature. She also has so much to teach us as well. Now I really am looking forward to my Peonies flowering. xx
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