The red Peony plants are blooming! I didn't know what they were, exactly, and I've never grown them before - so it was a good surprise. I had always come up to the farm the week before school began in the Fall, or at Winter... so I was pretty sure they were Peonies, but here they are in their glory! Nice.
The pathetic pink flower is on Mom's Azalea. When we got 18" of snow last winter, I thought I'd lost the Azalea... I have custody; my brothers and I got it for Mom as her Mother's Day present about 35 years ago, and when Dad moved to Palm Desert I was given the charge of keeping the Azalea well and healthy. The Mom Flower loved the shady spot in Santa Rosa and rewarded us with wonderful flowers just at Mother's Day every year. I'd take photos and send them off to the boys and Dad.
When we moved up here, I thought... Azaleas - Oregon - Rhodies... should be OK. Wrong! Only if they are in a very protected spot do potted Azaleas do well in our area. I thought I'd lost her for sure... all the leaves (well, most of them) froze off, and nary a bloom or new bud showed. I had failed as a plant-guardian. THEN.. . on Sunday I saw a flash of almost-pink! While I wasn't looking, the Azalea had made a flower, then two... and now there are six or eight. She may make it after all! I've promised she'll have a greenhouse for next winter.
Azaleas and Rhododendrons don't do well in my garden either. I have a pretty Rhodie that has one less flower each spring. But the peonies are doing well. I just took a photo and put it on my header! I love them.
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