Spring Blossoms into Summer?

How pretty is this iris?

I'm starting with a picture of one of my favorite spring bulbs - Katherine Hodgkin iris. They are small and sweet and this year popped out of the ground in about twenty-four hours. They bloomed for a couple of days and then our 70s and low 80s caused them to wither and fade. They don't usually last more than a week, but our ridiculous temperatures have accelerated everything. I'm wearing shorts! In March!

The bees are moving too fast for a picture.

The boxwood at the back door is blooming, much to the delight of bees and bugs. Some folks hate the scent, but I rather like it. This one came with the house and is some kind of Korean. It's about six feet high.

Fragrant forsythia

It is a glorious year for forsythia. The mild winter meant that flower buds were not killed off and warm sunny days sent them bursting into bloom. I'm just not used to seeing magnolia and forsythia bloom at the same time. My redbud is seriously considering flowering, too.

Early kaufmanniana tulips

I adore spring flowers, but I plant in a succesion on purpose. These are early waterlily type tulips.  However, early is usually APRIL! I like to cut daffodils and tulips for bouquets for a good six to eight weeks. Usually, I can do this. This year? All bets are off.

The Iris Obsession

I will confess, my favorite flower is iris.  I'm not the type of iris collector that has plants in neat rows or clumps and labeled, but I will admit to being a collector.  I tuck them in around the garden including the bulb varieties. I'm not organized.  It's an impulse purchase because I like the flower, but most often they are plants from friends and coworkers that needed splitting. Of course, I can always find room for more! 

The big bearded ones usually don't capture my heart unless they are a spectacular color like these pink and purple ones. I have no idea what their proper names are and I'm rather fine with that.  I tend to like the Siberian with their grass-like foliage and elongated falls, but sometimes, you just get caught up in color. My friend Mary who gave me these mentioned just last week that she had another one in mind for me. I've got charming yellow ones to share come September for anyone who wants some.

This year I decided to make a section of the Sacrificial Strip (the bit between my driveway and my neighbors) the iris patch.  If I can't find room in the sunny beds, I'm sticking them there. The iris are doing a good job of duking it out with the existing mint.  The back corner of our property is rapidly becoming shadier thanks to the ever-expanding katsura, so I have some iris that needs to get moved, too. This fall I hope to plop in some more bulb iris in different colors, well, just because.