While I Was Gone

… is, coincidentally, the name of the book I was reading while I was gone.

While I was gone, I intended to keep up with blogging. I took lots of pictures before I left, and had several ideas formulating. But a hectic schedule left me very little down time. So no blogging while I was gone.

While I was gone, May was in full swing in my yard. The first thing I did when I returned was rush out to see what I had been missing.

New iris, of course. Here's a bicolor yellow and peach. When it first started to open, I thought it was a bit drab. Then the sun hit it, and it glowed:

Here's a medium sized iris in front of the sedum bed:

And finally, an heirloom iris from my sister's godmother (by way of my mother):

I was never particularly fond of this one, because the falls appeared brownish. But this year they are a vibrant burgundy, so striking I wonder how I could ever have shunned them.

Pink bleeding hearts! Pink bleeding hearts! Pink bleeding hearts opened while I was gone!

They were so far behind the white ones (2.5-3 weeks) that I didn't think they'd bloom this year.

And blackberries:

At the front of the side garden, here's a shrub I've never identified. It didn't bloom the first few years I lived here, but now it does. But that hasn't helped me to figure out what it is. It's flowers started to open while I was gone:

Along the front walk, the pansies are still cheery:

But wait! While I was gone something new started blooming in there:

Coreopsis! What a summery way to welcome me home from the cold northern climes.

(What didn't happen while I was gone? The mulch pile didn't get any smaller. But I moved eight cartloads when I returned, for a running total of 22. I think I'm about halfway through it now.)