Nature - May Blooms

May has flown by, at least to me. Some of my favorite flowers have bloomed this month and have been a “pretty in pink” source of joy, inside and out.

before…

peony

after!

mountain laurel

rose

We planted three heirloom climbing roses about seven years ago and they’ve bloomed their heads off the last two years. They have a subtle, sweet scent.

“raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…”

“My Favorite Things” Sound of Music

Winnie

ok…so…

This was the last rose I was able to bring inside. I discovered a million microscopic insects coming out of my beautiful roses. I think they are called thrips. They bury themselves inside the buds and cause the petals to brown out. I learned if you keep your roses well-watered from the time new growth appears and spray with some kind of insecticide, it will deter the thrips from inhabiting your roses. So..we’ve enjoyed the lovely roses from outside this year. Hopefully, next year we can defeat the pesky bugs.

I do love a gentle rain. In this scene, you see the roses, new baby tomato plants, and the promise of delicate hosta flowers in bud that will soon burst into light lavender blooms.

reflection

I love our old wooden door which I painted a few years ago in a “cotswold-type” green. In the window, you see the pansies in the window box that I haven’t had the heart to remove. They continue to thrive but I really need to replace them with summer flowers soon.