Take a walk in my springtime garden with me

June 1, 2016

As the calendar page turns to June, I want to share photos of my springtime flower garden, with its tulips, daffodils, oriental poppies, pansies and columbine. I planted most of the bulbs five years ago and gradually added more of my beloved oriental poppies, with their tissue-paper petals and dramatic colors. When I created an addition to our front yard garden last summer, I lined its curving borders with more bulbs. All the sod-digging, hauling and soil amending was worth it as soon as the new bulbs and green shoots started lifting their heads to the sunshine.

The oriental poppies began to bloom mid-spring and quickly became the garden's divas.

I have never made a garden without including bright-faced pansies. They remind me of my Italian grandma, who loved them. Seeing pansies in our front-porch planter and smiling from the garden always helps me feel closer to her.

Which flowers do you grow for their memories as well as their beauty?