Our Gorgeous Azaleas

 Our Azaleas are just bursting with color! These two hot pink shrubs just make my day when I see the ultimate beauty they bring to springtime.

This picture was taken from the front of our yard looking back at our huge expanded flower bed and our home in the background. 

Purple creeping phlox are blooming in front of the azaleas. 

You can see our expansion project of this flower bed linked at the end of this post.

The tall iris are reaching their beautiful purple heads up behind those hot pink blooms of the azaleas. 

Buds and looms encompass the entire azalea shrub.

Our dogwood trees are young trees that stand about six feet tall. They make a nice backdrop for the iris and azaleas. 

Here are the two posts I made on this huge undertaking to expand this flower bed:

In the Garden and A New Project in 2018 - click here

Flower Bed Project Update in 2018 - click here

Thanks for stopping by to see our gorgeous azaleas - Judy.

Linking to:

Our World @ Our World Tuesday on Monday

All About Home @ Follow the Yellow Brick Home

Party in Your PJ's @ The Apple Street Cottage on Tuesday

Tuesday Turn About Link Party @ Thistle Key Lane 

Wonderful Wednesday @ Oh My Heartsie Girl on Tuesday

Wonderful Wednesday @ Ducks in a Row

Share Your Style @ French Ethereal

My Corner of the World @ Photographing New Zealand on Wednesday

Thankful Thursday @ It's a Small Town Life

FLORAL FRIDAY FOTOS

Little Things Thursday @ Random-osity

Friday Photo Journal @ Serendipity is Sweet

Thursday Favorite Things @ Katherine's Corner

Flaunt It Friday @ Chic on a Shoestring 

Grace at Home @ The Charm of Home on Thursday 

Saturday Sparks @ Pieced Pastimes on Friday

Pink Saturday @ How Sweet the Sound on Friday

Garden Affair @ Jaipur Garden  on Saturday

Sundays at Home @ My Soulful Home on Saturday

Saturday Spotlight @ Calypso in the Country

Celebrate Your Story @ Celebrate & Decorate on Sunday

Mosaic Monday @ Letting Go of the Bay Leaf on Sunday

Love Your Creativity Link Party @ Life and Linda on Sunday at 2pm

Sunday Link Party @ Finding Silver Pennies

Sundays on Silverado @ The House on Silverado

Busy Monday @ A Pinch of Joy on Sundays at 5pm

Springtime in Our Gardens

Nothing is more welcome than when spring arrives in our gardens. The azaleas are blooming and their color is just stunning in our landscaping project from last year.

I was surprised when I took the picture below that a Yellow Swallowtail Butterfly was fluttering around the azaleas sipping the nectar. 

New Dimension Blue Salvia is in bloom. I'm hoping I will have success in trimming the tops after they finish bloom for rebloom in the fall.

Vernique Blue Speedwell is also blooming in the front bed.

I'm not sure about my iris plants.  I cut the fans and replanted them last fall during our big landscaping project.  

They produced beautiful foliage, but only one iris bloomed. I'm thinking they have not been getting enough sun in this location.

Our Redbud trees are starting their third year and presented beautiful blooms this year.

This yellow flower may be just a weed or a wildflower, but I've been enjoying it's brilliant color.

In the backyard gardens, Daylilies are growing but it's too early to see any blooms. Hubby bought me a sweet little rabbit for Easter to sit in the gardens.

One of the beds in our backyard is around a tree and is in the shade the biggest part of the day. It's perfect for hostas, ferns, astilbe and columbine.

You can see hostas, garden ferns, cinnamon ferns, and coral bells (heuchera) in the pic below.

Little Lantern Columbine is presenting showy blooms of red and yellow. 

The blooms on the columbine are so delicate that I try to never touch them. Wild blue violets have popped up by the Columbine. 

The columbine grows near hostas and garden ferns.

Astilbe plants are up and will soon produce beautiful showy flowers. (check back later for blooms)

Although it can be a bit overwhelming this time of the year, I love working in the flower beds . I'll keep plugging away at the weeds; thanks for stopping by - Judy.

Linking to:

Dishing It and Digging It @ Rustic & Refined on Sundays

Dishing It and Digging It @ The Freckled Rose on Sundays

Sundays at Home @ Little Farmstead

Mosaic Monday @ Letting Go of the Bay Leaf on Sundays

Celebrate Your Story @ Celebrate & Decorate on Monday

Amaze Me Monday @ Dwellings 
Creative Mondays @ Claire Justine
MET Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Tuesday's At Our House @ Our Home Away From Home
Reader Tip Tuesday with this week's Craft & Recipe Party @ Jodie Fitz
Tutorials & Tips @ Home Stories A-Z

The Scoop @ Stone Gable Blog

Inspiration Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life

Talk of the Town @ Kick of Time on Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop @ Claire Justine

Share Your Style Link Party @ White Arrows Home 

Home and Garden Thursday @ A Delightsome Life on Wednesday evening

Thankful Thursday @ It's a Small Town Life

Little Things Thursday @ Random-osity

Friday Photo Journal @ Serendipity is Sweet

Thursday Favorite Things @ Follow the Yellow Brick Home

Pretty Things @ Calypso in the Country on Fridays

Sundays at Home @ My Soulful Home on Saturday

Pink Saturday @ How Sweet the Sound

Celebrate Your Story @ Celebrate & Decorate on Sunday
Dishing It and Digging It @ Rustic & Refined on Sunday

Pink Azaleas and A Funny Story

Do you just love azaleas? I must say they are my very favorite flowering shrub. 

I am happy to share my Dad's azaleas.

We stopped to visit Dad on our way back from Florida and stayed a week with him. The timing was perfect, his azaleas were in full bloom.

Talk about size and color, his shrub is huge. It spans about five feet across and is about five feet tall. 

I tried to zoom in close so you can see the filaments drooping down in the center of the bloom.

I must tell you, Dad doesn't do one thing to the azaleas shrub, remember he is 91 and sure doesn't work in the yard anymore. My Mom planted them years and years ago and she passed away in 2004 so they haven't been touched since.

Next I'll show you some lighter pink azaleas that are in his neighbor's yard. There's a funny story about his neighbor's azaleas that I'll share with you.

The neighbor's house had sold a few years ago and the new owners were in  the yard so I happened to be visiting my parents and went over to introduce myself. The azaleas weren't in bloom at the time and the guy says he thinks he's going to cut down the row of bushes (about 6 azaleas) because they didn't seem very pretty and he wanted something more colorful.

Well, you know I almost choked and immediately began to tell him about azaleas and begged him to wait until at least summer to make up his mind. I assured him they would be beautiful and have gorgeous color. Needless to say, his azaleas are still growing and showing beautiful color in the late Spring.

Hope you have enjoyed Dad's azaleas and his neighbors too - Judy

Linking to:

How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday

Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper

Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Daydreamer

Fishtail Cottage for Cottage Garden Party on Wednesday