This is why we garden. For these perfect moments of complete beauty in nature. My tree peony popped this afternoon and the colors and the blooms are spectacular. I took this picture now because we are supposed to get rain and I’m hoping it doesn’t get beat up.

Above you see in the second photo, the simplistic beauty of a white azalea. It’s just so pretty. You can’t go wrong with a white azalea.

A few years ago I had this idea of wanting wafting scent in the spring so I planted lilacs. Above are some of the ones which are blooming now. They are the re-blooming variety.

I also have two Miss Kim lilacs but they are hit or miss for me as far as blooms. I think I’m going to give them a big haircut after they bloom as much as they are going to bloom this year and see what happens. They are baffling to me because I feed them properly they have the right light and I prune them correctly.

My late mother-in-law had an affinity for red rhododendrons. I have never grown them before so I decided to try them in this garden and I love them! There are many types of reds you can choose from, but this is by far my favorite. My source? Rhododendrons Direct in Oregon and Applied Climatology at the West Chester Growers Market.

And the final photo I will share with you today is of the old-fashioned snowball viburnum. I inherited this shrub from the previous owner, it was planted when the house was built decades ago. It doesn’t have a scent but it produces gobs of beautiful perfect white flowers the size of tennis balls.

Gardening is good for your head, and good for your soul. It’s just a wonderful thing to do. And when you garden, you are rewarded by Mother Nature.

Get gardening!