Pink yarrow! Who knew? It’s usually white!

Michael calls this “Butter and eggs”. My flower finder calls it Toadflax. It looks like a tiny snapdragon. I love snapdragons! They magically appeared the beginning of June and will be some of the last flowers of fall.

Marsh Woundwort. It has square stems and so I think of it as a non-fragrant mint.

The peonies smell light and sweet.

The Hop-Hornbeam is in full flower. A relative of a birch, it has very hard wood.

The hop clover grows everywhere.

I planted a lot of bulbs last fall and then forgot what was there. Such a lovely surprise to have some late bloomers!

The garlic blossoms, aka scapes, need to be gathered, sautéed in olive oil and tossed with pasta.

I greedily watch the tomatoes.

My first daylily burst forth today.

The elders are “blowing,” which is what we call its blossoms. The elder blow wine we made last year finally came into its own and has a complex, slightly bitter but floral flavor. It grows on you.

The Johnny Jump Ups and marigolds brighten the deck.

But they cannot hold a candle to this wonderful child. Happy Birthday Grand Girl!