Garden variety

I was going to post these pictures as these flowers were blooming. A long time ago. Last month... last week...
After this long winter, that dragged in one monotonous, snow-sodden day after another, you would think we deserve the have the pleasures of spring linger on. But she is a tease, and here are some of her cohorts.

This lilac is called Beauty of Moscow. She's also the beauty of my back yard. Can you just smell her? Gorgeous! Stays that way for about a week, then all this profusion turns brown and limp, and it is done for another 51 weeks. A nondescript, rather leggy bush in the corner of the yard.

The peony buds, big as golf balls, and seemingly as firm, burst open into their vulgar, gaudy display.

The magenta ones are the most obnoxious, but the white ones are not far behind.

They're even worse than the lilac. Once opened, the petals last only a couple of days (during which there invariably come violent thunderstorms which beat them mercilessly to the ground), and the they droop all over the surrounding foliage, as if a large bird had taken a rest there to commune with nature.

The shortest bloom award, however, has to go to the poppies.

Spectacular! But even in the best of circumstances, their blossoms don't last more than a day or two, but since they bloom at the same time as the peonies, they also fall victim to the storms.

I love these extravagant flowers, but I have to admit that I find them a little stressful: the anticipation while the buds take their sweet time to open, the high drama of the peak bloom combined with the constant fear of impending storms, and the keen disappointment after the flowers fade...

Although I vastly prefer this ever-changing display to the monotony of a lawn and its constant and unvaried maintenance, I breathe a sigh of relief when these drama queens are finished, and summer brings in the somewhat plainer, but more dependable summer cast.

Comments

[kim]

Peonies are my favorite flower!

[Denyse]

All my favorite flowers are spring flowers. Lilacs are my most favorite because of their scent.

[justyna]

I know, they're my favorites too. You would not believe the scent of this Muscovite Beauty! But they are showy and fickle. The summer blooms are starting their show. I'll have to give them their own post.