Real or silk?

These came from our garden and you really can't tell if they're real or silk.

The smaller variety of sunflowers turned out prettier than the giant ones.

Sunflower update

We got our first sunflower bloom this morning and it's lovely! More are just around the corner.

Maddie wanted to show just how tall the flowers are by standing next to them.

Sunflower sproutlets

After all the rain we've had, the seedlings sprouted much faster than expected! Some came out with the coverings still attached.

Springtime flowers

Our new house has a great gardening area and since I'm not one to grow food, I decided that Maddie and I would grow flowers; sunflowers and bluebonnets for now.

We did sunflowers in a container last year so I'm confident that we can do sunflowers in the ground. The seeds on the right are the super super tall sunflowers (10-12' tall). The seeds on the left are a shorter variety but I just love the colors.

Stinky Lois

We went to see Lois the corpse flower at the HMNS the day she started blooming. Luckily, we didn't experience any of her stinkiness but it was neat to say we saw her (corpse flowers don't bloom very often so this was a big deal).

PawPaw Plant - UPDATE

Oh wow, this spring brought me a BEAUTIFUL hydrangea plant!! The blooms are now all open and new growth has started for next spring. These pictures were taken about a month ago (I've just been too lazy to blog!)

My PawPaw plant

My grandfather, PawPaw, passed away last April just after his 89th birthday. It was incredibly sad for me as he was the only grandfather I'd ever had. (I promise this isn't going to be a tear jerking post) At his viewing, my grandmother, Nanny, and I were commenting on one of the plants someone had sent. It was a blue hydrangea and I'd always loved hydrangeas. Actually, we used them in Jake's and my wedding. So, my Nanny told me she wanted me to take it home and to think of PawPaw whenever I see it.

That was 13 months ago and now it's finally blooming! When I planted it last spring, there were only 2 pititful blooms on it and I never had anymore. But now it has numerous buds just waiting to bloom and I'm very excited about it. What's funny though is the blooms are looking more purple/pinkish than blue. I read it has something to do with the soil but my thumb isn't quite green enough to know about that.

Here are pictures of my PawPaw plant this week (I'll post more as the blooms increase)