I started my day looking out the kitchen window at the spring green of grass, iris, peony plants and the leaves on trees. May offers such a pretty green in the landscape.

The early iris are blooming including an orange toned flag iris and a light peach iris. Buds have formed on others and the peonies are budded too.

Two little bushes, little Henry sweetspire, haven't shown their leaves yet. If they don't soon, they will have to go.

That will mean back to a nursery to find something to fill in their space. It isn't always easy to find shrubbery to fit into a flower bed. It can't be so tall that it hides blooming plants around it. You have to consider whether it will be sun or a shade plant. There is also the circumference of the bush to consider, as in my garden it can't push on the iris nor can it grow across the walking path.

The sweetspire is in our planting zone. We deep watered in the fall and again early this spring. I'm not sure what has gone wrong.

Oh gardening, who knew such a relaxing hobby could take such planning.

Gardening has its challenger, but the outcome of sitting back and enjoying the landscape is so worth it.

Before the rain pushed me inside this morning, I had spent time in the veggie garden. I did a bit of hoeing around veggie plants and then stood back and admired the soldier straight rows of onions and lush leaves of cabbage that are growing in the garden. Tomato plants are starting to peer over the tops of cans placed around them to protect their young stems from the wind.

I was fortunate to get a few rows of flower seeds in before the rain. I can just imagine the seeds swelling in the fresh spring soil waiting to explode and push through the soil.

Apparently gardeners do have good imaginations too. Well, I guess we need to or we couldn't visualize what we plan for our gardens.

Currently I'm sitting in my house watching the rain refresh the gardens, trees and grass. As I look out the kitchen window, the rain hasn't deferred the birds. They are busy at the feeders, especially the orioles that have brightened the backyard the past few weeks. It's hard to keep up with supplying them with orange halves and grape jelly. They are worth the extra grocery items.

The weather has been a little tough, this past winter, into spring for vegetation. Lawns took a long time to green and even then there has been winter kill. Perennial plants too have suffered. In Cuming County, we have been fortunate to get some spring rain and yes, the landscape has definitely greened up.

A recent garden club tour of a nursery just 36 miles north made me change my planting plan for the flower bed. I'm anxious to see if the red petunias I selected do as I hope they will. They are a cascading variety and should fill a space with bright color accentuating the pots of red geraniums in the garden. I then found a lighter leaf coleus that appears yellow to place in pots in the shaded area of the yard. My thoughts are the coleus will lighten the areas around yet more pots of red geraniums.

Planning out the flower colors is fun. The best made plans on paper are often changed when viewing the sea of color at a garden center.

I hope my flower garden will be a delight to me this summer and I hope you too find what you need for yours, no matter what garden center you visit.