Flowers for Friday: Hooray for May

Two purple perennials:
violets in the foreground
grape hyacinths in the background.

Remember the parrot tulip from last week?

Now these tulips have opened up and from this angle

it almost looks as if the "birds" are ready for flight.

White lilac

Lovely fragance. Once I stuck my nose

right up to them and inhaled deeply. Big mistake.

I was stuffed up afterwards. Allergic I suppose.

Now I keep my distance and sniff from afar.

In my area we are advised against planting annuals
until May 15. It's tough to wait. I've always wanted to
plant pansies (one of my mother's favorites) and
this is my year. It's okay to plant these flowers
now because they can stand the cool weather.

This sunny sweetheart is called a viola.
It's a relative to the pansy. I bought extra
of these ones to give to my mother in a pot
for Mother's Day. Yellow is her favorite color.

Our ferns add a woodsy touch to the backyard.

Look how the hostas have grown!
The walkway will narrow as they continue to grow.