Is Mother Nature sending warm spring weather your way? Our below freezing temperatures are finally behind us and we’re enjoying temperatures in the 60s and 70s this week!
Our azaleas are blooming and we covered our Chinese Snowball Viburnum to protect her buds and blooms from frost this past weekend.
The “snowballs” resemble large hydrangea blooms, which start out green, changing over to cream and then white.
They’re ideal to enjoy as a cut flower.
You can nest with snowballs and bird houses, here.
I cut some viburnum and azalea blooms, along with white spring flowers from our laurel shrubs. I added them to some wet floral foam in a galvanized Flowers & Garden bucket for a celebration of spring!
With the threat of frost over, I’m galvanized to garden!
In celebration of gardening season and flowers, I have a wee giveaway with a few garden goodies to share with one winner :
A galvanized Flowers & Garden bucket, a pair of gardening gloves, Bowl of Beauty Peony (2 roots),
Al’s Flower Pouch is designed to maximize space and grow hanging flowers with pre-cut slits ready for planting. Fill it with flowers like impatiens, begonias or petunias and hang it on a door, fence, gate, deck or mailbox post for some vertical blooms!
Wave petunias bloomed all summer in my flower pouch on the back door of my Potting Shed last year.
I hung it on a wreath hanger on the door and added a blooming transferware plate, easy to remove for watering. I used on it every 10 days to encourage new blooms and keep it lush and full.
Nasturtiums are an easy edible flower to grow from seed and make a pretty garnish for a salad, dessert or beverage.
Once established in your flower bed, Nasturtiums will reseed.
I always like to stop and smell the peonies, since season their fragrant blooms are fleeting! Some of our peonies have buds and bloom around the beginning of May. I picked up a few new varieties of peonies to plant this spring, including Bowl of Beauty.
To enter this giveaway, leave a comment telling me your favorite spring or summer flower. Subscribers/followers automatically get a second entry. Subscribe by email or follow on Facebook and let me know by comment.
For a third entry, share this giveaway on Facebook (FB sharing button at the bottom of the post) and leave an additional comment telling me so.
This giveaway is open to those living in the continental U.S. and is sponsored by me and in no way endorsed, administered by, or associated with Facebook. 
The winner will be chosen April 29th.
Happy Gardening!
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.
Joining Share Your Cup and Thoughts of Home
on Monday, April 25 for a Garden Party!
Also sharing at: Metamorphosis Monday, The Scoop, Inspire Me Tuesday,
Wow Us Wednesdays, Home Sweet Home, Feathered Nest Friday
Foodie Friday and Everything Else Link Party
Love the flower pouch!! We are still freezing up here in northern VA, but I am anxiously awaiting the lilacs. Technically it’s a shrub and not a flower…but they are so joyful! I am also a viburnum lover…I’m afraid the frost last night did in our azalea buds :(
I always enjoy seeing what you’ve put together to bring nature into the home. My Lady Banks rose is one of my favorite spring blooms. Here in Oklahoma it just finished it’s performance as my peonies begin.
Sweet peas are my fav S pring seed/flower
Wild white daisy’s are my favorite…he loves me, he loves not…a well remembered childhood game. Love your creativity in everything you do and the pictures in the spring especially make my day. Here in the north it’s still all black and white.
Favorite Spring flower is the peony. I love all the different colors. Have you ever seen a yellow one? I love your blog! Great inspiration! Especially love your table settings.
Hyacinth is by far my favorite spring flower.
Tulips. As we live in the north they are a hardy charming harbinger of spring
Good Morning,
I have so many favorite spring flowers.I love peony’s because theses flowers reminds me of my daughter who lives far away and the joy of seeing them brings her closer to me. Have a happy day.
Your arrangement of azaleas with the laurel blooms is so unexpected and pretty! Great little giveaway, Mary. Hard to pick a favorite bloom! I love my iris patch, just wish the blooms lasted longer!
I have a plate sized pink peony that is beautiful and just embodies thoughts of springs. But I love the snowball bush, too, and sweet peas and crocuses and … Okay, I have a weakness for flowers, and like you, love to cut them and bring them inside! Love your touch with decorating with flowers.
Wow, that is a huge peony if it is plate sized!
I have some heirloom white peonies that came fro this house we bought years ago.
They are very pretty.
I haven’t messed around with peonies much. Do they seed or do you divide by roots?
Such a beautiful post! I love violets. When I was a small child my grandmother and I made paper cones from wrapping paper. Then we picked wild violets in a nearby field and filled the cones. I took them in an egg gathering basket and hung them on the neighbors front door knob. Oh it was so much fun for me, and whenever I see violets I remember my grandmother.
My mother used to do this with us…she learned it from her grandmother…We did it on the first day of May…She called them May Day Posies! She was born in Atlanta and said that it was customary in her day to do this. I remember using construction paper to make the cones and decorated them with bits and pieces of ribbons and lace. We lived in Cuba and violets did not grow where we lived, but we used roses or any other flowers blooming in our patio..
Choosing just one flower is so difficult, but my favorite spring flower is the grape hyacinth. The color is breathtaking and the fragrance is so delicate. Here in south central PA, we too had frost last night. I am anxiously awaiting warmer weather. Heading to Charleston next week for a few days and plan to visit Magnolia Plantation. Am sharing your post on Facebook. Have a beautiful day
So hard to choose a favorite Spring flower . . .I love them all. Probably daffodils since they are the first to appear. Actually they are a harbinger of Spring, appearing when there’s still snow on the ground. After that my fave would have to be peonies!
Beautiful flowers!!! My favorite Spring flower is probably tulips.
In Florida, I had quite a mix of azaleas.
The neighbors told me they have never seen them looking that good ever. We had bought that house years ago. The house no longer exists. A hurricane too it all out. Luckily, we had just sold the house and moved back to our old state.
I loved growing things in Florida.
Gee I wish they had a edit button on here when I missed spelling a word…
Soooo beautiful. Its going to be around 60 degrees here in Rockford MI. Thats a big improvement from the 30s this past week with snow. My favorite flowers are sweet peas. Whenever I go for a walk which isnt often enough in Michigan, I enjoy seeing them by the roadside. Thank you so much for posting all the beautiful spring things. When it is cold and cloudy here, they cheer up my day. Karen
Yay!! Finally in the 60s today..and cannot wait to get my hands dirty..oh, I won’t have to get them dirty if I own those lovely gardening gloves..and, my favorite Spring flower is Peonies..I have lots and just love when they bloom..their aroma is heavenly…and I desperately need a new pot to plant something pretty in like those nasturtiums..and I would like the opportunity to try the BAG..seen them just have never tried. All your photos are just beautiful and give us hope waiting for the beauty! Thanks for the giveaway and the post!!
I also follow you on Facebook!!!💐🌼🌻🌸🌹🌺🐝🐛🐞
By far, hydrangeas have always been my favorite. They’re beautiful when blooming and seem to last forever when dried.
My favorite is peony. They are so full and stately! Your posts are so gorgeous and inspire me daily…it is the first thing I do when I get up and they are up so early! Thank you!! Your photography and creativity is over the top!
posted to facebook
Just shared to Facebook too! Good luck everyone!!! ❤️❤️❤️
Love, love, love lily of the valley, brings this ol grandma back to my childhood days when mom use to make me a bouquet for May procession. They smell so incredible
Such a beautiful arrangement! My favorite flower is the blue hydrangea.
I love all Spring flowers..it is so wonderful to watch the earth wake up in the Spring! Today my favorite is lilac…love your blog and how beautiful your peeks into your world are…
It would have to be azaleas. I just wish they lasted longer.
I’ve got a love-hate relationship with clematis. I l-o-v-e them in someone else’s yard but can’t seem to get them to bloom in mine. I’ll never give up trying, though. So many colors, sizes and varieties.
My favorite is whatever is blooming today! I am fickle. My Winston Churchill daffodils are blooming now. Love the fragrance and the beauty.
You are a master gardener. Everything always looks so beautiful. When I did my landscaping a hydrangea bush was top on my list. I watch every year for those first blooms and love going out, snipping a few to put on my kitchen table. I wish I had the same luck with peonies. I’m going to try again this year. I’m ready for warmer temps here in PA. 30s the last few mornings!
First let me say, BEAUTIFUL Pics! Love the flowers. Last Spring my Vet called and told me to come pickup a box of Dahlia Bulbs that he wanted me to have. It was a surprise to me because we had spoken about those flowers the Spring of 14′ and he remembered! I planted them all through my garden and they were absolutely breath taking to look at and get pics of. I never had any luck with growing them, but he is an expert grower of the Dahlia.
Daffodils are my Wedding Flower, I always smile when they bloom in the spring!
I like spring my favorite flower is dahlia I like your dogs
Absolutely stunning, Mary!
Lilacs and hydrangeas are my favorite flower. I really like azaleas also!
Shared on facebook also
What a Beautiful setting as usual! Your flowers are gorgeous!!
I Love All flowers…..as I Love to plant many different varieties, watch them grow, and make arrangements with them. Lilacs, sweet peas, daffodils, and the list goes on.
I am a follower and a subscriber to your Blog!
What a fun giveaway Mary, I haven’t heard of the hanging blooms bags, very cool idea! Love the flower tub too! My favorite summer flower is hydrangeas, I have some that are already sprouting blooms! This is only because they are brand new bushes planted by a professional landscaper so they haven’t been affected by my black thumb yet 👍 ! Lovely give away, enjoy your blooms!
Jenna
What a lovely giveaway, Mary, and dare I say that Al is a genius….LOVE the flower pouch! :)
If I had to pick only one favorite spring/summer flower, I guess I’d have to pick the Endless Summer Hydrangeas….they perform well in our garden.
I LOVE PEONIES…..THE SWEET SMELL OF THEM BRING ME BACK TO MY CHILDHOOD & ALL THE WONDERFUL MEMORIES OF WORKING IN THE GARDEN WITH MY DAD….HE HAD A WAY WITH PEONIES…..OH, HOW I LOVE THE BEAUTIFUL PINK FRAGRANT BLOOMS…..THANKS FOR MAKING ME A BIT WEEPING TODAY!!!!!
The weather clock has gone backwards here too- brrr. Planting Nasturtiums in a pouch is a brilliant idea. You can keep them pesticide free and safe to beautify your salads- love this idea. My favorite early spring flowers are daffodils but what I most look forward to is when my ‘Francesca’ peonies flower; they are an unusual deep red and they happens to be named the same as my daughter. I purchased them the same year she was born and have moved them from Boston, to California and now to North Carolina and they continue to thrive for 25 years! I also am a gardenia lover. There are so many varieties and everyone smells heavenly.
Tulips, lilacs and peonies, oh my! Love spring–just not spring allergies!
I love all Spring blooms, but I think my favorite are daffodils. Their sunny faces make me smile every time.
I love hydrangeas like everyone else, but I do love viburnum as well. Time to get gardening!
My favorite flowers are hydrangeas. So beautiful! Also, would you mind telling me what the vining plant is that is on your potting shed above the door and down the side? It is so pretty!
Hi Nancy, It’s Purple Passion Flower vine, you can see the blooms here. ;)
Love your blog Mary, especially the Garden Shed! My favorite Spring flowers are the Forsythia and pussy willow! I love a spray of each in a vase making an Easter tree. My decorative Easter eggs look so pretty hanging from the branches. Summer plants are clematis, morning glories, and black eye Susan’s! This week the over night low temps will be above 50 and I am excited!
Still chilly here in Virginia. I am so ready for warm weather! I love flowers of all kind but especially love the cheery sunflower. I grow lots of flowers so I have plenty for cutting. I also have a garden shed that I enjoy. My favorite Facebook page!
I love gardenias. When we lived in Florida, the east side of our house was lined with huge gardenias. Unfortunately, I am unable to get them to grow in Oklahoma. Hydrangeas are beautiful and I have planted a few peonies two years ago and have fallen in love with them. Love you blog!!
Oh Mary, you’re so generous in your giveaways! What a wonderful mix of fun, useful goodies for the garden! One of my favorite flowers is black foot daisies. They smell so good, spread nicely, and are drought tolerant. I’m an email subscriber already! Have fun playing in your garden!
My favorite spring flower would have to be lilacs for their beauty and fragrance.
How to choose? I love daffodils because their appearance means spring is on it’s way, but I think peonies have to be one of God’s greatest creations.! Oh, and hydrangeas and the many shades of clematis later in the season.
So many flowers to choose that i love ! the one that i cannot live without is the david austin english roses :), i’ve been a follower of yours for a couple of years now, via pinterest, facebook and email subscriber, thanks for the inspiration and creativity you bring to us all !
I have done well growing zinnias from seed, so I love them for that! I love my wisteria and azaleas too. Oh heck, I love all flowers!
I’m an avid follower here, and on Facebook too!
Just shared to facebbok
Any ray of color is welcome in the spring. From the first star magnolia to the amazing azaleas. This spring has been particularly beautiful. Sunny days, cool nights.
I love daffodils! They were my Mother’s favorite flower. She aptly described them as happiness and smiles on a stem. She memorized Wordsworth poem “I wandered lonely as a cloud” as a child and taught it to me as we walked and enjoyed the daffodils when I was growing up in England. When I see a daffodil they bring up so many wonderful memories! Your blog photos, as always, are lovely! They make me smile too :)
I love hydrangeas. Perfect for arrangements. In the spring I have phlox growing in a bed right outside my back door and the smell when you walk outside is glorious.
Mary, Peonies and Roses are my favorite booms, don’t make me choose! :) I’m off to share your facebook post!
Have a tea-rific day!
My spring favorite is the happy little pansy~ bright vibrant color and hardy during the colder spring nights.
It was my Grandmother’s favorite, she said they made her smile!!! Me too :)
I immensely enjoy your blog. What a lovely location to live by the water. Your entire yard is bursting with flowers! I love all flowers, especially spring ones. It shows God’s creation of new birth and beauty. My favorite are peonies. I have white, soft pink, medium pink and my favorite–the deep purple. Their fragrance is heavenly. The only problem is they are loaded with ants that will fall on my counters. I also love hyacinths–their fragrance fills the room.
It isn’t easy for me to pick a favorite Spring bloom, I would say Tulips. I just love how they stand so tall then gently spill over when placed in a vase. Thanks for the giveaway. I am also a subscriber. Have a happy day.
HOW can I pick a favorite flower? I have a hard time choosing between hydrangeas, peonies, and roses. But I do absolutely LOVE ranunculus. I have never tried to grow it but may try here, since we have some SUN! What a FABULOUS giveaway, mary! Have a beautiful day!
I follow you by email and on Facebook!
Stocks are my all-time favorite flower; from the grocery store or garden. :-) Love your potting shed btw.
peonies….hands down! well…i guess maybe they’re first and lilacs are a close-almost-first tie. thank you for the giveaway…i would love to add this peony to my little garden. thank you for your inspiration.
I love hydrangeas! They look so beautiful with their colorful blooms and love having them to show off in the house as well.
i’m a follower of yours, gasping over every lovely photo as well as a follower on Facebook. thank you again…
My favorite Spring flower has to be TULIPS! There are so many beautiful colors and even ruffled edges now.
Mary, I’m rushing out the door with dreamy thoughts of your beautiful garden full of blooms. I love the “snowballs”! Everything is fresh and full of color lakeside. Enjoy your beautiful spring weather.
Love your blog! My favorite summer flowers are lilies!
I would love to try the flower pouch–the petunias are so pretty hanging down from it. So jealous of your “snowballs.” I have a bush, but it hasn’t bloomed in a few years. Maybe because I cut it back? I do love my oak leaf hydrangeas, though. Probably my favorite blooms in the spring.
Angel Hydrangeas.
Hydrangeas are my favorite. Having said that, I’ve never met a flower I didn’t enjoy for its own beauty and/or scent. Thank you for this beautiful post and your lovely giveaway. Have a great day, Mary!
I love reading your blog. It’s always inspirational. You have such a talent with flowers and design and your potting shed is fabulous! I follow you and posted this to Facebook. I’m new to Facebook so this is fun.
Love starting my morning with your lovely blog!! I love ALL flowers but have to say that my most favorite is the mighty daffodil!! I think because here in the NW they have to brave the mighty rain/snow/hail/winds of March and do it so valiantly! I follow you here and also on FB…would love to have a new pair of gardening gloves and the beautiful, useful galvanized container! Stormy here today (rain & thunderstorms) then nice (70’s-80’s) for a week! Lot’s of weeds to pull and lavender to prune around our place!
Shared on Facebook too!
Picking a favorite Spring flower is not easy, there are so many to choose from. I miss the wonderful color and smell of lilacs from my childhood in Wisconsin. The delicate lily of the valley was also a childhood favorite. Living in the desert provides many beautiful flowers as well. The many cactus blooms are beautiful as is the various colors of bougainvillea. Thank you for your continued inspiration.
I love Hydrangeas. Still can’t get them to turn blue but they are beautiful.
It’s difficult for me to pick a favorite spring bloom. I love them all! But peonies are so gorgeous and smell divine, that will be my fave today.
I enjoy your blog and seeing all your gardening creations.
I’m sharing on FB😊
My favorite spring tulips have been especially lovely this year. Just wish they lasted longer.
It’s got to be my Sensation Lilac!
My favorite summer flower is the fragrant angel trumpet.
I am one of your email subscribers.
I love dahlias. I’m hoping, now that the rain is finally back here in California, that we will enjoy more flowers in our gardens.
Yay!! Spring flowers!! My tree peony is blooming..cut one of the blossoms and it is easily 8 inches across…remember crepe paper flowers…almost like that!! It’s ABOUT TIME Spring showed up!! franki
My FB share – https://www.facebook.com/rusthawk/posts/995991777116041
thanks!
Pink peonies and yellow roses are my favs but I love all the spring flowers. Your garden shed is always an inspiration with galvanized treasures galore. My style! Thanks.
J’adore the vibrant pink color of the azaleas contrasted with the bright white of the other spring flowers. Such simple beauty all placed in a shiny new galvanized tub that beckons for more show stopping blooms! Thank you for sharing this photo of hope as we are still thawing out in the Buckeye state!
My favorite is the Peonies followed by the Mimosa, both for their beauty and fresh scent.I try to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am.
Love Peonies , but my favorite spring flower is Daffodils & pansies. When I see those , I am assured that spring is on the way!
Bowl of Beauty peony is so heavenly! When mine bloomed one gorgeous flower I cut it, placed it in a bowl of water and took it around the neighborhood to show everyone how amazing it was! Back then I didn’t know the proper spot to plant a peony and it didn’t survive. Oh, how I’d love another one! Your flowering plants are beautiful.
I always love your flower arrangements! You definitely have a talent for design. I wish to be included in your give-away. It seems more than a “wee” one – lots of goodies! My favorite Spring flowers are daffodils and in Summer I love zinnias. They make such a great cut flower and there are so many sizes and colors!
My favorite Spring flowers are peonies and Lily’s of the valley. My peonie bush is a very old plant given to me by my husbands wonderful Aunt. It is the palest pink and very beautiful. Lily’s of the Valley is my sisters birth flower and make me think of her every time I see them. We live a thousand miles apart and I miss her everyday.
If it’s a bloom…I like them…I love all flowers.. I envy the lucky person that will receive the very generous Spring gift bundle!
lilacs are my favorite flowers for the smell and the colors. Love a big bunch in the house to make everything smell so good.
I love Echinaceas. No, wait – Black-eyed Susans. No, I love Coreopsis. Never mind I Iove flowers! Where can we get an Al’s Flower Pouch if we do not win?
Gosh. That’s a hard question. Hard to narrow down to just one flower. So I’m going to break the rule and say gardenias,peonies, and zinnias. I love planting zinnias from seed. They grow so fast and make such nice cut flowers. Luv your blog especially since our weather in Cary parallels your weather at the lake. I always click on your blog first!
Spring time, if I must choose one, I would say Pheasant’s Eye Narcissus (narcissus poeticus)
Your flowers are gorgeous. I don’t plant much that flowers because the deer and the bunnies eat them before I ever get to enjoy them. However, the hanging pouch might be a way to enjoy flowers on my deck. I love tulips and peonies, but spring isn’t spring until I see daffodils at my local Trader Joe’s. I buy lots of bunches and wake up the whole house with their sunny yellow in vases.
Tulips are my favorite.
I have a bunch of Tulip bulbs planted and always feel as spring has arrived when they pop up.
My most favorite spring flower is the sweet little pansy. I especially adore the ones that look like they have little faces! They just make me smile :). Your arrangement is just lovely – thank you for sharing!
I love freedoms and peonies and lilacs! They make the outside smell and look amazing!
I also shared this on Facebook!
Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful!!! You captured your azaleas at their best. So luscious!
I love all flowers but I guess I’m partial to the hydrangea. The last two years I haven’t had any blooms to speak of so I’m hoping it will be a good year this year. I have missed them terribly.
I am a subscriber and follower on FB.
I posted a spectacular garden you won’t want to miss. It’s amazing.
All of my senses are heightened looking at your gorgeous photos. We are a wee bit behind you here in the Midwest with our flowering shrubs, so viewing your beauties has me wanting. We have started our veggie garden with more planting today. I cut a bouquet of tulips this week that we are enjoying. Come on Springtime temps!
It is hard to pick just one, but if I must…Hydrangeas :)
OOOO…a giveaway.. I have full sun in my area and love spring flowers. I love hydrangea but can’t seem to get them to bloom. thank you for your beautiful pictures and your shed…..LOVE
Just love your bloomin’ garden! Everything is breathtaking…how I envy you those fragrant blossoms. My favorite flowers are any that are within my view! I do miss the flowering trees immensely…the cherry blossoms, crabapple, dogwood, peach and pear. So lovely this time of year on the east coast. Thank you for this beautiful post.
Love your birdie dish that says “chirp” on it! Would it be possible to know where I might be able to buy one? Love your Blog, have followed for a very long time but have never commented. This morning, I just had to say thanks form the beauty that you share…and your love of Dogs too! My favorite flower is the plain old Daisy..such happiness and sunshine in one lkttle bloom!
Thank you for a great beginning to the day!
I love Hydrangias ! They are so pretty !
Your pix are absolutely beautiful… and your creativity is so inspiring. The edibles are so delicate. I love violas and violets…. and especially the lily of the valley. Thank you for sharing the beauty.
Living in Michigan winter seems to last forever. Each spring I wait for my violets! I have purple and some lovely white with purple speckles. I let them self seed and surprise me each spring. I really enjoy your blog, the flowers and your beautiful photos have helped my winter doldrums and made me eager for spring and my own garden! Thanks so much!
My favorite has to be Hydranges. I have 10. Your flowers look beautiful.
Mary your garden is BEAUTIFUL. After ALOT of snow this winter & a new puppy, I have no flowers. My favorite summer flower is petunias, since they just keep on blooming all summer long.
My favorite flower in spring is the peony. So beautiful. On Apr 14, 2016 6:55 AM, “Home is Where the Boat Is” wrote:
> Mary posted: ” Is Mother Nature sending warm spring weather your way? Our > below freezing temperatures are finally behind us and we’re enjoying > temperatures in the 60s and 70s this week! Our azaleas are blooming and we > covered our Chinese Snowball Viburnum to pr” >
helloooo from NJ!! I follow, I shared, I love this giveaway and reading all that you do!! my favorite spring flower is tulips…summer flower? roses….peonies….all of them!!! thanks so much!!!
Love the lovely smell of lilies of the valley
Your azaleas are beautiful Mary, enjoy every moment of the nice weather:@)
Tulips are so wonderful when there’s still a winter chill. My Camellias are blooming now and they’re pretty special too,
What a beautiful sea of pink with the azaleas ~ and I love your snowball bush! Wow – what an impact they both make! Love Lilacs, my Tulip tree which is like a northern cousin to your Magnolia tree, Azaleas &Hydrangea’s, but my absolute favorite is Daffodils. Thank you Mary for such beautiful inspiring spring pictures and another fun contest. I’m an avid follower! :)
I love hydrangeas, either pink or blue.
kellam.susan@yahoo.com
I follow by email.
kellam.susan@yahoo.com
Beautiful. Your posts always brighten my day!
Jackie in Ohio: I love peonies! My grandmother in PA had them on her 75 acre farm; just gorgeous.
My favorite Spring flower is the tulip. I love all the bright different colors. Thanks for the giveaway.
Marilyn
My favorite Springtime flower is pansies. Thank you for this lovely giveaway.
All of the above.
Miniature dutch irises, bloom early which signals the end of cold weather & beautiful to look at.
peonies, I love their big moppy heads
Can I say it depends on what week? I adore flowers and love seeing the parade of blooms through the seasons. I particularly love white flowers, so if I had to choose it would be white azaleas. Or Mountain Laurel.
I follow you on Bloglovin
Love them all! I love the looks of the Snowball Verbena (not sure it is called that!) Just know I want to get some for my garden. What a lovely giveaway, thank you!
Thank you for the lovely photos on your blog.
My favorite summer flower is the Rudbeckia. It looks so beautiful in a vase with Queen Anne’s Lace!
My favorite flowers are red geraniums and daisies! Love your potting shed.
My favorite flowers for summer are red geraniums and hydrangea flowers. Especially Limelight Hydrangea. You put together awesome giveaway baskets, thanks for the great ideas and lovely pictures and wonderful recipes.
I love lilacs! I had them in every home until I moved to the deep South. I’ve planted them in every home here, but even if they survive, they never bloom. :( Thanks for the giveaway…and I’m a long time subscriber too!
One of the things I miss living in FL is spring flowers. Hard to pick one, but I love irises. I used to love wild violets in VA and my grandmother had a calycanthus bush I remember so well as a child.
Following by email.
Oh my gosh, I don’t know which is more beautiful, your stunning photos or your gorgeous flower arrangement. I Live in Jacksonville, Florida, and I don’t if we can grow Chinese Snowball Viburnum, but I will be getting some if we can. Your garden is breathtaking! Thank you for the chance to win your giveaway as well as enjoying your post.
P.S. I also follow via email: tracysdeloach at gmail dot com. :)
Here in Tennessee my irises are blooming….I love the white ones but all colors are beautiful. Their smell is so subtle and wonderful,
I love your blog.
Your garden and arrangements are so very beautiful!!!! Love your posts too. I have 3 favorite flowers – Roses (we have a rose garden we started the first year of our marriage years ago as a together project), Peonies are a second favorite – they are so beautiful and wished they bloomed longer) and my third favorite is Iris. We started our iris garden from my mother-in-laws field of iris. This was in memory of her as she loved flowers and always had flowers everywhere.
Hi Mary, Roses are my favorite flower, but I seem to enjoy red geraniums in my containers for the summer. This year is my first year to over-winter them. It is thrilling watching them come back to life. Your blog is always a treat. Thank you for all the painstaking efforts you exert to share with us. May your days be filled with as much beauty as you bring to others.
Wow your flowers are gorgeous. What is your secret!?! I love all flowers but have to say that geraniums are one of my all time favorites. Give your pups a hug from me. xoxo
Your blog is so inspiring for me! Thank you. I Love all Spring flowers! Personally my favorite is Purple Coneflower, which begins to bloom here in Texas in mid-April and continues all summer. But then again, with the last name Flowers, I truly love them all!
Such beautiful flowers you have! I especially love daffodils in the spring.
I am a follower!!
It’s hard to pick just one flower, but I have a small area of ruffled peach iris that always make my heart happy!
There are so many flowers I love in spring, that it is hard to pick however I will choose Tulips. My second would be daffodils. You are lucky that spring has arrived; we’ve had nice days in the 70’s and then this weekend we will have another snow storm. I love your galvanized bucket and all your flowers make me smile. Thanks for the chance at the giveaway.
I love this post. Your flowers make me sigh with contentment. My favorite flower is Hydrangea. I also love snapdragons and lilacs.
My favorite summer flowers are zinnias. I love the variety of colors and sizes and they grow easily from seeds. We always have a lot of them reseed themselves for the following summer as well. They are wonderful to cut and bring inside the house and look great with other garden flowers as well.
Oh my what an awesome giveaway. I love everything in the bucket including the adorable bucket. My favorite flower(s) are the old fashioned ones….hydrangeas, cabbage roses and peonies. Of course, I love just about all flowers, but I’m just partial to the oldies!. I love the flower pouch…what an awesome concept! Thank you for another spectacular post. Hope your weekend is sunny and warm!
Your flowers and the arrangement are so beautiful! I always admire your potting shed. Wish I had one. Thank you for a chance to win your awesome giveaway. ….Christine
Hey Mary; What Beautiful Photos you always share!!! I am a Happy Subscriber.
I Love Flowers, all kinds. Roses are my absolute Favorite.
If I am the lucky winner of this Wonderful Giveaway, I will give my Mama the Gift, as it will make her so Happy!!!
Thank-You so much for the chance!!! :-)
Without doubt my favorite summer flowers are hydrangeas, especially the Nikko Blue! They are one of the few actual blue flowers found in nature. Thanks for the chance to get these “goodies”! Here is Clemmons, NC we are glad to have warmer weather too.
I just shared your post on Facebook so my FB Friends can enjoy this opportunity as well! Thanks again Mary!
Must be peonies, but I have never been able to get them going here in Waco. Not sure what I’m missing. Obviously a green thumb. Oh, I’m a happy subscriber!
My most treasured spring blooms come from pass along plants given to me by women who mean so much….My mother’s amaryllis, my grandmother’s hydrangea are precious, but my favorites are my crinums….The poorest homestead often had crinums and every time I knock on a stranger’s door, a generous lady is happy to share
I just love your posts a pictures. Your azaleas are spectacular. I love impatiens and caladiums. I have mostly shade at my new house, so we will see how these grow this year!
Patti
My favorite is Hydrangea’s for sure, however, those Bowl of Beauty’s make me think twice! So beautiful! I am a subscriber by email and Facebook. Thanks!
I love ALL flowers, but I’d have to say that my huge dinner plate Dahlias are my favorite!! What a beautiful post!! I was so glad to be able to get away from the dreariness of Upstate NY and visit YOUR lovely state…my sister just moved to Wilmington and I got to visit for a couple of days. I fell in love…and want to move now!! Hope all is well and Hugs to Chloe and Gracie!!
Peonies are my favorite!!
I have most success with double begonias in my flower pots due to lack of sun and the deer that eat everything planted in my yard!
Also, I am now following you in face book.
Love the door bag planter, what a clever idea.
Roses!
I follow you on FB!
I shared on FB!
Your property is magnificent…I cannot imagine how much more gorgeous it is in person…your flowers are obviously very happy as their owner loves and takes care of them and in return they put on their Sunday best for you!!!
My fav…hydrangeas…but those snowball viburnums have to be a close second! I love flowers with very a very large accumulation of blooms/petals…
I love your sitting area by the lake, and your potting shed! If I had one, I may never get anything else done, EVER! You make it look so easy! I subscribe to your blog! Facebook! My favorite flowers are all of them!
My first comment ever on any of the wonderful blogs I subscribe to. Yours is my very favorite! I am very blessed to be having a little potting shed being built and am inspired by your charming designs. If I had to choose just one favorite it would be summer zinnias. Oh just south of you on the border of Georgia and SC. The winter is definitely gone!
I hope I didn’t wait to late to enter! Am catching up on email. My favorite summer flower is the hydrangea and I have about 8 bushes in my yard! The past two years we have had late freezes in the Atlanta area which have impacted the number of blooms I have gotten. Looks like this year will be a good one! Your blog is the best!!
I so enjoy receiving your posts. this one was extra special because it featured two of my favorites, peony and viburnum. Hydrangeas are my absolute favorite, but a warm March and cold April has left them all looking as if they had been hit with a blow torch.
My favorite flower, bar none, is the tulip. I love this time of year because there are tulips everywhere!
Camellias and hydrangea are my favorite flowers. My camellia bush was absolutely beautiful this spring and now i am waiting for the hydrangea to bloom.
Mary,
I love yellow buttercups. They wave cheerfully in the sunshine and remind me of my mom. During the last visit she ever made to my house, we established buttercup preservation areas and mowed around the buttercups when cutting the lawn so we could enjoy these happy, simple flowers. Many thanks for your beautiful blog.
Laura
My 2 favorite flowers are peonies and hydrangeas. I dry the hydrangeas to love them all year.
Following you on FB.
Shared on FB
Love your blog Mary, Peonies by far are my favorite flower. They remind me of my Grandmother’s garden and wonderful memories.
So very beautiful! Our azaleas have already peeked out here in Texas. We are now waiting the Myrtles to start blooming.
We live on a lake, as you do, and we have tons of azaleas in the backyard rambling down to the water. They are my favorite. But I gotta tell ya, they were not spectacular this year. They are usually so pretty, but not this time. Boo Hoo! I wonder if it had something to do with the very mild winter we had?? Got to figure out what happened.
Enough about my gardening woes. I love everything about your blog. It’s very inspiring. Thanks for the chance to win the gardening items…..I adore that galvanized bucket!
Azaleas! Here in south Louisiana, azaleas are the crowning touch during spring!
Hydranges my most favorite
I love all flowers – hard to pick a favorite. Dandelions – not so much! Your photos are beautiful – and I also follow you on FB-,thank you
Oh so lovely! I can’t wait till my snowball viburnum grows up!!!!! Your emails are always so gorgeous!!!!!
Star magnolia, Korean spice viburnum, PG’s, grape hyacinth, white daffodils with orange centers, red buds, all out or about to be. Peonies are sending shoots out, amoung the hosts pips, lung wort and candelabra primroses. The best time of the year…..spring has arrived and it is time to live out of doors……
I read your column via Bloglovin and have a google account. My favorite flower right now has to be all the azaleas blooming, but I also love all hydrangeas and mock oranges and lily of the valley.
Oh my, the table with the Lemoges china is just beautiful!! Even though your quilt us machine made, I love it!! I would also love that giveaway.. See you on Facebook too!!! Good luck everyone!!
What beautiful flowers! I love your flower arrangements and centerpieces. They are always so beautifully done. Your tablescape is so “cozy” even if it is outdoors. I would love to participate in the garden item giveaway. Here in Wisconsin, we just have a few buds opening on the trees!
What a lovely day at the lake. Its almost time for planting flowers outside in Amarillo-Peonies here are up and have buds but they are lonely and need company. And my poor hands need some pretty protection. Thank you for your beautiful gracious posts !
Shared on FB. I already follow you on Pinterest. My favorite spring flower is the lily of the valley, even though it’s difficult to choose just one for you. Spring is my favorite time of the year because of rebirth.
Thought I’d entered this, but can’t find my comment. Let’s try again! In spring, my favorite is azalea. I really love them all.
follow you on fb, pinterest. posted on FB.
Have so many favorites but if I had to chose one I would say hydrangeas.
I follow your blog by emails.
Mary, I just recently came across your blog from something posted on Pinterest. I have to say, I have never “followed” anyone before, but after perusing your site, I signed on! Your interests mirror mine in so many ways. In the kitchen, my interests revolve around cooking and baking – but more explicitly, how I can present my creations using tableware, linens and other items of interest. I love using my mothers treasured items, as well as scouring estate sales and the like for unique items as well. I love to garden! But not just for the sake of working the soil. I love creating interesting bouquets using ANYTHING I can find at the moment. Sometimes, it might be just a collections of greens if it is very early in the season. Give me a homegrown arrangement anyday to brighten a room, a table, and my mood!
Mary, your photography is excellent and your blog is very nice to read. I have often thought of starting one of my own, but my full time job at the moment has put this on the back burner for perhaps my retirement days in a few years. In the meantime, I will live vicariously though you. Thank you for sharing your beautiful renditions of what it is to enjoy the beauty of life. Sincerely, Danielle
Peonies speak to my heart.
SPRING HAS SPRUNG .. THE GRASS HAS RIZZ .. I WONDER WHERE .. THE FAIRIES IZZ? as always love everything you post. XOXO, frannie
Wow what a pretty post. It is still too cold in Mass and the only blooms are forsythia. I feel like I just had a breath of Spring with your post.
Sharing now on Facebook:)
My favorite spring flower would have to be the peony, favorite summer flower would have to be hydrangea. Although I’m longing to have a garden full of David Austin roses someday! I love your blog and all the beautiful table arrangements you put together as well as all your gardening ideas.
This is so beautiful as are all of your posts. They never fail to make the day happier. It’s very hard to choose a favorite flower, I love all flowers-even blooming weeds! My Grandmother inspired my love of flowers by her spectacular gardens on her farm in Pa. She used to say that “flowers are God’s love made visible.” I’ve always loved those words!I think if I had to choose a favorite spring flower it would be snowdrops. They are so tiny and cute. Roses are my most favorite of all flowers anytime and any season.
I thought I entered this last week! I love daffodils and reading your beautiful posts! Would love to win the great garden gifts!
I just love visiting your site. It gives me so much joy to see all the beautiful things you create. Thank you
for sharing your love of Everything Beautiful! My favorite flower of all time would have to be
The Hydrangea, we can’t seem to make them grow here in this Texas weather, but I often buy them as a plant and try to keep it as long as I can.
I just love your posts! You always inspire me with your beautiful table settings and your potting shed is a dream. Thanks for making my day a little brighter!
I just love peonies…..so fragrant and zinnias for the explosion of color in the yard and in arrangements. I just love your creativity….thank you for all the inspiration and motivation you provide. Your photographs are just beautiful.
You are so creative and inspiring! I so look forward to your blog. I’ve tried many of your recipes and they are wonderful. My husband and I just built a home and I can’t wait to put some of your ideas into my space.
I, too, love to garden. I have moved all of my grandmother’s flowers to my yard. The love of nature is something she passed on to me. I never cease to be amazed at how you tie in nature with your dinnerware and table settings. I always get inspired from what you do.
It is impossible to say my favorite flower, a lot like naming your favorite child!
I just love flowers, but with age I am looking for low maintenance plants.
I have a guestion for you, in one of your arrangements (they are all beautiful) you used a white airy star shape flower and I can’t find it again. Any idea? Also, I have potting shed envy. Thanks for sharing.
Hmmm, I’m not sure Cindy, maybe Alstroemeria? It’s available in a wide variety of colors at the grocery store and I use it frequently. I’ll keep thinking :)
My favorite flower is a sun flower. You are so incredible talanted
I am a subscriber and commented above
My wisteria is heavenly right now! I also love daffodils and lilac blooming in early Spring. I do want to say how much i enjoy your blog and that I have used many of your delicious recipes, since I found you, with family and friends. Those recipes are ALWAYS requested to have, so I’ve learned to make up some lovely little recipe cards to send home with friends!
I love daffodils ( I have four different types) and my beautiful purple azaelas. Spring makes me so happy and bright with all the flowers starting to bloom. My hydrangea is not ready to bloom yet but I can hardly wait for the flowers to bloom.
My absolute favorite flower is the hydrangea. I also have a love for red geraniums because they were my mom’s favorite. I adore peonies but have not been so successful with the the few times I have tried to grow them, but am going to try again this summer.
I love blue salvia, actually I really love all flowers but am waiting for them to come out in the garden centers here in the North so I can plant them, really my favorite blue flower.
I love Spring❤️ I think Snowball Viburnum is my new favorite bush.
Mary — love every blooming idea of yours! I like foxglove, alstroemeria, too many to name but where I live one must be quite the constant gardener or drought and desert will have even the best succumb to xeriscape. Thanks for all your lovely posts!
Marty, each day the photos are prettier than the previous. Love the azaleas today and the lovely plates.
FL
Oops, not sure how I got to be Carole from My Carolina Home. Apologies
Hydrangeas are my favorite summer flower, especially the deep blue mop heads that are reminiscent of my grandmother’s farm.
My favorite spring flower would have to be a peony!! The shape the smell!! I love. But you really need the ALL!! To be complete!
Love your blog! One of my many favorite flowers is Black and Blue Salvia!
By far for fragrance I love lilacs. I started with traditional lavender but have added white and just received an awesome yellow primrose lilac bush to our now forever home on Lake Cherokee. I can now grow so many favorites I couldn’t grow in San Diego…peonies (I add 2 or 3 new ones every year), tulips, and all kinds of lilies. After seeing your posts the last 4 years, I am on the hunt for one of those gorgeous snowballs to add to my new landscape. I have a new piece of art I’m creating to enjoy every season. Thanks for your blog, it makes my day when I check email!
I LOVE your blog and love the table setting china. I’m so happy Spring is here and we can be outside enjoying God’s beautiful gift of nature, flowers, and just everyday beauty. Thanks for a beautiful blog – your pictures are always breathtaking. Have a wonderful spring and summer and keep those pictures coming!
Hi – just love your blog and look forward to it every day. I have severe Fibromyalgia and can’t garden as much as I would want to anymore so I garden through your gorgeous blog. I would say my two favorite spring flowers are pansies and peonies but lilacs are in the mix too!! For summer it’s colorful zinnias and black eyed Susan’s along with Queen Anne’s lace. I have subscribed to your blog for several years now, and I will be happy to share this beautiful post on my FB page. Thanks again for always brightening my day. Hugs, Dorinda
Your creativity just amazes me. I love everything you post!
My favorite flowers are daisies and pansies. I am not much of a gardener, but can manage both of those flowers.
Thanks for sharing your ideas.
It is all gorgeous! Thanks for sharing at HSH!
I have a definite love for peonies! I’m always excited to watch them bloom each year :)
I love daffodils, tulips, and peonies…they are all favorites and blooming now . Beautiful iris are beginning to bloom and they are also considered favorites. Need some nasturtium seed as mine aren’t up yet. I’m enjoying springtime and always enjoy your blog whatever season.
I never tire of Pee Gee hydrangeas. I have 2 shrubs & 2 tree-form that I love to cut & arrange all over the house!
Mary, I’m a huge fan. You have to be one of the most talented women alive. I’m so inspired ,every time I look a what you’ve done. I so love your potting shed with all the ways you decorate. Your floral arrangement makes me what to have a luncheon for all my girl pals. Please continue sharing your God giving talents.. Thanks!
Just found your wonderful site today and love, love, love all of it. You are so talented. I live in Florida and New York. I have a huge Bougainvillea plant in my front yard in FL (and I live on Bougainvillea Lane!) so that is by far my fav plant for the south. In NY my husband and I summer on the 22 acre property where I grew up which has 50 year old Lilacs, so they are my northern favorite. Your potting shed has inspired me and made me even more eager to go north in May. Thanks for such awesome posts!
Katie
Wow, your azaleas are stunning, Mary, absolutely gorgeous!
I can’t wait for my peonies to open, they are my second favorite flower (hydrangea is #1). I always big in big bouquets to permeate the house with their intoxicating scent.
My lilacs are just about gone by, there are a few blossoms at the top of the very large bush/tree. I should invest in a Chinese snowball plant, they remind me of a hydrangea.
Your potting shed is adorable with all the different watering cans…it’s obvious it gives you great pleasure.
Have a wonderful weekend.
It’s so hard to choose just one isn’t it!?! But, for spring, it would have to be my peonies; beautiful and fragrant!
For spring it’s my gramas pink peonies that I transplanted in my yard when she passed away. They are a treasured heirloom.
Tulips are my absolute favorite flower when in season, closely followed by beautiful peonies! Love the galvanized bucket! You always find such unique flower containers! Love your blog.
Hi Mary, It’s always such a pleasure to see your flowers! So much inspiration! I don’t think I could choose a favorite spring flower but right now I am missing my lilacs as it seems my large purple one won’t bloom this year ~ don’t know why! I love my peonies too, and they have just peeked through the ground. And the flowering trees have buds just waiting to burst open soon, probably in a few days. I always have some old fashioned petunias in pots somewhere, and this year I am trying a morning glory, which used to climb a trellis when I was growing up. Today is a beautiful day and planting time will be here in just a few weeks for us! Linda
Everything is absolutely gorgeous! That Azalea takes my breath away. Just bought one to try here. My snowball is just in bud, but I look forward to it’s gorgeous blooms! Peonies are one of my favorites. I have a couple pink and one new peach one. I had a purple peony tree at my previous home and it’s blooms were huge. Would like to find another one. Thanks for offering this fabulous give away and so happy to have you share your garden with our party!
hugs,
Jann
Hmm, how many pictures should I politely pin? Well I confess to pinning 3 of your beautiful pictures this morning. Your flowers are amazing and your photography is right up there with them. Everything I see here is beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing at the garden party. :)
I have pinned, oohed, ahhed! Thank you for sharing this inspiration with us today at the garden party!
Jemma
I’m back for another visit to this beautiful post, Mary. We’ve had so much rain lately that it’s refreshing to see your sunny lakeside views and beautiful blooms. ‘-)
Oh, what a lovely post!
Thanks for sharing your beautiful garden, blooms and inspiration with our garden party.
Thank you for sharing your garden at our garden party. Each photography was lovelier than the last. You are a gifted photographer and gardener.
Happy Garden Party!
Laura
White Spray Paint
Thoughts of Home on Thursday
I LOVE zinnias!
How have I not heard of Al’s flower pouch??? It’s truly fantastic. Thank you for linking up to the garden party and hosting such a generous giveaway. Fingers crossed. :)
Such a great time of year! The beauty of flowering shrubs is such a treat. Our local garden center always has some pouch planters ready to go but I’ve never tried one.
My favorite flowers are tulips.
I follow on Facebook and signed up for email. Your photos are beautiful.
Shared on Facebook (Suzanne Higdon DeSantis)
I think peonies are my favorites! I bought ten new peonies to plant at my new home this year and I can’t wait to watch them grow! I’m drooling over your potting shed…..:)
My favorite summer flowers are zinnias as they come in a variety of colors. The butterflies, bees, finches and hummingbirds love them. We plant them from seed (as they do better from seed) to enjoy the color and the nature they attract. So relaxing to sit on the porch and just enjoy nature at it’s best. Love roses, azaleas and hydrangeas too! We have a few knockout roses blooming in TN & I wish that yesterday I had cut a few off along with the pink azaleas to put in a vase as it is raining today! Oh well maybe tomorrow as your post has inspired me to bring some of that spring beauty indoors. Yesterday when planting all the seeds, I just enjoyed the day so much because I was playing in the dirt & enjoying all the beautiful birds, etc. Blessings to everyone!
Love zinnias for the nature they attract & the hardiness of them. Just plant the seeds and they are a beautiful display of color and make wonderful cut flowers as well. Butterflies, bees, finches & hummingbirds all love them. The pets love watching the birds & butterflies flitting from flower to flower as they themselves are perched on ledge of the screened porch.
Your tables are always beautiful and inspiring. The tables in my home are always set for the seasons, the holidays or just a fun theme. Thank you for sharing your beautiful photography and decorating talent with us.
Susan
Summerville, SC