We did really keep our planting relatively (I do stress relatively) simple this year, but that doesn’t mean that we didn’t add anything at all.  We can’t live without a few annuals and…okay…a few perennials too.

We put the flower boxes out on the front porch.  Last year, I planted petunias and other various annuals that kept withering up and weren’t all that pretty.  This year, we kept the boxes really simple with red begonias and vinca vine.

Last fall, we dug up our dahlia bulbs and saw how they had multiplied.  We kept them in the coolest part of our basement over the winter.  I can’t wait for them to bloom.  They make the most beautiful bouquets.  I planted the largest bulb clumps in very large pots on our back deck.

The smaller bulbs were planted in the front flower bed and in a pretty little blue pot in a now-empty spot where the spring daffodil bulbs have withered up.

My parents had given us gorgeous antique urns that my father refinished as a wedding gift.  This year, I planted painter’s blue ageratum, deep purple pansies, and more vinca vine.  Of the four years we’ve planted in these urns, this year is my favorite.

Some of my favorite recent additions are very sentimental as well.

My mother-in-law gave us a little angel to sit by the spot where we buried our little old man kitty, Toyling.

My coworkers had sent me a lovely blue hydrangea when Anderson was born.  To make it even more special, we buried Anderson’s umbilical cord stump beneath it.  Many cultures believe that a stump should always be buried because what comes from the earth should return to the earth.  Some believe it helps the child establish his own roots in the community he is born into.  Chris is the one who thought to save it when it fell off.  He described it as the last place Anderson and I were connected.  How beautiful is that?

I kept telling everyone that I would not be buying any new perennials this year…except a peony if I could find the deep color (as opposed to the white or pale pink).  My parents gave this very peony for my first mother’s day.  I just need to choose the perfect spot for it.

I also planted sunflower, love-lies-bleeding, nasturtium, and zinnia seeds.  I have been enjoying tarragon from the plant my mother-in-law gave us as well as parsley and other herbs.  There is a happy little bee balm plant ready to go into the ground, given to me by my parents.  So, actually I guess we planted/will plant a lot, all things considered.

The best part of gardening is having a good helper.