My Favorite Day of the Year

I spent most of the weekend in the garden moving plants, extending my perennial garden, mulching, etc. and was so tired and achy last night that I went to bed at 8:30. This weekend was also the 3 year anniversary of when we moved into our house and even though there is always a lot of work to be done when you own a home, I am amazed at how much progress we have made in our yard which had been long neglected before we moved in. Today I got a reminder of why it is all so worth it, the day I look forward to all year...more than Christmas and my birthday. My absolute favorite flower is the peony and I am so happy for the few short weeks they are in bloom each year. Today our first peony of the year is in full bloom! Here it is, and I'm looking so forward to the dozen or so more that are to follow. It is so rewarding to work so hard and have such a beautiful result. For those of you who don't garden, you might think I'm nuts, but gardening is a little bit like raising children. You remember when you planted each thing, where you got it from, and are amazed by how much it's grown with all of the tlc you've provided it. So I encourage you all to go out and get dirty! It'll be well worth it.