Flowers!

When Brett and I first got married, we had a tiny one-bedroom apartment in Santa Barbara. Since we lived upstairs, we didn't even have a patch of dirt for flowers. Oh, we tried some container planting to beautify the stark concrete patio-like space outside our front door, but it was a far cry from having a real garden.

A few years later, we moved closer to Brett's school and bought a condo. Not only did we get much more space (two bedrooms!)...but we got a much better view from our bedroom window. We traded a garbage dumpster (along with the lovely noise of seagulls and homeless people digging through the trash) for a quaint little garden. Finally, we had space to plant things! The previous owner had planted some purple irises as well several rose bushes. And, I just LOVE it when everything starts to bloom!

After a barren winter, the colorful blooms are such a nice sight! Our roses have just begun to bloom (yeah, we're usually a little behind in that whole pruning thing) and they are a beautiful sight to behold.

I don't know what kind of flower this is...but I was surprised by its return. Brett planted some flowers for me last year as a Mother's Day gift and these have just come back. I guess it was a gift that keeps on giving.