Happening in the Garden, #Six on Saturday

This post is in response to the Six on Saturday garden photo challenge hosted by The Propagator.

1.) Irises

Our irises seem to be at their peak right now. Driving to the house the other day, I was really happy to be greeted by all these irises.

2.) Peonies

Just a short while ago, I saw that the peony bush was full of buds about to open. Then, two or three opened. Now, it is full of big open blooms with frilly interiors. I didn’t frame this photo as accurately as I wanted, because of the sun blacking out my phone, but you can still see it’s a big, healthy bloom.

3.) Azalea

Our white azalea is also fully bloomed out. I don’t think it did quite as well last year.

4.) Chives

This is an unusual place to see a flower, but this is our chives in the herb garden. We have been buying some grocery store herbs still, because some of our plants are too small to harvest. We have plenty of chives now though. I love being able to go out to the garden and trim some for the recipe I’m making.

5.) Parsley

Italian flat leaf parsley is really great for a lot of recipes too.

6.) Peppermint

There’s a trend for a new style of salad with watermelon, feta cheese and fresh mint. It may sound odd, but the combination is really tasty. I made a salad like that with our fresh mint last spring and may need to do that again.

Iris, #Flower of the Day, #Haiku, #Poetry Prompt #Challenge 357

Some new varieties of iris opened up in the garden today. This is in answer to Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge and Jude’s Life in Colour purple challenge. I’m pretty sure Jude will find these purple enough?

I had a struggle with my phone camera in the bright sunlight once more. The screen blacks out so much that I could barely see what I was framing at times or I would give it a little too much zoom and not know it until after I snapped the photo and viewed it inside. But a little persistence paid off.

I think this is almost a maroon, but it’s somewhere on the spectrum.

How many challenges can I meet with one post? Here’s another, a haiku for Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge #357.

while his neighbor curls

up in the sun, he stretches

long, unfurls, revives

© 2021 Susan Joy Clark

The challenge here was to write a haiku using synonyms of “high” and “refresh.”

Both irises really do have a curled up yellow neighbor which I would have photographed if he was not in such a state. Perhaps, I will have another photo opportunity.

Earlier, I wrote a tanka inspired by my irises. I wondered if that was too many poems on a single theme. Then again, Van Gogh painted irises at least four different times. Here is one of my favorites.

By Vincent van Gogh – Unknown source, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=763619