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Crocus blooms are usually our first sign that Spring is getting closer. There still might be more snow and cold to come, but these bright and colorful blossoms mean that warm sunny days are ahead. The little bee in the third blossom is a nice bonus.

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Yesterday was a bright, warm, Spring-like day, and although I enjoyed it, I was surprised to see these beautiful daffodils in bloom in our front yard. I love those cheery, sunny blossoms, but they've opened about three weeks earlier than last year. I hope we don't have any more freezing weather, but it's a long time until Spring really gets here.

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I've mentioned several times that Betsy and I have season tickets to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. While we enjoy the beautiful gardens, we almost always visit the Conservatory when we are there. I'm not up on all the names of the gorgeous blossoms we see, such as the beauty above, but my breath is always taken away by what we find in the Conservatory. It's a good thing there was a 'Do Not Touch' sign, or I would have touched this just to convince myself it was real.

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I find that pictures of beauty to come helps get me through gray winter days. Clarence is a re-blooming iris in our front flower bed, so we get to enjoy it's pretty blossoms in both Spring and Autumn.

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One nice thing about photos is that they can bring summer and sunshine even into the dreariest of winter days. Strawberry Candy is a re-blooming daylily that we've enjoyed for several years now. It looks good even in January.

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This is one of the blossoms that Betsy and I saw in the Conservatory at the Biltmore Estate when we visited last month. I was struck by the colors and the markings on the petals.

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Betsy and I usually manage to see the Conservatory every time we visit Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina. We wandered into the Orchid Room of the Conservatory when we visited in late November. The simple beauty of this orchid caught my eye.

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The picture above was taken this past Thursday (October 27). It shows two of our irises in bloom in the flower bed near the road in front of the house.

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Our newest flower bed contains a variety of plants -- roses, irises, lilies and day lilies. They all put on quite a show this year. I got this picture of this pretty lily -- Touching -- in May of this year. We were delighted that it bloomed while we were home and could enjoy it.

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The days are getting cooler here on the Plateau in Tennessee, and we've had frost advisories at night. The trees are beginning to show autumn color, and we have iris in bloom. This picture of our Blatant Iris was taken last Friday.

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Wineberry Candy is one of the newer day lilies we have in our yard. It is a re-blooming day lily, and although this picture was taken in early June, we enjoyed this beauty into September.

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Spanish Glow, one of our newer day lilies, has been bravely putting on a show in spite of the heat and the drought. This picture was taken last week.

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This is one of the colorful water lilies we saw at the Italian Garden on the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. I like the vibrant color and the reflections in the water. I also like the bee in that first blossom.

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Elegant Candy is one of the day lilies in the flower bed nearest the road. This is the second year that we've had this beauty, and since it is a re-bloomer we are still enjoying these pretty blossoms.

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Our new flower bed near the road contains quite a few lilies. Unfortunately most of them bloomed while we were out west on our trip. But the neighbors say that they were all beautiful. We were fortunate that this group of lilies were still showing off when we got back home.



To see a drawing based on this photo, click HERE.

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Fooled Me is one of the day lilies that bloomed for the first time this year. It's a re-blooming day lily, so we're hoping it will bloom again before winter sets in. We discovered that the deer around us also liked them -- for dinner! Fortunately they left this one blossom so I could get a picture.

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Another iris in our yard has decided to put on a repeat performance. Clarence bloomed back in April when the rest of our irises bloomed, but has put on another display this week. I snapped this picture after a brief afternoon shower.

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We have a flower bed near the road in front of the house, and one of the things in that bed is Simplon Lily. There are only two plants, but they have put on a display for a couple of weeks now. I've seen people stop just to admire them. They also have a very pleasing fragrance.

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We've enjoyed Treffer Lily in our yard for several years, and I always knew it had a vibrant orange color. But I didn't realize exactly how vibrant it really was until I captured this photo of Treffer as the early morning sun hit it.

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There are many advantages to living in the mountains, but the late Spring display put on by Mountain Laurel is definitely one of the nice things we can enjoy. This photo was snapped at the end of May.