Setting free the Irises

We have passed spring's "yellow" stage: daffodils, dandelions, forsythia and tulips. We now enter the pink and purple stage (along with other colors) of irises, azaleas and their cousins. Enjoy!

Here in the corner of our inner courtyard we find a whole little grove of purple irises ready to burst forth. In recent years these spring delights have been overwhelmed by fiddle head ferns. Lovely as they are, these ferns grew very tall, spread  underground and nearly obliterated the fragile irises. Last fall I went after the ferns and with the help of some burly guys who could dig out the largest of the fern roots (more like tree stumps), I believe we now have a freer space for the purple irises to flourish. Should be this week! Can't wait.

Along the cloister walk windows 7 or 8 azalea bushes grow. Green 50 weeks of the year, these are the 2 weeks of beautiful hot pink. 

An old garden flower, Bleeding Hearts, burst forth in late May on this quite large bush ...dangling over everything within a 2 foot radius. Lovely. We have a smaller bush trying to get going also. Maybe next year. In the background pick rhododendron are starting. 

One of our resident Eastern Bluebirds. Absolutely stunning in the sun--whether flying or just sitting on its house.