Treasure Box Wednesday: Summer's Promise

With the Pittsburgh Marathon on Sunday and every major highway in the whole of the 'Burgh, it seemed, either closed or down to one lane, your intrepid Hostess this week was... well... frankly, trepidated. And I didn't brave the traffic and long waits for the more thrifty pursuits in life.

Instead, I stayed home and tried to be productive writing on my novel-- up to page 259 in the manuscript so far... and like the traffic, it's been a long journey. So today's Treasure Box also keeps us close to home, with the beauty that lurks in the flowers of the season.

I liked in particular, this little viola which has worked itself into the cracks in my driveway...


They pop up every year, and every year, I just can't bear to remove them. I pull the weeds, but let my little purple friends greet me each evening when I come home. They're rampant all over the neighborhood.

Here in the backyard, the mossy phlox are wet, but still lovely. I enjoy this nook with my statuary, rosebushes and creeping phlox...

There just seems something a little magical about all that color.

And this... I just wish the creeping phlox could flox like this all summer long...


What a carpet of tiny flowers! But alas, they'll only be around like this for a few more weeks. By mid-June it's guaranteed to be gone-- and green.

And the bleeding hearts have come out in full force this year! Every year, the planet gets bigger and with more and more hearts dripping from its branches...


Here you can see a few of these pretty things just a bit closer...


The lilac is well on its way, too. You can see all of those flowers just about ready to come open. In another week or so, the backyard will be smelling like heaven. (Achhooo!)


And my very first rose was popping today... This is the Rose de Resch, which is an old-fashioned tea rose, and has an incredibly strong perfume-like fragrance...


If you remember the old Avon Roses, Roses perfume, this rose smells just like that.

And lastly, we have roses to come... Like the lovely Helen Hayes here...


Helen is one of my absolute favorites. She gets big yellow flowers that turn from yellow to pink to orange to mauve... It's a bit like having a sunset on a shrub.

Well, that about does it for today's Treasure Box.

• If you missed Sunday's post on Actress Postcards from the Late 1800s and Early 1900s, click here.

Otherwise, make sure to give yourself enough water, a little sunshine and some decent meal, and I'll see you next week!