This afternoon as I was walking up to the garden, I noticed from a couple hundred feet away a flash of red in the flower border. I was a away from the garden for barely two days and while I was gone this happened:

The hot pink one in the back is a Shirley Double Poppy, and I think the red-orange one is an Oriental Poppy.

Here’s another Shirley. I love how the petals look like they’ve been dip-dyed.

Here’s another look at the Oriental poppy. I just can’t get over that neon color.

And this is the first of my little California Mission Bells. Last year these sweet little poppies bloomed all summer. They come in all sorts of colors. Last year I sowed a few different kinds of poppies, but only the California poppies came up, so I’m really excited to have a few big ones this year.

The shasta daisies have been blooming for about two weeks now.

The bachelor’s buttons are just getting started. I don’t remember them being quite so bright blue last year.

The chives have been blooming all month. I love those little pom-poms!

These little Johnny Jump Ups came with the new plot.

I think pea blossoms are my favorite vegetable flower. My sugar snaps and shelling peas have white blossoms.

But the blue-podded soup peas have these pretty magenta blossoms.