Green Thumb Sunday: Irises!

I've been quiet for the past few Green Thumb Sundays due to bit of a lull in my little garden between the excitement of the spring tulips and daffodils, and the upcoming summer blooms. But things are beginning to happen again and I've resumed my daily garden strolls in search of new blooms.
I'm so, so excited to see these irises. Aren't they pretty? I planted 25 dutch irises last fall, but thought I had screwed up somehow as I didn't see any signs of them until a week or so ago. Yes, I'm still pretty new to this gardening bidness, and I didn't recognize their tiny foliage at first. In fact, I thought they were weeds. Thanks goodness I didn't pull them, cause they're love-er-ly. I'm not a huge fan of the regular large irises, but these are just perfect.

I'm also loving this planter, even if I did just pop it out of a basket, plant it in my porch container and add a few zinnias. So far it's thriving!

I think these are bellflowers (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), although they don't look like the catalog picture. I ordered them online last year, but they didn't do much (although at least they didn't die!). This year, one plant is blooming so far and I'm really loving them.

** Gardeners, plant and nature lovers can join Green Thumb Sunday every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information.