Our beautiful white peonies with flecks of magenta − “festiva maxima” − grew quickly this year.

They were nearly as tall as I am, but before we could get a picture to compare, we’ve had storm after storm for days. Lots of rain, rain, and more rain − but the wind really took its toll.

This was the first year we had planned ahead and set up a support cage, which worked well until the weekend. Now, all of the stems except one are bent at the top of the cage. Next year, we’ll need to find a taller one.

Plant source: They came with the house

Purple smoke false indigo — a naturally occurring hybrid from North Carolina.

Plant source: Gertens

Whether from all of the rain this spring of from or simply being a year older, many of our flowers are significantly bigger than last year. Quadrupled in size since 2013, in some cases.

Snowdrop anemone: 2013 vs. 2014. This plant has a new location this year.

Columbine: 2013 vs. 2014. The garden in the background has expanded, but this plant is in the same location as last year.

Iris: 2013 vs. 2014. This is the biggest of four iris clumps. We didn’t divide them at the end of last summer, like we have in previous years.

Plant sources: Linder’s (snow anemone), Bachman’s (columbine), Roseville Arboretum plant sale (iris)