last day of april

ok, so.....i have enjoyed a rose blooming on the last day of april for as long as i can recall.....but not this year......a curious year for gardeners, by the way......we have been treated to a bumper crop of lunaria (money plant) which blooms tall and purple........yet i only count 12 or so iris out of 50 plants that look like they might add to the purple show...no idea why so many iris plants appear thick and robust, yet show no signs of shooting up an actual flower......maddening.....the louisisana iris that languishes in the pond has doubled in size from last year....even after i gave a huge cutting to another pond person at work.....i can count 3 potential blooms out of a plant that could easily produce twice that number.....ah well.....the star of bethlehem wild flower is a mass of white in the middle bed......and there are a handful of poppies that will burst forth red in the next few days......i just love this time of year......