It's almost planting season!

This weekend I bought a bag of dahlia bulbs and ordered my zinnia packets.  Just 8 more weeks until planting season, and I am really starting to think about where each flower will go, where each veggie will flourish, and which old plants need to be replanted or just gotten rid of.  I'm really hoping that the hostas we planted at the end of the season last year will take off this summer, that my tulip bulbs will be bright and sunny additions and that our hydrangea bushes flower! 

Anyone else out there planning their gardens?  Any favorite gardening books or websites I need to be reading right now in preparation?

Flowers from the garden

We knew that we had roses on the trellis when we looked at the house last fall.  We had no idea we also were inheriting a peony bush.  Between these two beauties our house now smells like a flower shop and I am loving it!!  We're so lucky that these were just here- I'm not sure I could have grown either of these from bitty plants, but we are certainly enjoying them now!!

I'd love to plant another peony bush or two near the one that is already in our front yard.  I'm going to have to research this as I have no idea how to start one.  Has anyone else planted peonies in their yard?  Are the bushes expensive?  Are they pretty successful plants?