Sunday, April 17, 2016

In the Garden

The weather for the past few days has been amazing, and most of my time has been spent outside.  Working in the garden puts me in my happy place ... hands in the soil is the best therapy EVER.

Here are some iPhone photos that I took yesterday evening as I finished up for the day.  

The Dogwood tree in our front yard is in full bloom.  I eagerly look forward to this every year.







This is a new Japanese Maple that I planted in front of our pavilion.  It replaces one that was killed by the cold winter two years ago.  Took me this long to find something that I like enough to put into this prominent spot.  (notice that there are no weeds, and fresh mulch, in the bed with the tree.)



This Bleeding Heart is called 'Valentine'.  I got it as a dormant pot last fall, and I'm thrilled to see its first flowers.



The Hellebores have been flowering since mid-winter, and they are still looking good.  This one is a seedling that I planted in this spot in my back yard border two years ago.  



I struggled for years to establish a colony of Lily of the Valley.  A few years ago, I must have hit the magic combination of conditions to make them happy, because now these little spring beauties are multiplying with abandon. 








Finally, let's check in on the Carolina Wrens that are nesting in a flowerpot in the greenhouse.  The eggs hatched late last week.  I still can't tell if there are four or five babies in there ... I need to remember to take a flashlight to get a good look into the shadows in the nest to count them.



The rest of the week is expected to be glorious ... temperatures in the high 70s or low 80s with bright sunshine.  Definitely sunblock-mandatory weather, and perfect for being outside.  Don't worry, this girl isn't all work and no play.  As you can see from the photos, I definitely take time to stay in touch the beauty that's around me. 

18 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. No wondering here. After the brown and bare of winter, it always feels like a miracle when spring comes and everything comes alive again.

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  2. Replies
    1. Vitamin D deficiency is something that I doubt would ever happen to me. :)

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  3. SO very pretty. Lily of the Valley is the first flower I remember falling in love with as a little girl.

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    1. For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated with Lily of the Valley. Having my own little colonies of it now is a huge thrill. I have to practically stand on my head to smell the flowers, but it's definitely worth the effort.

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  4. I would look forward to that dogwood blooming too and I am in love with your lily of the valley. Oh my! Such sweetness.

    Those little birdies are cute waiting for their sustenance from parents.

    Have a glorious week ~ FlowerLady

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    1. The baby birds were chilling when I first went into the greenhouse to check on them. I made a small noise, which alerted them to my presence, and they instantly went into FEED ME posture.

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  5. Love all these photos, Connie, but especially the close-up of the dogwood and the lilies of the valley. We live mostly in the woods so there are many flowers we can't grow now. But when we were first married we rented a 100+-year old farm house with established gardens and lilies of the valley were one of the flowers that delighted us each year. You don't see them much any more. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Since you mention it, I don't think I see Lily of the Valley much either. My mom has an out of control colony at her house, and that's where my first start for this batch came from. I don't remember where she told me that her first one came from ... I know that she planted it, though. Maybe we don't see it anymore because garden centers are so concerned with instant gratification. Something small like Lily of the Valley, that starts as a small sprout and gradually spreads into a colony, definitely isn't an instant sort of thing.

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  6. Let's try this again without the spelling errors. LOL
    I love that variety of bleeding heart. Thanks for sharing it. I'm definitely going to try and find it for my garden.
    Thanks for sharing the photos of your beautiful yard.

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    1. This variety should be fairly easy to find. Looks like it's relatively new, and a quick Google search showed a number of sources. I'll bet you can find it at your local nursery.

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  7. Oh! I visited here before but apparently just commented in my head!
    LOL!
    I've looked at the photos several times...
    Simply lovely.
    Makes me smile.
    XOXOXO

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    1. I really enjoy all the changes that spring brings. I'm glad that you like them too.

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  8. I have a Japanese maple that is about 35 years old. It is about eight feet across. Just saying...

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    1. Actually, I just took another look at it. Make that ten feet.

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    2. Your tree sounds awesome! I planted two trees by the pavilion before our daughter got married in 2011. The southernmost one is the one that died. It's twin is still fat and happy. That's what I get for attempting symmetry. I am training the older one by thinning out spindly branches in the interior and selectively removing some of the lower branches. Not quite bonsai, but sort of. This one, with the top of its main trunk being dead, is already well on its way to being bonsai. All I have to do is keep encouraging it to do what it's doing. (It was a $25 bargain ... Certainly can't beat that.)

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