Let the Parade of Color Begin

My favorite part of spring is the daily changes. .evidenced in the vegetation. .the animal population. .and even in the humans!! We've had a great weekend of work and discoveries! Jeremy, Grant, and Devin took the new dragsta to the race track Friday night and Saturday. .they had a great time. .and the rest of us did too! Tristan enjoyed hanging out with a buddy and Cami and I did lots of naturing walking. .and enjoyed everything from up close and personal observations of rabbits. .to hunting down the bluebird. .to watching the butterflys play "tag you're it."  We saw our first Monarch Thursday.. and have seen several since then.

I made a list encompassing Fri, Sat, and Sun. .of all the things I wanted to get done. Most of it got checked off. I think my favorite project of the weekend took about 10 minutes.  Grant helped me move my rock bench from the fire pit to pondside.  After a few days I notice it is really enhancing my view out of my front windows.

Cami liked it too. .a relaxing place to rest and watch all of our little goldfish. .who are becoming quite active again. 

We have some blooms. .and love them all. This is a flowering crabapple tree. The trees are still small. .but I can envision the impact of eye candy they will be as they mature!! The blooms are VIBRANT! Indeed, one is dead. .so we will have to replace it next fall (that's our personal preference for planting trees).

These were new to me this fall. .they are anenome (windflowers) They are so low to the ground. I thought they would be taller. .but both places I put them, they are still seen well enough. .Cami is about the only one who can get low enough to determine that they have a nice scent.

The hosta are making appearances.  I have about 6 in the bed north of my house.  I also purchased 3 miniature varieties last fall to put into a bed next to the pond. Those are coming up as well. .I can hardly wait to see what they will look like as they grow.  I put plastic under the soil in the bed to keep it moister. .and then worried all winter that the plants would rot! Saturday morning I worked on the north shade garden. .removing lots of misplaced (by the chief gardener around these parts) Maximillan sunflower. By the time I had shoveled those out, and planted the new red columbine and "burning heart" bleeding heart it was 90 degrees. .and only 10:30 a.m.! Did I mention how hot the weather has been?  YIKES!! With a stiff 45 mph wind. .That's Kansas-style gardening at it's finest!

The purple creeping phlox is scattered around the south side of the house. .and will probably be transplanted somewhere else sooner or later. I have not had good luck with things growing there. .and am in the process of giving up on that spot for a few years. It's HOT, and shaded, and dry. .not a good combo!

I love these darling little grape hyacinths. .they are in the new rock garden between the waterfall and the house. I planted a few succulents there today too. I overwintered some 1/2 price ones in a flat pot in the house.  I saw a cool magazine photo and tried to recreate. .theirs was TOTALLY better. .but mine survived!Some cobweb hen and chicks and a couple other varieties of hen and chicks went into the ground from the pot.

Many of the tulips are blooming now. .though with the wind. .they aren't surviving that well!  I also did a lot of bed cleaning, compost hauling, mulching, weeding, and plant dividing.  Another highlight of the weekend was a plant swap with a coworking gardener friend.  I dug several plants that she didn't have and traded them out for several plants that I didn't have.  I got a number of different colored daylilies. .and the start off an oakleaf hydrangea!! Which fit perfectly in the hole vacated by some Nandina bushes that I moved to a sunnier location Saturday morning.  The bark on Pat's bushes peels and gives a great winter appeal. It's now right outside my bedroom window. .and I can't wait to see how it does! 

I went over some projects with Jeremy today. .none of which worked well for us. .but hopefully in the next few weeks we will have a new trellis made from an old bed frame (when I divulged my vision to him. .the idea for building it from HIS vision has got me really excited! Much better than what I even had planned) and a new path from leftover rock to the greenhouse from the west deck.  I think I left them enough projects to keep them out of trouble this week while I am gone.  Tuesday I fly to Boston for a conference.  I am thrilled because the conference content is AWESOME!! And one of the speakers is the author of a book that I have been using since college!! Unfortunately, I am geographically challenged and a baby to boot. .so the only real sightseeing I will do, will occur on Friday evening from a trolley tour that they have set up for the conference participants.  I will get to glimpse the tourist historical sites that I will hopefully drag my hubby back to one day.  Please pray for my safe travels. .the well being of my children. .and the sanity of my husband!!

Fresh lobster. .Come to Mama!!