April Gardens

It's the middle of April. .

How does that happen!!

Kansas can't decide on winter. .

or spring!!

Last week, after some very SPRING like weather. .

We had a rainstorm. .

with hail. .

and sleet. .

That ended up icing everything over long enough to delay school by a couple hours the next morning!! This week also forecasts rain AND snow!

The daffodils were nearly spent already. .

but the tulips were really starting their show. .

They have been so much prettier already this spring than last year.

I was so burned out on drought gardening last fall. .

that I hadn't ordered any bulbs. .

I have identified some locations that would really benefit from having some planted next fall.

There are quite a few clumps in the memory garden that I had forgotten were there! And some gorgeous ones (that I haven't gotten photos of) near the waterfall that I don't even remember planting there. .

I wonder. .

Maybe I have a Fairy Garden-mother. .

Ya think?

My little clump of creeping phlox is blooming. .

It looks so cool snuggled around the boulder. .

I think I will dig it up, and make several new little plants out of it.

Here is the fence of the memory garden. .

We are going to start doing a little food gardening in there too. .

Along this fence, on both sides, I planted some Jersey Knight asparagus crowns. .

I HOPE they come up!!

Do you see the buckets of sheet rock mud that the guys have used up and cleaned out. .

LOTS of that going up right now!! And painting to take place in the next few days!

My most exciting find last weekend. .

Clematis stems. .

Since I planted this one probably 5 years ago. .

This was the first time I have ever had anything coming up from the root. .

The same stem always gets green leaves on it and a few blooms. .

 but never any more vines. .

I hope it really goes to town this spring.

Some little anemones near the waterfall. .

as well as the little pink flower on the living stone succulent plants.

Not sure whether it work or not, I dug out the old fragrant honeysuckle I had planted by the boy's bathroom so it wouldn't get demolished in the construction.

I put it in a big pot and it is growing new leaves already. .

Not sure where it's new home will be. .

somewhere I can smell it for SURE!!

I never really thought that I would have to be the one who would need to relocate ALL the limestone I had hauled in. .

And more than once, we have joked about the next owners of our home having to doze them all out if they decided they didn't like 'em. .

BUT. .

The boys and I had to move all the ones from the east and north sides of the house. .

It turned out to be a large and messy pile. .

NOW. .

to get them all put back before the rattlesnakes take up residence!!

The possibilities on design should be pretty endless. .

I hope that I won't start a project that will call for another trailer load of them. .

I'm afraid that Jeremy's patience will be pretty thin with me and my ideas by then!

The greenhouse is FULL!!

The purple salvia seedlings in front and the love lies bleeding starts on the left side are all promising blooms already!! It is supposed to hit 25 again at night this week. .

so that will delay their new home placement for a bit yet.

                                     

The lemons are growing. .I think there are 7.

Another fun project is this little pomegranate plant. .

complete with a little fruit. .

I was disappointed after I bought it to read later that very few plants like this will bear fruit to eat. .

So far, this one seems to be enlarging and looking like the real deal. .

I will have to keep you posted on whether we get any harvest from it or not!

Even if it doesn't. .

the plant has gorgeous little flowers and really interesting leaves.

Not able to wait for non-freezing weather. .

I planted some gladiolus bulbs in containers to get them a little earlier start. .

I should be able to lift them out easy enough and put them in a final resting place later. .

I still have plenty left in the sack to put out as well!

Still harvesting tomatoes. .

big and small!

Here are the summer starts, awaiting planting time.

There are also several peat pots of chives. .

I did plant 3 little pots into the area that will be planted with perennial herbs. I had to transplant my sage into the area, which only has a huge rosemary plant in it right now. .

I also rescued a couple starts from the tarragon plant and put them into nursery pots and buried them in the ground. .

That is how I grow the sage too. .

so it doesn't take over.

The tarragon was given to me years ago by Grandma Pat. .and it overran it's little area, that will soon be buried under a concrete patio.

The cucumber Diva has provided us much winter enjoyment. .

and I seeded a few more plants in the existing setup to get us through until the summer crop starts. We ended up with 3 cucumber vines. .

And next winter I will easily double or triple that amount I think.

The Carmen peppers have been sluggish. .

but the peppers are really sweet and yummy. .

We've picked more of them than any other pepper I've grown in the greenhouse. .

so they will likely be on the winter list for next fall again too.

I've been rooting lots of stuff. .

including a couple small honeysuckle plants from the vine we moved. .

several pots of different succulent plants. .

The red sweet potato rooting hung out in the greenhouse this winter waiting for spring with the rest of us. .

I've also repotted some lemon grass starts that I germinated from seed a few months ago too. .

It's been fun to look through the gardens, seeing what has reseeded and what is peeking through the ground that survived 2 drought-y, hot summers and is ready for another chance to live.

My favorite part of spring is just that. .

the promise of new life and a second chance at growing. .

For flowers and vegetation. .

And for my own soul and life!

Have a GREAT weekend!