New Blooms Every Day!

Greetings from southwest Kansas. .

We have enjoyed cooler temperatures this week. .more seasonable for sure.

We have, so far, escaped storms. .which also means that we escaped the rains. .unless you count a few minutes here and a few minutes there. .maybe a tenth of an inch! But we had about 1.70 inches last week. .and compared to this time last year, we feel like we are livin' in the rain forest! And lovin' it. .I might add!

We had a great Easter. .and the weather was perfect for hanging out in the great outdoors!! I took a few photos Sunday, when I was photographing the chicks first afternoon out. .and I'm glad I did. .the colors are prettier with a bit of sunlight!!

Looking at the house from the veggie garden. .We put a smaller Bur Oak tree near to there last weekend. .and I couldn't help but stop and admire the view of the spirea on my way back from watering.  Those three bushes were taken from my mother in law. .she has an enormous hedge of them around her house. .We snuck some small ones out, and could never tell where they had even been. They have been thriving here and become progressively more beautiful every spring. .The blooms have been going for about a week. Directly on the other side of the spirea bushes is the pond. .I really like the seclusion aspect of it. .and people don't see the pond when they drive up, even though it is in the front yard!

This tulip came from a blueberry and cream mixture from Brecks. .I'm likin' it. .A LOT!! It reminds me of a peony bloom. .which, I noticed in the drizzle this afternoon, are beginning to show some color on their flower buds. .they will be in bloom soon too!

I spent a LONG time weeding out this patch. .I am thinking that watching the goldfinches cling to the sunflower heads wasn't quite enjoyable enough to warrant ALL this work to get rid of the seeds they missed!! Yikes! I did plant a little patch of four o'clock seeds in that mess. .Hoping I will be able to ID them when they sprout!! The number of Spinx moths that are attracted to those in the evenings is incredible. .and reason enough for me to have some. They generally reseed once they get going, which is nice, unless you are referring to sunflowers. .and now I think their reseeding ability is a less than attractive quality.

I had to add this photo. .first because it shows everyone. .in one place. .at the same time, which is becoming more rare. .and second. .because it shows the relation of the pond from our dining room table. I LOVE sitting where Cami is standing, and looking out the window. .sipping java. .watching birds. .or contemplating life! If you were wonderin' what Grant was doing in the background. .the chicks moved from the bathroom to the kitchen after the first day. .and Grant was busy watching them. They made the move to the yard a few days ago. .and are doing well in their tiny little chick house with the heat lamp in it. .today they even came out into the little caged in pen to see the outer world! They have lost a lot of fuzz and gained a lot of feathers. .even in the course of time since yesterday!!

I'm pretty excited to see how the pond looks by the end of the summer. I am amazed at how much all of the pond plants have grown just this spring. .they already seem so much bigger than they were at the end of the summer. Two small hostas and a heuchera that I thought were goners last summer have made appearances in the flower bed under the tree. It has pond liner under the soil to hold the moisture in for these water-loving plants. Must be working!! My biggest issue with the pond is that it turned out too round. .I am working things around in my mind. .which may entail pulling up some of the rock and adding some plantings closer to the water to change the shape. .Hmmm!

There is new growth on all of the spruce trees. .including the Blue Atlas I planted last August. .That's always my sign that things truly are "alive and well!!" The spruce trees took the drought. .but barely. I have one of these dwarf spruces that may be lucky to make this summer. It is a little closer to the elm tree, and I wonder if the roots are competing for moisture. But, he also has some new growth though, so I am hopeful!

Now joining the dwindling parade of bulbs. .some of the cottage garden faves are showing. .Enter Lineum

or blue Flax. .I am noticing some mild reseeding in the bed these are in. .but they are such an unusual color of periwinkle blue, that I just can't bear to pull them yet. They only bloom when the sun shines. .so on these cloudy days, their buds have been closed up! They have really cool foliage too, so even when not in bloom, they are nice to look at.

The larkspur has also started blooming. .but there is a SEA of this stuff coming up. .and I know Jeremy's customers must wonder why I let so many tall weeds exist in the bed right alongside the driveway!! In another little bit though, I think it will be quite stunning!! 

I did a little transplanting the other day. .from one bed to the next. .and this cloudy, cool weather has been just perfect for that!! Not much transplant shock happening, and I'm glad!! I planted the first pot of winter-sowed seeds this week too. .I had some carnival morning glories that I threw in a pot just cause. .(they are quite easy to start in the spring too). They got a spot near the new cedar fence. .to crawl up the posts and add some color. I have several pots of winter sown seeds that have sprouted and a few that are starting to sprout. .but because of my organizational mishaps. .and the dry erase pen I used to mark the pots. .I have NOT a clue. .what any of the seedlings are. .just what they could be. .a mishmash of about 8 kinds of seeds. .none of which I had ever tried growing before. .except for the morning glory. .I knew which ones those were :-) Sometimes my brilliance is baffling. .even to me!! 

We're looking forward to a weekend full of this and that .a little family time. .a little gardening. .a little socializing. .and a little antiquing (for me anyway:-)

Stay out of trouble. .

and drop by again soon!!