Green things are starting to poke out of the ground around here.
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| Daylilies are one of the first plants to show signs of growth |
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| These plants are barely bigger than my thumb nail |
Every fall I plant a few more bulbs of Siberian Squill, each year hoping my lawn will be transformed into a carpet of blue. I noticed a funny thing this year. There are plants in places where I'm fairly sure I didn't put them. And these plants are tiny. Is it possible my squill is finally producing seed and spreading?
The weather has finally shifted for real and this past week I've been able to start gardening for real. The ground is perfect for digging right now. Damp but not wet.
Every year I say I'm going to transform this crescent bed into a much larger garden. Once again that hasn't happened but I did add an extra 6 feet to one end of it.
As we say around here - How do you eat elephants?
One bite at a time.
A few extra feet each year and one of these days it will be the garden I'm dreaming about.
Also extended was the bed behind the garage. Last year it looked like this. Only a small portion dug out for the Golden Glow and the rest a mess of weeds.
Not this year. I have plans to plant dill and zinnias in this location....and perhaps some of those extra sunflower seeds I couldn't resist buying.
Smaller chores have also been completed. Jody asks where I'm working today - in the flower garden...
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| I was only thinking about looks when I created this huge bed. I didn't think for a minute about how much work it might be. |
oh yes, the monstrosity in front of the house.
The rogue willow has been moved to a more appropriate location, the perennials have been cut back making way for new growth. But there's still a host of things to do - pulling weeds, mulching, moving plants. But the weather is cool yet, perfect for working and I'm enjoying every minute.
33 comments:
A few extra feet each year and one of these days it will surely be the garden you dream of! I know it.
The hard work is in the first years of making a garden, but once things start to fill in it becomes less work. Don't your fresh new beds look wonderful!
You have a lot of garden there. Your dreams will be beautiful! We too have things just popping out, but our weather is going to be in the seventies for a week and I bet that will change everything.
Things are looking good down there..my day lilies are up too..a hyacinth bloomed today..but after two glorious days working outside we've had rain and last night snow! Muskoka is in the news all week..much flooding, basements flooded, docks washed away..so much damage and destruction of roads too..we need warm weather and breezes to warm things up..Your flower beds you've dug up look wonderful..keep having fun...Happy gardening Lannie
You have been a busy bee. That crescent bed is gonna be great. THE flower bed is too. All looks ready for planting.
Those beautifully prepared beds are a thing of beauty Marguerite. That flowerbed at the front is huge! How spectacular it will be once established! When it fills in, it will be hard to get in there tough. I wonder if it would be a good idea to add a path of stepping stones that give you a way to weed the center area.
I agree that this is a perfect time for working-cool temperatures and no bugs. I am looking forward to the weekend. Happy gardening!
It is sooo fantastic when things begin to stir in Spring! Our plants are trying to catch up after a very late and slow start !
Great to see spring has arrived! Building a garden is certainly something to do one bite at a time, that's how I did my garden - on a shoestring budget, and look at it now, 11 years later :-) You'll get there eventually, just keep going, and remember to enjoy the journey too!
Have a great week-end, take care, Helene.
Isn't it a relief to have real spring? I also have Siberian Squill, and popping up in other unexpected places is what they do. I kind of like it when they do.
Seeing as you've already gone through this Laurrie I'll take your word. Some days it just feels like I keep on creating more work.
I'm hoping the weather continues to warm up here, we're still getting really cold days that make it hard to get out and keeps the plants at bay.
Lannie I heard you had snow via Jane - unbelievable!! Can it really be the end of April?
I hope it'll be great too :) Just a little longer and a lot wider and I'll be happy.
Jennifer, I'm hoping that flower bed will really start to come into its own this year. I've spent the last two years planting perennials so hopefully this year they will start to fill out a bit. It's hard to tell because they blend in so but I have actually put stones in there. We found dozens of old foundation stones in the hedgerow and that's where I've used them.
Jane, I'm hearing this will indeed be a very late spring and I'm getting impatient!
Helene, it's great fun building a garden from scratch but there are days when I wish desperately that trees didn't take so long to grow :)
I'm thinking the squill have a better idea of where they'd like to be located so I'll be following suit in the fall.
A flower bed that's a "monstrosity" is my favorite kind. :) The more the merrier, imho, even if there is a corresponding increase in work. Your beds look beautiful and ready to take off!
Your freshly dug beds look soooooooo inviting!! And so tidy! Yes, the monster bed does look a bit intimidating but if anyone can tame it - you can! Isn't it heavenly to see bits of colour here and there? At long last!!
I think it's smart to only extend the garden by what you can handle so that it doesn't become a chore. Plus, it's more affordable because you have less space to fill. :o) I love the bug free spring weather, too. It makes being outside so pleasurable.
I am learning too how to eat that elephant...lol.
You have beautiful soil, that's for sure.
Jen
Isn't spring exciting? All the new plants and garden beds to be worked. I have Siberian Squill too, really slow to spread.
"One bite at a time"....I love that )))
The beds look fantastic M..just fantastic. Can't wait to get out there myself. Is it really spring? YUP!!!!
Your garden is coming along quite nicely my friend!!
I've been in Maine for a long weekend of spring cleanup in the garden. My plants seem to be at a similar stage of new growth, and it was great to get all the old stems, dried foliage and fallen tree leaves moved away to see what was growing underneath. I even found the first nubs of hosta growth in a couple of places. I agree that weather is perfect for gardening at this time of year -- sunny, not too hot, and the blackflies and mosquitoes haven't hatched out yet. Enjoy your spring gardening. -Jean
I'm hoping the work subsides a little bit as this bed gets going. Right now there's more bare dirt than plants - makes for lots of weeding!
I wish they would look that good all season - I'm waiting for weeds to invade any day now :)
are you ever right about the bugs! It can be so miserable come summer getting bitten to pieces. Right now is just perfect.
the elephant comes in handy from time to time - it's always a good reminder when you feel overwhelmed
The squill are just beautiful aren't they. I plant a few more every fall and hope they spread a bit on their own.
Can't believe it's the end of April already Brenda! how did that happen? there's still so much to do. I'm thinking I need to use a few vacation days to catch up with all that needs doing.
Thanks Keith!
So glad to hear you managed to make it home for a few days. This is the best time of year seeing all those little bits of green making their presence known, minus the bugs :) Have a safe trip back to Pennsylvania.
Oh, I love it, wonderfully, scarily huge, sits much better in the surroundings, what fun you will have playing with planting combinations!
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