more time in the garden

Wednesday, DH and I were able to get out into the garden for a bit. It was a little cool, but sunny.

The light purple crocus are up, but the day was too cool for them to open, so they were just peeking out.

just peeking...

The daffodils are leaping sunward.

so ready for these to bloom

These are ‘Von Sion’ daffodils. The bulbs came from DH’s family farm.

'Von Sion' daffodils

This particular patch of trumpet daffodils are usually the first to open in our yard. They look like they are ready to pop!

daffs are about ready to pop

The achillea looks soft and tender here, but what a garden thug! We are still digging it out of the garden beds. It’s a great plant for places where it can spread at will…just not good for a garden bed where it overruns the neighbors.

achillea

The star magnolia almost looks like a pussy willow right now. The first few buds have burst their sepals, though, and soon they will open beautiful creamy white blossoms with a heavenly scent.

star magnolia

‘Jane,’ another magnolia, is a later blooming pink flowering shrub. It is usually late enough to miss the last frosts.

'Jane' Magnolia

Here it is in April of last year.

magnolia 'Jane'

We spent most of our time outdoors clearing flower bed debris. DH trimmed the butterfly bushes back to about 18″. They will grow back out to 8′ or so by the end of the growing season.

cutting back the butterfly bush

He also cleared a lot of the autumn aster stems. I think we took six wagon loads of these to the compost pile.

what's left of the autumn asters

It was a beautiful day. Blue skies, sunshine and a greening garden. It won’t be long before the neighbor’s beautiful white oaks are leafed out, but for now, we enjoy their silhouette against the early spring sky.

the neighbor's oaks

I hope you are finding signs of spring to enjoy in your own yard or garden. And head over to Glenda’s at Tootsie Time and check the links to see what’s happening in other gardens.

~~Rhonda 🙂

13 Comments

  1. Posted March 4, 2011 at 8:06 am | Permalink

    Don’t you love being outside this time of the year? Your crocus are beautiful and the Japanese Magnolias are always a pretty sight.

  2. Posted March 4, 2011 at 12:31 pm | Permalink

    Hi Rhonda!
    you are ahead of us with spring for sure… we’ve seen green shoots of our purple crocus so far but thats’ about it! Hard to believe in just a few short weeks we’ll be into spring!
    Your Japanese Magnolias are gorgeous!
    Deb

  3. Posted March 4, 2011 at 1:48 pm | Permalink

    OMG! Everything is ready to burst open!! Anticipation…..thinking of that ketchup commercial with Carly Simons song..LOL
    Have a great day!
    *hugs*deb

  4. Posted March 4, 2011 at 2:42 pm | Permalink

    Rhonda, I see great progress in your garden. Spring is definitely on its way! I agree about the achillea, but it does have its charm too. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a nice comment. Have a great wknd!
    Blessings, Beth

  5. Posted March 4, 2011 at 4:36 pm | Permalink

    Your garden seem so fresh and awake now. Lovely colours are returning after winter’s end. Rhonda, thank you very much for your link about raising butterflies in a fish tank. It is such a bright idea. I have linked yours to mine.

  6. Posted March 4, 2011 at 6:38 pm | Permalink

    What lovely flowers you have! These are flowers I can only admire from afar. With all that compost coming up, your flowers would look even better this year. 🙂

  7. Posted March 4, 2011 at 7:18 pm | Permalink

    Spring is definitely in the air. You’ll have flowers in no time. Really loved the last shot … the oak does make a great silhouette photo.

  8. Paula
    Posted March 4, 2011 at 9:45 pm | Permalink

    WOw Ronda! Your spring flowers are amazing! Thanks for sharing Paula

  9. Posted March 4, 2011 at 10:14 pm | Permalink

    Your garden is looking beautiful! I can’t wait to see the daffodils in bloom. I have one magnolia that’s been here for a couple of years and hasn’t bloomed yet. I’m crossing my fingers for flowers this year, it’s buds look the same as yours look now.

  10. Posted March 5, 2011 at 8:52 am | Permalink

    Good morning. Isn’t it such a good feeling to see things starting to green up and bud out. We are all so ready.Your crocus and daffodils are ahead of mine. Mine are just now trying to push through the ground.I have Jane Magnolia too and just love seeing the blooms in spring. Have a wonderful weekend.

  11. Posted March 6, 2011 at 7:15 pm | Permalink

    You are much ahead of us right now in new york state,we are watching 6 to 10 inches of snow fall tonight. boo. can’t wait to see my crocuses and daffodils show their pretty faces like yours are. thanks for the warm up on this snowy winter night here.

  12. Posted March 6, 2011 at 9:36 pm | Permalink

    Hi Rhonda, your photos are so beautiful, but i must thank you so much for putting your link in Autumn Belle’s post on butterflies. I opened all your flickr photos and also some of the blogs on them. I know the processes but haven’t really took the time to do what you did. We have lots of species in the property in our province, but i just content myself in following them and taking photos a bit with difficulty as i see them when they are already agile and fluttering. I am sure it is easier shot inside that tank.

  13. Posted March 6, 2011 at 10:14 pm | Permalink

    Andrea, you are very welcome. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. Raising caterpillars and butterflies is such a rewarding experience! ~~Rhonda

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