Christmas Notebook

The wren is singing loudly outside the kitchen window and the trees look like they are “clapping their hands” in the breeze (Isaiah 55:12). A beautiful Sabbath morning.

The garden gives a glimpse of God’s creation as it moves through the spring bloomers. Color and beauty. Amazing plants and flowers. Inspiration at every turn.

Peonies are some of my favorite flowers and they are beginning to open. Looking through my pictures, I see that the first peony out in 2008 was ‘Lavender Lady’ and she opened on May 18. That must have been a late year, because we usually have peonies the first week of May. This year they are quite early!

‘Sorbet’

‘Krinkled White’

‘Buckeye Belle’

‘Lavender Lady’

I used ‘Lavender Lady’ in a bouquet for church this morning. The lilac is a later blooming one called ‘Miss Kim.’

‘Miss Kim’ is a Korean lilac. She blooms a few weeks later than the larger lilacs in our yard which extends the lilac season nicely. The leaves and blossoms are smaller than the large lilacs and the scent seems more spicy than heavily sweet. The buds are a dark lilac and open to a soft mauve. A great little lilac.

She’s maybe five feet tall. Perhaps a few inches shorter than that. I’ll have to check next time we’re outside. The shrub is planted where we can catch the scent from the both the front and the east porches.

There’s a large patch of Johnny-Jump-Ups in one of the front yard beds. They always remind me of my Grandma Ashby. She had them in her yard on the farm.

Along with the Johnny-Jump-Ups are the Star of Bethlehem. They began popping up in the yard this week.

We dig the little white star out of the beds, but allow it to come up in the grass and around the benches. It can take over in no time, if not held at bay. But it’s so pretty and has that “surprise” element by popping up almost overnight after the leaves begin to fade. We wouldn’t want to be without it.

The only daffodils still blooming are the last of the Poet’s.

The hostas are responding well to the early warm temperatures we’ve had this spring. In this bed, left to right are ‘Golden Tiara,’ ‘Sea Fire,’ ‘Lime Twist (small almost hidden one), ‘Allan P. McConnell,’ and ‘Stiletto.’ I love the rippled, long, thin leaves of ‘Stiletto.’

‘Samurai,’ with the evening sun behind it, glows with bright yellow green this time of the year.

I keep taking pictures of ‘Sagae’ because it looks so pretty with the Sweet William blooming next to it.

Yesterday, DH dug trees out of the flower beds. A perpetual problem. He potted up nine redbud trees. Anyone interested? He planted tomato plants and covered the bed with straw. Zak thought the straw was provided for his amusement.

Earlier this weeek, Zak was intent on watching something. He is a great mole catcher, but I think he may have been listening for the little garter snake that lives along the driveway. That’s one snake I hope he doesn’t catch.

One last picture…I captured this photo of the late blooming dogwood with the setting sun behind it. It brought out the faint pink cast of the blossom.

I hope you are getting outside to enjoy a garden. Or gardens! Or you can go online. It is Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day over at Carol’s May Dreams Gardens. Check out the beautiful gardens there.

Come back soon. We’ll have more pictures!

~~Rhonda