‘June’ is my favorite hosta. The leaves are beautifully streaked and stay pretty all summer long.
Hosta ‘Moonlight Sonata’
I didn’t venture into the grass, with the rain we’ve been having, but the tall bearded irises are beginning to bloom. I hope I can get some pictures of them tomorrow.
~~Rhonda
We try to take a bouquet to church each Sunday when we have flowers available in the yard. Here is the one from last Sunday.
The white sprays are bridal wreath spirea. It has purple and yellow irises, the last of the Poet’s daffodils, and some lilac blossoms. It smelled so good!
~~Rhonda
DS posted new pics of the twins. Just wanted to share this one with you. 🙂
~~Grandma
I did manage to go outside today. Am finally feeling like I’m on the mend, though still do not feel “good.” But being outside for a while improved my state of mind, if nothing else.
The Spanish bluebells were in the yard when we bought this house in 1994.
There are a lot of columbine in the yard. They spread beautifully. Not aggressively. They just pleasantly fill space.
I rode the mower pulling the wagon, and DH trimmed the redbud trees. Something we do each spring to keep the way clear for mowing. It’s not much fun trying to mow under them. We took five or six loads of branches to the burn pile.
The bridal wreath spirea is a fountain of white. A picture of our home, taken in 1956, shows a bridal wreath spirea near the east porch. I like having some in the yard again.
There’s a pretty spot under the apple tree that looks particularly inviting.
Iris buds are beginning to pop up all over the yard. We’ll soon have other colors than the early purple and the little yellow ones blooming.
It was nice to get outside after being so sick. Still coughing but definitely better than I was.
~~Rhonda
Yesterday, I spent about an hour outside. Rode the mower around the yard. Took some pictures. Watched DH plant tomatoes. Even did a little mowing, though it tired me out. I should have stayed indoors because that little jaunt set me back a bit. But I did get some pictures. The first flush of spring, which I gauge by the bloom of the daffodils, is almost over. The redbuds are faded, the tulips are shattered…phase one is done. Now we will move on to the iris stage, which is one of my favorite times in the garden.
But before we get there, there is still a lot to see. The dogwoods are at their peak right now.
Bluebells are continuing to bloom. These look so pretty against the bright chartreuse of the hosta ‘Janice.’
The lilacs are perfect right now. And they smell SO good!
The Bridal Wreath spirea is about to burst. Soon the long branches will be white with little bouquets of flowers.
“I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden.” ~Ruth Stout
~~Rhonda
This afternoon, as I prepared to leave the house to pick up DD from school to take her to music lessons, I hoped to get into the yard to take a few pictures. I miscalculated my strength. By the time I struggled down the back steps with my laptop, DD’s guitar, her after school snacks, my planner, my iced tea, camera, etc., and got it all settled in the car, I was worn out. I’ve been sicker than I figured, I guess. Today really is the first time in five days that I did much besides get out of the chair long enough yesterday to make rosemary crackers and soup for supper.
Anyhoo, I took some yard pics from the car as I left. 🙂 So here are a few of the yard in all its raggy glory. From the carport, I got a good look at the peony border. It has shot way up in the past week or so.
The grass is full of dandelions and needs a haircut. I hope I’ll feel well enough tomorrow to get out and do the mowing.
There is honesty (money) plant coming up all over the yard. It’s a great filler for large spaces and we let it reseed itself where ever it likes. It’s easy to pull out unwanted plants. We’ve even taken pulled up plants after the seed pods have set and thrown them out into the woods where they’ve started coming up here and there, adding that pretty purple color.
In the front yard, the bird bath bed is showing great color with the ‘Thalia’ daffodils, the candytuft, and the purple and yellow irises that are blooming.
The ‘Thalia’ daffodils are some of our later ones. They are a lovely creamy white and bloom with two blossoms to each stem.
I love the wild Sweet William (Phlox divaricata) in our yard. We brought plants to our previous home from the woods that belonged to DH’s aunt years ago. When we moved, we brought some of those plants to this house, where they have reseeded themselves here and there. This patch is particularly pretty under the dogwood tree.
The dogwood is from your woods, Laurie. 🙂 Thanks!!
Isn’t the wild phlox gorgeous?
Ah, spring! ~~Rhonda 🙂
DH and I are both getting over colds. Soup sounds good (and easy) so I’m making that for this evening. The rest of the week is an attempt to avoid beef and eat more poultry.
Monday
Cheesy potato/sausage soup
rosemary crackers
Tuesday
BBQ pork steaks (oven)
baked potatoes
asparagus
grapes
corn
Wednesday
ham or turkey sandwiches
homemade bread
chips / veggies
Thursday
Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
green salad
Friday
turkey in the crock pot
mashed potatoes
peas
corn
spinach salad
Saturday
fridge food
Sunday
salmon
steamed red potatoes
asparagus
corn
green salad
You can find more menu ideas and recipes at Menu Plan Monday.
~~Rhonda
With the first blooms of the early purple irises, I feel like iris season has officially opened. DH took these pictures this afternoon. The medium height, early purple irises came from DH’s family farm. Other than the dwarf irises, these are the first iris blooms in our yard each year.
‘Baby Blessed’ is a dwarf bearded iris, about 10″ tall. An early bloomer with yellow standards, yellow falls, and white beards. It is one of our best rebloomers, blooming off and on in our yard through the summer and fall.
‘Irish Chant’ is one of my favorite dwarf irises. It isn’t a rebloomer, but does multiply quickly. This blossom is just opening. I hope to have a better picture in a day or two.
The iris season is my favorite part of spring…as much as I like every part of this time of year. 🙂
~~Rhonda
I’ve had to spend a few days with my leg up, due to some swelling, but this evening I managed to get outside for a little while. It was a beautiful day and I didn’t want to miss it.
I checked the veggie garden. The radishes are getting bigger.
I broadcast the lettuce seed and it’s coming up thick. Will have to do some thinning before too long.
The first flush of dandelions has gone to seed.
From the veggie garden, the large Southern Oak looks beautiful.
Bunches of grape hyacinth are blooming all over the yard. Each year, they spread a little more.
The daffodils under the Southern Oak are giving way to the purple blossoms of the honesty plant.
The redbud trees are still in full bloom. I was afraid we’d missed the peak of the season while we were gone, but not so. I like the way the flowers cluster along even the limbs of a redbud tree.
The blossoms on the dogwood north of the fenced garden have turned a creamy white.
Judd viburnum…there’s no describing the heavenly scent.
In the fenced garden, the dwarf Iris ‘What Again’ is blooming. This little iris is about 8″ tall.
DH spent some time weeding and putting down mulch.
Layers of newspapers go down first, then mulch is spread on top the paper. The paper provides an extra barrier to weeds and eventually decomposes into the flower bed.
Did I tell you? I love spring!
~~Rhonda