i wish spring lasted longer

If you’ve read previous posts, you know spring is my favorite time of year in the garden. It’s lush and colorful and full of “new” everywhere you look. Here are some pictures from our spring garden.

The fenced garden sits just north of the mulch pile. In the second picture, you can see our mountain of mulch. We usually don’t have that much, but had a few trees removed last year and this wonderful pile is the result of that work. 🙂

fenced garden

fenced garden

This clump of ‘May Night’ salvia sits just outside the gate to the fenced garden. And that’s a clump of lemon balm next to it. We’ll be pulling that out soon. It pops up all over the place. Looks beautiful in early spring, but quickly grows to gargantuan proportions. It would smother the salvia and anything else in its way.

fenced garden

This is blood sorrel. It’s in the fenced garden, along the path. I don’t care for the name, but it is a beautiful plant. And it’s edible. Can be used in salads.

blood sorrel

This mini geranium is in the center of the fenced garden. It’s in danger of being swallowed alive by the gold sedum. I am trying to decide where to move it. Somewhere it can be appreciated and not swamped by something larger. The entire plant is about four inches across.

mini geranium

The ceramic bunnies have been in the center of the fenced garden for five or six years. Before you know it, the sedum will cover the baby bunny.

bunnies

The columbine is in full bloom right now. The tree that used to shade this bed was removed, so we may have to move these plants this year.

columbine

Pretty pink columbine near the kitchen door.

columbine

And this old fashioned columbine was a gift from my friend Margaret. Thank you, Margaret!

columbine

columbine

The rain we’ve had the past several days has knocked a lot of the dogwood blossoms off, but the rain was good for the yard, not to mention the farmers’ fields. And just look at all those iris buds!

flower bed

Hostas provide a beautiful accent in the garden. Their leaves make quite a statement. Here are ‘Samurai’ and ‘Waving Wuffles’ near the carport behind the house.

'Samauri' and 'Waving Wuffles'

‘Pineapple Upside Down Cake’ is a beautiful yellow in the spring that turns green later in the season.

Hosta 'Pineapple Upside Down Cake'

‘Squash Casserole’ was sheltered by an apple tree last year. But we had so much rain last spring that trees actually lost their grip and fell over, and the apple tree was one of those. So this beautiful (and fast growing!) hosta and its ‘Valentine Lace’ and ‘Lake Veronica’ neighbors will have to be moved soon. Not sure just yet where they are going to end up. ‘Squash Casserole’ seems to tolerate some sun, so we’ll keep that in mind as we ponder its future home.

'Squash Casserole'

This is ‘Northern Exposure.’ I’m partial to the hostas with variegated leaves.

'Northern Exposure'

Star of Bethlehem grows from a bulb and can overtake a garden bed. We dig them out as we come across them just to keep up with them, but are always happy to see them pop up in the grass and here and there in a flower bed. They make a pretty show. The bulb is poisonous, though, so keep that in mind if you plant them.

'Star of Bethlehem'

Star of Bethlehem is a spring flower. The leaves come up first, in what my family always called “Easter grass.” It makes clumps of beautiful green, even before the lawn grass greens in the spring. The perfect resting place for an Easter egg. After it flowers, the leaves quickly die back and the plant goes dormant until next spring.

A couple more shots and I’ll let you go…

garden

dogwood

I think I’ll head outside. It’s a shade cool, but I want to see if any new irises have opened. 🙂 ~~Rhonda

iris season is off and running

These first few irises opened their first blossoms of the season today.

Siberian Iris ‘Illini Charm’

Iris 'Illini Charm'

This is an old fashioned iris that we do not know the name of.

UNK iris

We brought this iris from our previous home. Bought it in a collection of six, years ago. Probably the first irises I ever bought. But I no longer know the name.

UNK iris

‘Mary Frances’ is a beautiful bluish tall bearded iris.

'Mary Frances'

Another unknown.

UNK iris

This early brown iris was in the yard when we moved here. Unfortunately, it was planted against a brick wall of the same color. We’ve moved it around the yard, where it shows up much better.

early brown iris

early brown iris

‘Raspberry Blush’ opened April 26.

Iris 'Raspberry Blush'

This very early old fashioned iris opened April 19 and is still blooming strongly. We brought this iris from DH’s family farm, where it has bloomed every spring for many years.

early purple iris

‘Baby Blessed’ is one of my favorite dwarf irises. It blooms prolifically in the spring, then blooms off and on all summer and into the fall, providing it has plenty of moisture.

Iris 'Baby Blessed'

Other irises have already finished blooming.

Tiny little ‘What Again.’

Iris 'What Again'

And the even tinier extra early purple iris. It bloomed March 30. This iris came from DH’s family farm. It stands 3-4″ tall.

early iris

This picture of ‘Irish Chant,’ a lovely dwarf iris, was taken last year. It bloomed this year while I was too sick to go out. The one picture DH took of it, wasn’t a great shot, so I’ll recycle this one.

dwarf iris 'Irish Chant'

There will be new irises every day for a while. This is my favorite season in the garden. The entire yard will smell heavenly when they are blooming at the peak of the season! ~~Rhonda

spring rain

The weather has been rainy today, but it’s a slow, off and on, gentle, spring rain. Looking out the kitchen door into the back yard, things look wet, but fresh and new. Every time I walk into the kitchen, I am amazed by all the green visible through the windows. There are four windows over the south counter and the door on the south, too, and the view is completely full of new spring green, now that the big oak has leafed out.

under the big oak

The hostas are filling out well, and the columbine and Spanish bluebells are in full swing.

wet garden

This little flower bed sits just outside the kitchen door. We have three birdbaths in the yard, but this is my favorite one.

birdbath bed by kitchen door

The birds use this birdbath, but not as often as the cats do. They find it a convenient watering hole. 🙂

sprinkles in the birdbath

~~Rhonda

wednesday in the yard

We spent a lot of time in the yard yesterday. DH did have some work related things to take care of, but we still had a lot of time for the garden. The weather was beautiful. Grass was a bit wet from rain the day before and during the night, but I was able to mow in the afternoon.

peonies are ready to bloom

DH spread a lot of mulch. We are grateful to our friend Paul who gives us shredded mulch via his tree trimming service.

spreading mulch

Not sure why I didn’t take many pictures yesterday. Busy with other things, I guess. But I did get this one of the clematis ‘Nelly Moser’ that climbs the hydrangea by the front steps. She is just beginning to bloom. The hydrangea has yet to leaf out completely.

clematis

We have had 15 different iris varieties in bloom so far this season. Lots more getting ready to bloom and there will be pics of those in the near future. 🙂

~~Rhonda

hosta leaves and rain drops

‘June’ is my favorite hosta. The leaves are beautifully streaked and stay pretty all summer long.

Hosta 'June'

Hosta ‘Moonlight Sonata’

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

spring bouquet

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.

bouquet for church

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

the girlies

DS posted new pics of the twins. Just wanted to share this one with you. 🙂

04-25-09-medium2

~~Grandma

menu plan monday ~ april 27, 2000

Monday
tacos

Tuesday
chicken salad
homemade rolls

Wednesday
BBQ chicken
spinach salad
corn
sweet and sour cucumber

Thursday
salmon
baby baked potatoes
steamed sugar snap peas
Caesar salad

Friday
Alfredo Chicken Tortellini
green salad
garlic bread

Saturday
fridge food

Sunday
pork chops in the crock pot
rice
corn
peas
stewed apples in the crock pot

You can find more menu ideas and recipes at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

sweet spring

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.

front yard

The Spanish bluebells were in the yard when we bought this house in 1994.

Spanish bluebells

There are a lot of columbine in the yard. They spread beautifully. Not aggressively. They just pleasantly fill space.

columbine

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.

trimming the redbuds

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.

bridal wreath spirea

There’s a pretty spot under the apple tree that looks particularly inviting.

under the apple tree

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.

early purple iris

It was nice to get outside after being so sick. Still coughing but definitely better than I was.

~~Rhonda

spring…up close and personal

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.

dogwood

Bluebells are continuing to bloom. These look so pretty against the bright chartreuse of the hosta ‘Janice.’

bluebells and hostas

The lilacs are perfect right now. And they smell SO good!

lilac

The Bridal Wreath spirea is about to burst. Soon the long branches will be white with little bouquets of flowers.

Bridal Wreath spirea

“I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden.” ~Ruth Stout

~~Rhonda