Spring has Sprung

Today was a gorgeous day, the temperature reached almost 60°! I went for a long walk with my daughter and a short walk with Lilly! It felt wonderful to finally be outside and get a little exercise again. Lilly was glad to be out walking again too!




I had walked around the house on Saturday to see if I had a crocus in bloom, and didn't find anything. I was pleasantly surprised today when I saw one in bloom!






I pulled a few weeds, and thought about cleaning up in the flower beds a little. I didn't get around to it because I sat on the patio just basking in the warmth and enjoying the moment.




It will probably be raining for the next few days, but at least we had a respite from the cold, and now we know that spring is very, very close because we got a wonderful taste of it today.



One lone flower, but a wonderful harbinger of spring.





Libby has enjoyed the wheat grass that I planted for her.

My sweet mother-in-law is in the final stages of Alzheimer's. Last month when they weighed her she weighed only 77 pounds. I'm pretty sure she weighs less than that now. It is heartbreaking to watch her slowly waste away.

I didn't do much winter sowing this year because I didn't want to baby plants all winter and then have to abandon them while taking care of Mom in her last days. We know that it is just a matter of time before she passes away. In fact we are simply amazed at her strength and will to live. I planted so many seeds last year only to have most of them die while I was in Alabama caring for my dad during his lung cancer surgery. I just didn't have the heart to have that happen again.

I do have a few things planted using my indoor growing system. I have Purple Wave petunias, penstemon, parsley and cilantro. The only seeds I have bought this year, so far, are zinnias and sunflowers. The rest of the seeds were collected from my flowers last fall. I should still have plenty of flowers...

because I have a bag full of these orange cosmos seeds. I won't mind at all filling my flower garden with these sweet beauties. I love the way they look with the Verbena Bonariensis.

Delightful Ranunculus-Dumb Mistake

I bought this gorgeous ranunculus last year and was delighted with its rose-like blooms.

I found ranunculus bulbs a few days ago at Meijer's and purchased two bags for a total of twenty bulbs. I had never planted them before and discovered today, quite by accident, that I had planted them upside down. I'm so glad I discovered that huge mistake. I should have done the research before planting the odd shaped bulb.

I assumed, (or misunderstood the package instructions), that the stem went on top with the tubers pointed up. Not so, according to several internet sources, you plant it pointed down. Now I have to replant 20 ranunculus.

Kousa Dogwood

I went to Salsbery Nursery today looking for a new tree to plant. The people there were very helpful, friendly and knowledgeable. They still had a good selection of plants and things looked pretty healthy. I wasn't sure what I wanted so I went with an open mind. I selected a Kousa dogwood tree for several reasons.
It was small enough to fit in my SUV, the price was good, I liked the shape of the young tree, it looked healthy, I like dogwoods and didn't have any. I like that it has spring flowers, pretty fall colors and berries for the birds. I am very pleased with this selection, I just hope it lives. I was told to plant the top of the root ball just above soil level, which I did. He said to mix a good soil in with the soil I dig up for the tree, I had a bag of shrub and tree soil already waiting for the new tree. It needs soil that is slightly acidic so he said I need to add sulphur twice a year.

While I had the dirt nice and soft, I planted daffodils in clusters of three all around the base of the tree. I will definitely be anticipating this spring show of flowering dogwood and daffodils.


My husband and son graciously skipped ballgame time to go and get two loads of mulch from the recycling center. I got most of it spread out. It is amazing how much mulch it takes. We still need a lot more. Hopefully this week we can get the rest mulched.

I worked until after dark cleaning up in the front flower beds. I cut the spirea to the ground again this year. It had gotten much too large for the front flower bed, so last year I cut it back to the ground not really caring if it died, since I didn't like it in the front bed anyway. However, it came back and I liked the smaller size and the constant summer blooming, so I let it stay. I also pulled up all of the coleus and some of the taller, leggy impatiens. It will frost soon, possibly this weekend, so they aren't going to last much longer anyway. It is very hard for me to pull up a plant that is still flowering though.

I also emptied the planters on the front porch railing, and nearly choked on the dried up dirt. It was PITIFUL! That chore should have been done weeks ago. It was so nice to be outside again and was a perfect day for fall yard work. We haven't had too many perfect days lately, so I enjoyed this one immensely. To top it off, while I was working a lady was walking by and told me that I must be a master gardener her like her mom, because my yard was so beautiful. That compliment really made my day.

Real spring on the way back!

Yea! A headline in the news today says, "Real Spring On The Way Back". That is very good news indeed! I went outside to pull up the towels, blankets and sheets that I had spread all over the flower beds and surveyed the freeze damage.

I was very concerned about the clematis but it still looks good, a little burned on a few leaves, but in very good condition.

This is the new edging around the mailbox, I would have preferred the red, but this was on clearance, half-price. I have to decide what to plant now. I don't want to detract from the clematis. Any Ideas? I have purple wave petunias growing, I might plant some of them.

The tulips were all laying on the ground frozen.



Ice crystals on the lamb's ear, and while looking at it I saw a healthy purple coneflower peeking through. I thought I moved them all from the front bed in the fall. I love the coneflower, but it is not what I want for the front bed, at least not in the very front of the front bed, it's too tall. This is my only shady area and all I really want in that bed is hosta, impatiens, caladiums and coleus of course my Japanese maple. Oh, and the lamb's ear gets to stay as do the bulbs. I pulled everything else out last fall. I guess I'll have to do more transplanting.

My kitty hiding behind the blinds this morning soaking in the sunshine.



Lilly is my shadow, she loves to be outside with me while I garden. She is a beautiful Golden, (beautiful but not very smart). She hates to have her picture taken, when I try to get her to sit for a picture she always plops down and turns away.