The Beauty of Spring

The last two weeks have been absolutely beautiful. We've been able to take our coffee outside to the swing on Saturdays and Sundays mornings and enjoy the birds chirping their melodies. Everything is so lush and green with gentle breezes rocking the trees. It's my favorite time of the year. The Easter flowers have passed, but the azaleas are in bloom along with phlox and iris, and the hostas have grown huge leaves beneath the shade of the trees. I'm busy mowing the yard once a week and continually finding outdoor projects to keep me occupied. It's time for buying annuals and transplanting them to containers for colorful vantage points under the pergola and other focal points around the house.


Yesterday, Collin and I went to town with a mile-long list of errands. He was looking for tractor parts and I wanted to buy flowers. When we finally made all our stops and returned home, I spent the afternoon gathering containers, pruning scissors, hand fork and shovel, and potting soil. I was successful in potting a number of arrangements to be placed here and there. As they grow and develop, I'll share them with you. You'll also note my glass of iced tea on the table. No project is successful without sweet tea.


I'm not sure what this shrub is called, but I have three of these beauties at the corners of Collin's shop. Alas, there were four, but one was called home. I always enjoy these; they are the first thing you will see if you pull into our back driveway and they always seem to say "Welcome home" in the most cheerful manner. If you look very closely in the top right corner of the photo, you'll see just the tip of another one. This one hasn't been shaped just yet for the season, but it's on my to-do list.

I mentioned my hostas earlier. This is one I have sitting in the middle of something I think is called "Lamb's Ear", but I may be wrong. This runs like a strawberry and in the early spring, it has pretty little blue blooms. It makes a great ground cover. And, did you notice the dandelion that crept it's way into the photo? I have about a gazillion of those out in the yard that I need to spray and kill. We have those in mass if any of you fellow gardeners would like to have some.

These hostas are in my back yard along side our little wooden bridge under the shade trees. We have a small creek that runs through our our back yard dividing it into two parts. When our kids were little, they would refer to "the second back yard" to identify the specific location as it pertained to the subject of the moment. It's actually quite nice as a clear stream of water from the early spring rains trickles and runs along it's curvy path. At first it was a bit unsightly and a nuisance, but we have worked it into the landscape of the yard and now it's rather a nice addition.

As time goes along, I hope to take you on a garden tour of our lawn and share one of my favorite hobbies. No matter how busy I am, I always try to slow down a little every day to walk throughout the yard and enjoy the beauty of nature. It's one of life's gifts and blessings from above that all too often we take for granted.

Marcia