This Week in My Garden

Tags

bleeding heart, daffodils, frog, gardening, landscaping, Minnow Daffodils, Spring, Spring blooms, Spring flowers, Tête-à-Tête daffodils, tulips

The first light of dawn, the rays of sunlight stretch across the sky. My photo does not do it justice.

Dawn's First Light

The crocuses are long gone, yet my full size daffodils are still blooming. My Tête-à-Tête daffodils and towards the middle of their bloom and my minnow daffodils and grape hyacinths are in their full glory. My bleeding heart had a lone strand of bright flowers dancing in the wind (which cause the picture to turn out blurry). My nearby hostas are popping through the earth and mulch.

Baby Bleeding Heart

I had a visitor while I was cutting flowers to bring into the house. I went to get my camera and he was hiding in the weeds near my rock wall when I returned. I think he’s a wood frog.

Wood Frog Friend

Most of my tulips bulbs seem more sparse this year. However, I have a few batches that look great, they’re ready to bloom any day. And my mint is popping up right off the side of my patio! The lilac bush is filling out with leaves and my rose bushes are growing rapidly. My Japanese Maple is covered in seeds and tiny leaves are beginning to unfold.

Tulip Town

Tall Tulips

The unusually warm Spring has been a blessing to some flowers and a curse to others. It was 89°F on Tuesday (one year ago that day, we had our last snow!) and 90°F Wednesday. Hubster had to mow our lawn twice already! I enjoy all the cherry trees (especially the dainty branches of the weeping cherry) in full bloom throughout our town, they’re my favorite flowering tree. Maybe next Spring, I’ll have one in my garden…

What is you favorite flowering shrub or tree?

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Sunscreen, Salsa, Side Dishes, Surprises

Tags

bleeding heart, caprese, coral bells, ferns, iris, lilies, roses, salsa, side dish, virginia creeper

Update:

Hubster and I have been really busy the past two weeks. He’s so wonderful at working on my honey-do list. Now it’s our summer vacation, time for us to really get a lot done.

We attended a wedding of a good friend, two weekends ago (and didn’t get anything accomplished at home that weekend). We’ve been trying to open our pool, but a missing piece of the pump had deterred us a bit. I finished painting my wicker set, yet have still have not found the perfect cushions. There has been several graduation parties and barbecues.

Hubster and I All Spruced Up (at my parents’ house)

Sewing has been an issue this year. My baby (and by that I mean my 9 month old cat who acts like a baby) will not let me sew, he has to be in my lap or in my arms each time I attempt this task (and my sewing projects have been piling up…). I tried putting him in another room and shutting the door, but he goes into a stressed state and cries and throws himself at the door until I respond. I can’t even update my blog without him wanting to be involved.

Rory Sleeping on the Laptop

However, in March I was able to crochet a baby blanket for a friend who was due (I wish I had a pic, but I wasn’t blogging yet) and she used this blanket for her son’s baptism two weekends ago. Her mother, who also crochets, was confused because she didn’t remember making the blanket.

So it’s that time of year when my house smells like sunscreen, roses, lilies (next week or so…), and yummy food (I’m trying out a salsa recipe right now). So here are a few bits and pieces to share.

Caprese
People always ask me for this recipe, most people can figure it out by eating it, but here it is.

Ingredients: tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil leaves, fresh ground sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper, balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil

Directions: Slice tomatoes and mozzarella, alternate slices on a tray. Cut fresh basil leaves and sprinkle over tomatoes & mozzarella, drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar on top and grind a small amount of sea salt and black pepper. Garnish middle of a tray with a sprig of basil. Serve and enjoy!

My Basil Plant

Bloom Time

I planted several small plants in the main garden. I paired Burgundy Glow Ajuga with Big Twister Rush (an ornamental glass Hubster think looks like weeds). I wanted to continue the purple, white and green theme of the staple plants throughout my garden (besides the pops of seasonal color that splash through my garden).

Burgundy Glow Ajuga w/Strands of Twister Rush

Yellow Rose

Pink Rosebud

My roses are in full bloom, even the small ones I just planted in

Asiatic Lily Bud

Spring and the lilies are about to boom with color.

My Chicks and Hens are splitting more, I see more chicks shooting off of the hens. I inherited this plants from my mother-in-law’s co-worker, they were just teeny tiny last year and they filled out so fast. I can’t wait for them to fill out so I can share some of mine with my mom and friends.

Surprise Iris!

Day Lily Buds

 

My third surprise iris appeared and bloomed last week, this time a white one. What other little wonders are ahead?..

Surprise White Iris

Attack of the Caterpillars

We had carpenter bees boring into our eaves and Hubster tried spraying them and their holes. However they returned again and he spray them again, so far they seem to be at bay.

In the mean time my garden has become a restaurant to a myriad of caterpillars dining on my plants like gourmet fare. I first tried an all-natural recipe where I actually blend up the caterpillars (in an old blender in which we do not make drinks) with vinegar, tabasco and pepper and other stinky things and then pour back on the problem. Ugh! It smelled horrible for a while and it didn’t work, If facts it seem like there were more bugs showing up around my garden. I then resorted to using a chemical insecticide to save my beloved garden. Maybe next round I’ll find another all-natural insecticide that works a little better.

Shade Garden Bliss

Virginia Creeper on Oak

Lady Fern

My shade garden has begun to fill out. I’ve counted and all my ferns and hostas are appearing. I purchased a birdbath (on clearance) that matches my planters on the patio and porch and it replaced the eroding pillar (which got moved close to my cement garden benches).  Friends of ours have a nice chunk of land nearby and a beautiful mature shade landscape. They have offered for us to stop by and dig up some of the plants. I look forward to taking a nice piece of their Japanese fern. My mother-in-law is also waiting for my garden to mature so she can have a few pieces of mine…

Oh! My Bleeding Heart started to bloom for the first time since I transplanted from my friends garden.

Bleeding Heart Blooms

Young Tatting Fern

Hubster and I spent Saturday relaxing in our hammock (his early Father’s Day present) and dreaming up our future. We’ve put so much work into our home, I’d really like to make this our forever house, not just our starter house (With our future plans and dreams, maybe that’ll happen. Our own little nirvana.

Bird Bath & Shade Garden

Plum Pudding Coral Bells

Check back tomorrow for my salsa recipe!!! 

XOXO,
Young Wifey