Wednesday, April 14, 2010

GOOD GARDEN DAYS

Hope y'all will indulge me with another garden/flower post. This time of year, when the temps are warm and plants start to awaken and poke through the earth and grow, and early spring flowers are blooming, I'm as happy as can be out in the gardens cleaning up the beds, planting new plants, making divisions.
(hmmm, I'm pretty sure that was a massive run-on sentence!)

The Bleeding Hearts are in full bloom. What an amazing flower!

This past Sunday and Monday I spent literally all day, both days, from morning till after dinner working in the gardens and the landscape beds. I was in my glory. The hours just flew by.


The Lilac has more flower bracts this year than ever!

The temps were perfect with occasional slight breezes bringing in the scents of lilacs, mountain pinks and cherry blossoms. The sounds of chirping birds (and that not so delightful cawing crow!), and the wind rustling through the pines created the best background music for working. It was a perfect couple days for me.

Sunday I cleaned up the veg/cutting garden and gave the soil a good tilling. I'll till it a couple more times, and amend with composted cow manure just before planting next month.

From a yucky, ugly patch of weeds . . .

to freshly tilled garden soil. A thing of beauty!

My absolute favorite spring-blooming tree, the Kwanzan Cherry, is on the verge of a full pop of flowers. This tree gets totally covered with blossoms that remind me of tiny carnations.




I put some new plants in the ground. New white Columbine and blue Pincushion Flower to the pond-side bed joining the white Goats Beard and red Astilbe. I'm hoping for a terrific show of color in about a month.



Looks like we have a new inhabitant in the pond!

On Monday I spent a good part of the morning doing the Spring clean-up job I HATE!!! Cleaning the deck railings. They get so grimey and dirty through the summer and winter. The almost 2-1/2 hours spent to wipe down each individual baluster and top and bottom railings is worth it in the end.

Ewwww!!! Dirty!

Ahhh . . . nice and clean!

Finally!!! I planted two Knock-Out Roses in the border of the perennial garden.


I've been wanting a few of these for several years. Now, I'll just have to be patient for a couple years for them to get some growth and get loaded with their non-stop show of roses. You know what they say about perennials . . .
"the first year they sleep,
the second year they creep,
the third year they leap!".

Another favorite, the Pieris Japonica, gives show all year long.

In early Spring, it puts on it's show of cascading, slightly fragrant bell-shaped blooms. In Winter, some of the foliage takes on a reddish tint. I like to cut pieces of this shrub to add to my outside evergreen arrangements at Christmas.


This Blue Atlas Cedar is a very special tree to me. I call it my "Princess Diana" tree.

The morning after we purchased this tree and planned to plant it back in August of 1997, was the day the world mourned her death. I remember helping my Hubby plant this tree; my heart heavy with sorrow. I was a huge fan. And like so many others, her death created terrible sadness for me.
Funny, seems everything we would plant in this spot would fail.
This tree has absolutely thrived!


Something not so pretty, but worth sharing . . .

my compost bin!

I have two of these little monsters. They create what us gardener's refer to as "black gold". These bins don't produce enough compost to amend my vege garden every year, but they do help me amend the perennial bed and holes for new plantings. Anything compostable gets added to these bins.


And since Monday is wash day for bed linens, I was able to take advantage of the weather and hang the sheets on the line. There's nothing like the smell of fresh, line-dried sheets when you slip into bed!

That's the herb garden, there, next to the clothes line. I'll be spending some time in that bed today. Unfortunately, I lost a few herb plants this winter, and the wild onions are having a field day out there!

So much work to do, but so rewarding. I can't wait for consistently warmer temps when we can spend as much time as possible outside. The big project we're doing outside this Spring is the addition of a brick patio just off the deck. I'm so excited! I've been wanting to start this project for many years. I love our deck, but it sometimes makes me feel removed from the yard and gardens. Having a patio will put us right down there at ground level where we can really see and enjoy the yard and gardens. I'll sure to document all the back-breaking work on that project once we start!


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9 comments:

Paula ~ castleandcottagesigns said...

wow Carla your gardens look awesome...you'd never know we had such a harsh winter! Many years ago I did a brick patio in our backyard...it's a half circle coming off the house and we just love it. LOADS of work it was but worth every bit of it. Love the Princess Diana tree!!:)
happy gardening!

Darlene said...

Your yard and all the beds look wonderful. You have some GORGEOUS flowers and plants! I love knock out roses and want to get more this year. You will find that they will put on a ton of blooms quickly. Enjoy your days of working in the yard.♥ I think we have one more pretty day before some rain moves in.

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

Your hard work certainly pays off, Carla! Since you're done with your beds, come do mine! : ) I am limited to weekends for full out gardening chores {darn day job}, but I did accomplish two beds this past weekend. I'm dreading hitting the back yard though ~ lots to do there from snow damage to branches. I have bleeding hearts as well on one of my back beds, I love them and they seem to get twice as big every year.

Kerin said...

Good Morning Carla!
Love all the green garden pictures!
I love being in the gardens and planting new plants. Once our new fence is in all the way, I want to plant white bleeding hearts in a few spots. We had snow here again yesterday, but it melted off and will be sunny today. I had to smile when I saw your roto tiller sitting in the back ground. My husband loves his roto tiller and will just about till mud if he can :)
Have another glorious day in the yard!

Ticking and Toile said...

Carla,
What an amazing garden(s) you have! I also LOVE to garden....there is just something about getting your hands in the dirt, dead heading etc...it just makes all the stress of the world melt away.....

GUESS WHAT???? You WON my Christina Strutt "At Home With Country" book giveaway!!!!! yay!!!!

So if you can send me your address & stuff I will get it out to you! :)

Shellagh

BellaRosa said...

Carla first of all....CONGRATS on winning Shellagh's beautiful giveaway! You so deserve it :) Now on to your beautiful garden...I am just speechless! Everything is so beautiful...oh how I wish I had something 1/4 this gorgeous, I love your bleeding hearts! My daughter bought and planted a flowering cherry tree and planted it in our front yard with her daddy, the first year we had 2 blooms, this year about 8, still looks like a lil twig :) as I love to tease my daughter...but she is so in love with cherry blossoms and her tree :) Maybe we need to fertilize it??? I am thinking of making a compost bin, I think my garden would really benefit from it :) Have a beautiful week! Besos, Rose

Jamie said...

GORGEOUS!!! Now that we moved I am itching to get outside and start my new garden. There is no better mood lifter than working in the garden and hanging clothes on the line while enjoying the beauty of it all. =)

June said...

Oh I just love meeting new gardners. I came over to congratulate you on your win at ticking and toile. I can't believe how far ahead you are of me in the garden blooms. Our lilacs bloom in early June here and my bleeding hearts are barely poking up their shoots out of the ground. I just love to enjoy other's gardens while I'm waiting for my own. Your pictures are just gorgeous!

marie said...

All the gardens look wonderful. I love the little pond area. I saw a few ideas that have inspired me ~ my yard needs tons of work ~ I have the perfect spot for the Pieris Japonica. It's beautiful!!
I need to find a spot for a tree because I love the Kwanzan Cherry!

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