Sunny Spring Mornings!

Every morning I love to have my coffee and enjoy seeing the woods and my garden plants come alive!  

I know a lot of you are way ahead of me, but this is where we are at right now.

It doesn't look like much but the Japanese Spurge (Pachysandra) is blooming with it's little flowers right now, and the Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum) 

has come alive!

I love how the sun was highlighting the Sweet Woodruff and how it seemed to glow beneath the Japanese Maple

This is a great shade loving plant and spreads with no effort and it's not hard to control if it moves where you don't want it!

I love how the moss is highlighted too...I can see it from the kitchen and it looks so interesting!  We never planted any of it.  It just appeared on it's own.

The ferns are growing in leaps and bounds

The grass is tall enough for it's first cutting....

The trillium have been blooming all week...so pretty to see their bright white faces in the woods!

A bright moment in my day...the elusive Baltimore Oriole visits...The moment I snapped the picture it flew off.  A very hard subject!

I didn't know they were attracted to my suet feeders.  It has some fruit and fruit flavoring in it which is drawing them in.  The female was here yesterday afternoon...she blends in so well to the scenery it's hard to notice her!

On the pathway my Jack Frost (Brunnera Macrophylla) are just getting going.  The cute White Crowned sparrows that are visiting and scratching through the mulch and literally littering the walkway with it!  I'm going to have to show them a broom!

Daffodils and soon tulips (or what's left of them)!  

A rabbit has eaten off 7 of my 12 tulips!  Not happy!

Out front the daffodils have been blooming

Tulips are popping up daily and I've inspected the little lilacs and they are forming flower heads!  

Last Saturday we made our way to a couple of the local garden centers.  I've staged them on my garden way card and have been acclimating them.  It looks like we're going to have some safe night time temps so I may jump in and plant them this weekend.  

I've decided to go with wax begonias around the fountain area.  I'll miss the impatiens plants but with the uncertainty of getting that Impatiens Downy Mildew I've decided I was going to have to avoid them.

Out the window from my office I see my Snow Fountains Weeping Cherry 

(Cerezo var. "Snolozam") tree is starting to bloom too!   

How's your spring coming along? 

I'll be joining 
Fishtail Cottage
Garden Party #3

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One word- Magnolia!

For the first time in several years we've had a gentle spring with no severe frosts and my magnolia has had a chance to open it's blooms and they aren't marred with brown edges!

What a nice start and many blooms to go!

Such a soft delicate pink...

You can smell them as you approach too!

Swoon....

I'm joining 

Fishtail Cottage

for

Cottage Garden Party #2

 

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Spring Sprang Swiftly!

Yes, spring sprang upon us swiftly! 

 We went from snow melting to full speed ahead spring! 

Things are popping out of the ground at 

such a fast pace I'm amazed.

A little while back our neighbor Tom had some trees cut 

down because they are diseased as a result of that 

Emerald Ash Borer. 

Tom my husband Dan have been cutting up the trees.  Some of it will be used for our little fire pit.

Tom has been creating a brush pile (very neatly)

They only heated with wood at their home as he grew up, so he learned all about cutting wood early on.

The woods are alive with all sorts of wildflowers

I believe these are called Yellow Trout Lily 

or American Trout Lily 

  Dutchman's Breeches

A type of Cranesbill called 

Cranesbill Carolinianum (Carolina)

I don't have far to walk to walk in the woods, but it's riddled with lots of fallen branches and rotting pieces of old wood so you really have to watch your step!   There is a strong odor of onion in the air.  I didn't spot the plants but it's some kind of Wild Onion, or Wild Garlic.

Viewing the corner of my house and my front island. 

I do nothing with this side of the house because it's so shady and rarely seen.

Out back of our property (a bit messy right now) you can see there is a service road.  There was an active Christmas Tree plantation for many years but they've left the rest of them to grow on their own.  

Once the trees are leafed out the view will be obscured.

Along my footpath to the patio the Brunnera, Jack Frost is growing rapidly.  The Coral Bells are popping out too!

I'm still picking leaves out.  I don't think I'll ever get them all!

The Weeping Larch is always fun to watch come back to life.  

Back inside my Thanksgiving Cactus is blooming again!

I have been so surprised with this plant.  

My tulips and daffodils are growing rapidly I 

expect flowers soon. The magnolia is full of blooms

and I pray we don't get any killing frosts again

that ruin them!

  

How are your gardens coming along?

I'm joining 
Rose Vignettes for
Fresh-Cut Friday
and
Fishtail Cottage
Garden Party

 

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Free At Last!

Shhhh..... don't tell the winter warden, 

but I've broken out !

I feel like the shackles of winter have finally been lifted.  Seeing some green..any green caused great joy in the inner spirit of this lady! 

First things first...lots of debris to be removed including the grasses and oak leaves that came down through the winter.

My hubby decided to try his shop-vac to vacuum out the tangled leaves and it worked quite well!  It's an usual approach but he was quite happy with how well it worked!

I was raking everything off the beds to get ahead of the plants that are starting to sprout up. Those oak leaves are tough...and they like to wait until winter before they drop so we always have them to clean up! 

Eventually he got the back pack leaf blower out and cleaned up all the bird seed leaves and dirt that seemed to have migrated all over the walkway and patio.

We've got rain coming Monday/Tuesday 

so we are rushing to get a few details 

out of the way.

The crocus have been popping up.  

This is out front.  The tulips and daffodils 

are coming out fast.  

These crocus were a part of an old garden that I removed years ago.  They just keep popping back up in random areas.  

This year they seemed quite strong.

We'll be cleaning out the leaves and dead plant material soon.  I'm just afraid to step in the wrong area!

My assignment today is to trim back the vine on this arbor .  It doesn't look like much but with the warmer temps it will be greening up real fast.

I hope you are enjoying some spring like weather too!

Here's a toe tapper for you to listen to!

It's a good day!

Thanks for visiting!!

Liz

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Looking for Inspiration

 We've had a rather extended season of winter 

like weather lately. Snow, rain, snow, snow, rain...snow

 The other day it warmed up so fast it looked like

steam was coming off the snow!

See that shrub with the burlap torn down...a red squirrel took to ripping on it there

 for a while.  He looked like a kid throwing a bad fit.  

I have no idea why he was doing it.  I never saw him take anything away.

  

Well- it sure isn't pretty, but I'm glad to see the ground again! The birds have left quite a mess of hulls from the bird seed beneath my topiary lilac tree.

Lots of clean up to do to get things looking good again. 

We have to bundle up our shrubs for the winter. They survive much better

 this way since we get so much snow and bitter temps.

Signs of life emerging! Yay!

 I've been suffering with 

"lack of inspiration" 

about the upcoming season, but these pictures 

from the garden center that I shop at when visiting 

my mother got my motor running!  

I'm going to blast you with a bunch

of pictures!

Adding decorative twigs in the center to add some 

height and interest 

Using baskets instead of pottery

I noticed the use of enamelware containers

I love violas

Using crates 

A way to decorate around the base of a fountain

These caught my eye and inspired an idea! 

 I'm inspired by the  picture (before) and I have these two metal plant stands-
I'm thinking of lining them with cocoa fiber (and perhaps green moss on the outside) and planting them with flowers.... I've tried small pots, for the last three years but I'm not happy with the results.

I'm glad I found some inspiration 
and I hope you are too!

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