The Surprises of Spring

Bleeding Heart
One of the joys of moving into a new home that has been around for a while is discovering all the lovely plants left behind by former owners!  We discovered these bleeding hearts growing in a shady corner under the aspen trees a couple of days ago!  I've always wanted to grow them, but never had much success, so I'm delighted to find these here!

Unknown but sweet!
These are tiny little flowers only about 1/2" across, but sure are lovely.  I have no idea what they are, but will have to get out the perennial books and see if I can figure them out!

Peony Bud
Other flowers I've never grown but always wanted to, are peonies!  Wonderful to discover that we have three clumps of them growing with big fat buds on them!

Centaurea montana
Tucked in amongst one clump of peonies, I found the blue flowers of Centaurea Montana or perennial bachelor button growing.  I'll have to see if I can move them to a better location so they aren't hidden among the peony leaves!

Bridal Veil Spirea
In the back yard there are several Bridal Veil Spirea bushes with waving wands of white blossoms!  I've loved these since I was a little girl and my mother planted them along side a fence where I remember being entranced by their fountains of white flowers!

Virginia Creeper
Also under the aspen trees, we found lots of Virginia Creeper.  I love how the leaves turn crimson in the autumn, so will try to get rid of the other plants that are stifling the creeper right now.  I'd love to have it grow up over the side of my study!

Dandelion
While dandelions aren't necessarily a welcome surprise, they are abundant!  And when looked at closely thru the macro lens, I never fail to be captivated by their beautiful patterning.  They really are exquisite.

Daisy seedlings
Inside, there are flats of seedlings sprouting and getting ready to be separated and transferred up to larger containers.  There are daisies, delphinium, canterbury bells and foxgloves!

Garden before
In the back yard, we've been working hard on the garden area.  This is what it looked like when we moved in last fall.  Overgrown, full of junk (old toys, rotting lawn furniture, etc.), trees attempting to take root and weeds so thick you couldn't see the ground.

Garden After
My two youngest boys put in a lot of work removing all the junk, digging out the Chinese elm trees that had gotten far too established and the raspberry canes run rampant.  In the process, they discovered the sprinkler system was in terrible shape, the lines having been cut and punctured in several locations, so that has been removed as well.  Unfortunately, we have to get it fixed before the rest of the sprinkler system in the back yard will work!

Garden Growing
The garden beds aren't huge, only about 8 foot square, so I've been trying to make the most of the space while doing something fun with it.  This is the spring bed, filled with cabbages, red onions, radishes, carrots, swiss chard and peas.  There are a few herbs on the right as well as a nice rhubarb plant.  I'd like to put some nice tuteurs in the center with sweet peas growing up them eventually.

The other bed has yellow onions and will have a couple of tomatoes, cucumbers and some squash, which I need to get planted soon!

After all those years of living in an apartment and attempting to garden in pots, I can't tell you how wonderful it is to be able to play in the dirt for real once again!  I love watching things grow and take shape all around the yard.  So much is over grown and the grass has invaded all the flower beds, requiring complete renovation.  But we'll get there, one bed at a time!

Comments

allie aller said…
Oh the joys of gardening! Watch out for those perennial bachelor buttons though...wow do they spread!
Connie said…
Gardening is so relaxing. I think it is the only thing that you can do all day, get sweaty and dirty and still feel relaxed. I love the photo of the peony bud, very creative shot:)
Have a fabulous weekend,
Your blogging sister, Connie :)
Anonymous said…
So much work but it will be worth it when it all comes to fruition. Interesting how there are the flowers among the peonies as peonies stay green after blooming. It will be fun to see how this whole yard evovles:)
Lindas fotos! Lindas flores! cuidar de um jardim e uma horta é sempre um prazer! Divirta-se!
Um abraço!

Egléa
Val said…
How wonderful to have the discovery of peonies and bleeding heart in your garden. I love the way you've planted your vegetables .. a work of art.
Anonymous said…
merci de partager tant de beauté !

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