Planting the Early Crop

Saturday March 28th was our planting day, a little late but better late than never. It took a little longer than I expected to fix the irrigation and prepare my rows, but we were finally ready! 

Pea planting is such a fun kid job. The "seeds" are just the dried peas so they are recognizable, and kids fingers are just the right length to push them to the desired planting depth.

We also did a row each of lettuce, chard, broccoli, spinach, and kale. I already can't wait for the garden fresh produce back in my kitchen!

Spring Posies

Spring amazes me. It always comes-- whether winter was warm or cold, wet or dry, seemingly endless... Spring comes.

The first bloomers in my yard are the crocus. Hello flower.

 My purple hyacinth are next. They smell like heaven.

I try to teach my kids, boys and girls alike, to stop and smell the flowers. 

I took a start of forget-me-nots from my mom's house, and they are blooming this year!

The vincas are greening up and blossoming. These are still messy to clean up every year, but hopefully they spread more and I won't have to worry about cutting them back every year.

I have quite a few varieties of fdaffodils, and more blooming this year than ever before. I think they're finally comfortable enough to show their colors.  

The crabapple trees were in all their glory for Easter. These are also very fragrant--I love to stick my nose in alongside the bees and take a deep breath.

Thankfully the crabapples weren't bothered by the frost we had a week or so ago! My redbud tree wasn't so happy... half of it's flowers froze in the bud, poor thing.

Gardening Treasures

My dear old friend Doris just told us a week ago she is moving. She is 90 and feels like it's time to move in with her daughter because she's getting forgetful. She was our first neighbor here in Lehi and has been a sweet friend to our family.

This morning she showed up on my doorstep with her whole library of gardening books to pass on to me! I feel so honored and lucky, like I won the lottery! I can't wait to delve into them, as much to learn as to read her little notes and bookmarks throughout.

Also of note, I ordered my early seeds today on heirloomseeds.com. I am going to try tomatoes and peppers in milk carton greenhouses on my back porch! I also got my peas, spinach, kale, broccoli, and chard to start in the garden in about a month! Can't believe gardening time is almost upon us again... especially with this warm winter weather. I need to get out and do some tree pruning this week and take advantage of the sunshine!