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 Bug Bit!

This is what our first day of Spring looks like! We picked out seeds and got started on growing some vegetables indoors. 

I have never started my seeds indoors, but I thought it was time to try! I am not buying expensive lights or equipment, but just trying to sprout a few seeds in my south facing kitchen windows. Today I am planting beefsteak tomatoes and some sweet bell peppers. Both seed packets say to start indoors 6-8 weeks before transplanting into the garden, so I'd say I'm on target to plant sometime around the middle of May (after the last frost).

I am keeping it simple and hoping to sprout and transplant from the same containers. Greenhouses often start tons of seeds in flats and then transplant to larger pots, but I am thinking these medium size containers will work well. I also like that they are the kind that can just be planted into the ground and will biodegrade.

I found a tray from another planter and will use it underneath as a reservoir for watering.

I filled the containers with an organic potting mix (made specifically for seedlings, so it's nice and fluffy) and watered everything well to get the soil and pots saturated. 

Then I used a pencil to make small divots in which to plant the tiny seeds. I put two seeds in each cell in case one does not come up well. In the case that both do well, I will just thin them and keep the strongest seedling. Now I will just give them plenty of sunlight, keep them damp, and watch! Wish me luck!

Just on que, my first daffodil is blooming. Happy Spring!

Sunny Days

... are chasing the clouds away...

It's been so nice!!! I was feeling a little grumpy that the snow was already gone because it left brown ugliness in it's wake. But then we got out and started playing, and I remembered how FUN it is to be outside! It's a whole new world... a new fantastic point of view...

And then we found some signs of life! Ella spotted some little green daffodil spikes and sent the neighbor kids on a flower scavenger hunt to find them all around the yard. She even stole the camera from me to take pictures of them.
 

 

I hadn't planned on it, but I just couldn't keep my gardening instincts at bay and I had to start pulling up dead stuff. I always forget how much I LOVE gardening!

 

I don't miss these little buggers... and so it begins.

I took the chance to prune a little... pears are notorious for water spouts. Check out that one that takes up the length of the photo! It had to be put in it's place.

As I was putting my bucket away I noticed this little pot forgotten on a garage shelf... what a reward for being lazy and leaving it there all year! So I brought it inside to water and watch.

Tiny Treasures

We all love nice days when we can walk to school to pick Maddie up from kindergarten. The world is waking up and the kids are noticing! Each of them stopped many times along the way and collected treasures along the sidewalks.

Our yard is waking up too! The first hyacinths are blooming and the grass is turning green.

The seeds in the garden are sending up tiny sprouts. Lettuce, spinach, and peas are up and we are still watching for broccoli.

Meanwhile, Mike is working hard on finishing sprinklers in the backyard to prepare for topsoil, grading, curbing, and hydroseeding in the next few weeks!

This is what our evenings have looked like lately... I love the kids' imaginations when they play outside, although I could do without the shoes full of treasures!

Welcome Spring

The first day of spring looked like this! It was cold but I had a daffodil blooming for the first time ever! I think some of the new ones I got from a friend were earlies.

Three days later looks like this! March is sure fickle.

As my preschool daughter reminds me often, in like a lion, out like a lamb. Here's hoping!

Pretty in Pink

Ranunculus

Japanese Crabapple

Tulip (first one!)

Bleeding hearts

The Grass is Greener... and Other Colors

The wheat grass has taken off! It's kinda fun having a mini green lawn in our kitchen.

They'll make a fun Easter centerpiece.

I let the girls give their vases a haircut. It was so much fun!!

 

It was also a good opportunity to learn about how plants work. Ella asked what the "white things" were and we talked about how the roots are straws that suck up water for the grass. 

Freshly mowed!

Our real grass is greening up too! We haven't gotten a lawnmower yet but it will be time before we know it.

Unfortunately the Johnson grass likes the area too. Until our seed is more established we don't want to use weed controlling chemicals, so we've been managing the old fashioned way: PULLING.
 

I should have kept a log of the time I've spent popping these suckers out with a screwdriver.... going on 20 hours maybe? At least that when Mike is home helping too! It's mind-numbing for sure... but the areas that are done look so much better. I keep telling myself it's worth it and by the end of the summer we'll have lush green lawn!

A few other colors are dotting the landscape... pink ranunculus.

White pear blossoms.

 White candytuft (a spring perennial I just planted).

And our first yellow daffodils! I just have say how cute it was when Ella found these. I was around the house spraying weeds and I could hear her yelling, "MOM, com'ere!!! MOM! The flowers are BLOOMING!" That nut didn't fall far from the tree.