Simon in the Greenhouse

All the winter stuff finally got yanked yesterday, swiss chard, parsnips and yellow carrots. What you see is the early spring lettuces and I've just put in a second planting. Oh and I had company.

Spring Harvest

We're down to some turnips, parsnips, carrots and swiss chard.

We've started some tomatoes and herbs...

and we've processed some spinach and swiss chard...

and it starts all over again.

Distraction

 Our first apple blossoms.

http://karenmakesstuff.blogspot.com/2010/09/dans-day-off.html

Quick Spring Walk Through

 Camellias are like having Roses without thorns! 

Jack-in-the-pulpits & Trout Lilies

My shade garden is really starting to establish.

Primroses

Garden Wonders

Blue jays ask me to hurry it along cause I'm too close to the feeder.

The robins are over my head.

Looks like caterpillars!

Pink flesh unfurls to Autumn.

Columbines are everywhere.

A maidens web.

Coral bells at the corner.

Taking its own sweet time.

A little fern starts little.

How Did My Iris Change Color?

Don't think I'm color blind or nit picky, but this iris should not be light purple! I think I have bees around here trying to play a joke on me. This is nothing new though because they've done it to me before. I had 1 mauve iris and several dark purple irises that turned mostly mauve. Now this! I actually found where it came from to, down the street has a light purple iris. Boy do I know better than to plant a favorite colored iris. Has anyone had this happen to them?

This is my favorite garden area. It's my shade garden and it's really come into itself this year.

Violets and Friends

There are the violets that you dig up and put extra lime on your grass to discourage and then there are the violets that you buy because they are unusual. I bought this one though it will spread about. It's a purple leaf violet.

Jack made many pulpits this year!

My Mouse Eared Hosta unfurling.

My Lemon Lime Hosta.

These 2 hostas are small and especially the lemon Lime, easy to split and move around. I'm trying to grow more understory forest plants. I have some along the house, on the north side, where they seem to do well. Obviously the hostas don't belong in a native forest, I just love unusual hostas!

Makes Me Happy

Today I have been organizing a kids craft for the 2nd graders. They will love the craft but it is not blog worthy. So I went out to the garden and took a picture of my favorite thing in the garden, my yellow violet.

Spring Garden

Garden nurseries are dangerous places for me. My husband doesn't have to buy me jewelry and pocketbooks he has to buy me plants. He liked this one as much as me and I even let him pick the color of the pot. It's a Jacqueline Hillier Elm. A small tree for container gardening. I'm a sucker for elms. Being brought up on Elm Lane was probably the reason. Of course you may all know the sad story of the American Elm. Thank goodness there are other sorts to meet my elm needs.

Hostas

In the spring I poke around the garden looking for new life. I'm sure my neighbors think I'm weird but it sure makes me smile when I find something coming up.

Blood Root