Month: May 2014

Centerpiece

Partially submerged rhododendrons, mystery pink flowers, and mystery white flowers, all from next to the patio. I think this will be the last year for the white busy, and maybe the pink, but I’m letting them have their moments of glory first. 🙂 There is something so delightful about an entire bowl full of flowers indoors.

In the garden

So many things in our yard are interesting or wonderful right now. The irises are blooming!

I divided them last summer and gave half to Bob and moved the rest much further away from the house, but I was pretty sure that I’d planted them too deep. But lo, lots of blooms! They’re so lovely, I’m glad I didn’t kill them.

The lilacs are beautiful.

And the apple tree is covered in blossoms! A surprise, I don’t think of them as being prolific with flowers generally. Maybe they like their mulch and companion-planted foxgloves?


The rhododendron outside our window is starting to bloom! I thought it wouldn’t this year (the camellia didn’t, after being transplanted), but I think it’s just running a little late.

MAJOR excitement: the seeds in the planters are starting to really grow!! The back row is golden beets, the middle row is leeks on the left and red beets on the right, and the front row is scallions. You can also see the tubing from Kevin’s amazing automated watering system – he did the three planting beds, the new large plants (rhodies and azaleas) in front, and the front lawn. It is GREAT not to have to be out there watering!!

Scarlet runner beans! The bunnies ate a lot of them, I may have to replant.

Carrots starting to sprout! Some peas behind them.

And beans!

And, shockingly, grass!

I’m still utterly amazed by the magic of this: start with nice packed topsoil, add seed, cover thinly with peat moss, water, and suddenly we have a LAWN. I didn’t think it would work! I can’t wait until these plants are a year or two more established, it will look so pretty.

Thin little baby grass, but it really worked!