I have reached the point in my gardening year . . . when everything is happening everywhere all at once. These days, I’m either . . . thinking about the garden, planning for the garden, shopping for the garden, actually working in the garden, directing Tom in the garden, or recovering from the garden.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year.
But also exhausting!

Not long ago, I was concerned about our crazy winter weather and how it might play out in the garden, come spring. I’m happy to report that spring turned out to be . . . pretty typical here, after all. Cool weather arrived – and hung around – and now things are happening pretty much right on schedule. So that’s some good news. We’re nearing our “last-frost” date . . . which means in just a matter of days we’ll be able to safely plant tender annuals and vegetables, and get our containers going. (Always exciting.)

Besides being “back on track” weather-wise, there are all kinds of good things happening in my garden. I thought it might be easiest if I just share some photos and keep the narrative to a minimum. So . . . on to the good stuff :

  • My Virginia bluebells have flourished. What started out as one little plant a few years ago . . .  has spread itself throughout the “woodsy” part of my garden. (Virginia bluebells are ephemerals, so they’ll just fade into nothing after they finish blooming. Kind of like bleeding hearts.)
  • Buddha is once again surrounded by Solomon’s Seal. (Last year, the bunnies ate every bit of it.)
  • Our fence repair is nearly finished. (And our fence guys rigged it to keep the deer out of my garden while the project progressed, which was kind and thoughtful.)
  • My herb garden has never looked so good – or been ready to harvest – this early in the season before. (That’s the result of a mild winter.)
  • Our pond frogs made it through the winter — bigger and stronger than ever. (They overwintered in the pond. Our pond heater kept them well-oxygenated when the pond froze over.)
  • My Satomi dogwood is chock-a-block with blooms! It’s going to be a banner bloom year, and I can’t wait.
  • My portable greenhouse is back in action on the patio.
  • My seedlings are doing really well and nearly ready to plant. I’m hardening them off now so they’ll be ready to plant by the “last-frost” date.
  • “My” lilacs (they’re really my neighbors, but the bulk of the blooms hang over the fence into my garden, so I consider them “mine”) are coming back strong. Our neighbors had an . . . ahem . . . pruning mishap, and it looked like the lilac wasn’t going to make it for a few years, but it’s back. (It looks much nicer on my side of the fence, so I’m always worried they’ll take it out.)
  • My spring to-do list is long — but nearly complete.

It’s good to start the garden year with good news!