Bloomin'

I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden. -Ruth Stout

Saturday, I spent some time outside working on the spring clean-up that never appears closer to finished than before. These are some of the pretty things coming up all over. The daffodils are in full bloom. I had to laugh a bit because no matter how hard a gardener might try, nature really is in charge. This garden sits next to the sidewalk at the northern most point of our yard. I like to keep it full of color for passers-by to enjoy. But since daffodils face the sun and the sun is to the south of this bed at this time of year, they are facing the wrong way for pedestrians to admire.

This white daffodil is so pretty in contrast with the hyacinths in the foreground. I'm also happy to see the peony starting to shoot up in between the two.

These gorgeous, coral colored Toronto Tulips are the first of the season. They are in the border that runs along the back of my house, which faces south. It is so fun to see the pretty color start to pop up all over the yard.

This is the garden that you see when walking up to my front door. At this time of year it sits mostly in shade, so the flowers aren't as far along here as they are in other parts of the yard. As the season progresses most of the garden will sit in sun, with only the very back in shade. It has been a trick to figure out how to 'engineer' this garden, but it is one of my favorites. I call it the 'Birdbath Garden' because of the pretty stone birdbath that sits in it.