A grateful Fertilizer Friday.

I've said before I had no idea that starting a blog would allow me to meet so many new people. This year my garden will be full of flowers started with seeds that were shared with me by some of the people I've met since starting blogging. Some are seeds saved from their gardens (Darla, Rain Gardener, Robin, Ginger, Dirt Princess, Laurie, Lona, Tina, Cameron and please remind me if I didn't mention you, I have them all written down somewhere around here ☺) or sent to me through the Gardening by Letter project. Many were from trades. One trade I was very lucky in was with Donna who sent me a box of chocolates in return, something I never expected but loved! Another blogger sent me a gift for my garden but asked that I not mention it, but you know who you are and thank you!
I want to give Lona of A Hocking Hill's Garden a big thank you. A few weeks ago I commented to Lona about the fairy that is on the top left of her blog. I've always thought it was very cute and wondered where she may have found it because I thought my daughter Sweet Pea would love one for her fairy garden. Lona told me she found it at last year's garden show and offered to look for one when she went back this past weekend. Imagine my surprise when I saw a package in the mail the other day and found the fairy from Lona's garden inside. Not a new one, but her own fairy. Her note explained she didn't see any others that were very good and she thought Sweet Pea would "enjoy it much more than I do." The kindness that she showed is something I'll always remember, especially when I see the fairy in Sweet Pea's garden.

The fairy sitting in the Navelwort (Omphalodes cappadocica) 'Starry Eyes'.

And in her new home, Sweet Pea's fairy garden. It was raining pretty hard when I took these pictures so I didn't really get the full view of the fairy garden.

Through blogging my thought that gardeners were generous people has been confirmed, not just in my own experience but what I see on other blogs as well. And it's not always something material that is shared, even more often it's supportive words or encouragement that I see written in comments on other blogs. I'm happy to be part of the garden blogging community.

Now on to the flowers blooming today:

Pulmonaria and Muscari.

Frittilaria were just planted about a week ago, I was surprised to find them already started and with buds. I was hoping they'd be purplish checkered type, but these are still pretty.

Leopard's Bane (Doronicum orientale) in full bloom.

White Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis).

I planted two different types of Crocus hoping they'd bloom together, but so far just the dark purples have bloomed.

I hope you will visit Tootsie at Tootsie Time to see what she and other gardeners from around the world are flaunting today. Thanks for stopping by to visit!