A good weekend!

Finally dry weather and a free weekend coincided.  This weekend we got to enjoy our front garden after weeks and weeks of hard manual labor out there.  We had dry weather and we did see some sun but it stayed mostly in the low 50's.  We had fun plant shopping and planting when we got home Saturday.  Sunday my girls and I went to a plant sale where we found some more plants.  The Littlest Gardener and I planted Sugar Snap bush peas in the new raised bed, I planted Oriental lilies and gladiolas by the picket fence - only one bag of Dahlias left to plant now!  So fun to be digging small holes rather than shoveling loads of soil, gravel, etc...

 I already love how this little area is going to look.  I planted some Corsican Mint to grow around the stepping stones here.  It makes me hungry every time I smell it.  The purple flowered plant is an Erysimum or Wallflower 'Bowles Mauve',  I just love how long this plant blooms for.  I've also planted Agastache and a Lavatera to fill in the corner.  Lavatera is a favorite of my husband's and I thought the least I could do is let him help choose some of what will grow here since he did the majority of the hard work, usually he doesn't really mind what I plant.  Along the front fence (inside) I planted several different perennials that I hope will grow up through both sides of the fence.

 Just a few dwarf boxwoods for some evergreen color, I don't want anything that gets big because I plan to have lots of other flowers and grasses mixed in here.

 While I was out I noticed that the Muscari is finally starting to get flowers.  The Littlest Gardener has been asking when the Grape Hyacinths will be ready to pick.  We have so many growing that it is one flower I don't mind how many she picks.

 Crocus enjoyed some sun.

 Daffodils blooming in the shed garden.  Not too far from this area I planted more Tiger lilies.  They seem to do really well back here in the sun and close to Cedar trees.

 My new plants from the plant sale on Sunday.  I found Epimedium, Trillium, Drumstick Primula, another type of Primula, Tulipa turkestanica, Papaver rupifragum and another that I can't remember the name of.

 Epimedium 'Elfin Pink' has the sweetest tiny pink flowers.

While I was at the plant sale I got to meet Alison of Bonney Lassie and her husband.  It was a lot of fun to talk with Alison in person.  It's funny how much we knew about each other, not ever having met or talked in person before.  I didn't get to stay long as the Littlest Gardener was cold and done with plant shopping.  Look at the cute birds that Alison gave me, so nice of her.  I can't wait to see what she bought since she was just getting started shopping as we were finished.

This time of year I seem to have an ever growing chore list of what needs to be done outside.  For this week I need to finish pruning Clematises, sow more seeds both inside and outside, pot up some of my indoor seedlings and get some potatoes planted.  One thing not on our list this year - grass mowing.  Half our town was out mowing this weekend and happily for us we weren't one of them.
All words and photos in this post are property of A Gardener in Progress.