Spring flowers.

We have enjoying some nice mild weather here.  The sun has been out and even when the clouds cover it, it still definitely feels like spring is in the air.  How nice to have some windows open and feel some fresh air inside!  The girls are out on spring break this week and we're off to a nice start to it.

 Tulips around the yard are beginning to bloom.

 The fish are swimming around quite a bit.  I got the pond cleaned out after this picture, it usually requires a few minor cleanings in the spring.

 An unusual Frittilaria.

 Deutzia 'Chardonnay Pearls'

 White Bleeding Hearts

 Old-fashioned Bleeding Hearts, I have lots of these, I just love them!

 A Frittilaria, the one and only.

 And here's an update on the chicks.  At the top left is Tina, she's the largest, below the yellow one is Chirpy, the little one on the roost in Blossom (she must be the slowest growing chick ever, but otherwise she's fine), the other brown chick is Sunny.  The bigger chicks are getting their feathers, testing out their wings and their personalities are really showing.

If you remember we had originally gotten four.  Well, a friend recommended we go check out a feed store that she had gotten her chicks at.  She thought I would really like the stuff they sold there.   A woman there showed us some chicks and my husband asked my girls and I if we wanted a couple more.

 We said yes!  This is Elke and Inge - Barnevelders.  They are a couple of weeks younger and a couple of the older chicks have been chasing them, so we have divided the brooder with chicken wire so they can eat and rest without being bothered.  A couple of times a day I put them all together when I can watch and make sure they are doing okay.  Once these two are a bit bigger we'll let them all stay together.

 Gracie is totally fascinated with the chicks.  She likes to sit on my lap and watch over the side of the brooder while the chicks hop around.  Today I took each of the four big chicks out to meet her.  Gracie followed Tina all over and neither seemed bothered by the other.

 Tina likes to sit on top of the feeders and when the cover is off she pops her head up to check things out.

I've had some time to garden as well as watch the chicks.  I was able to get the potatoes planted, fertilize the roses, lots of weeding and planted some things by the picket fence.

Hoping everyone is seeing some sun, or at least an end to the cold weather soon!

All words and photos in this post are property of A Gardener in Progress.

It's only just begun...

 What a week it was around here last week.  It was very full of field trips (one for each girl on the same day and I drove on both!), a school choir concert, sports and ballet and my husband's surgery.  I knew there would be no time outside during that week and since the weather wasn't that great I didn't miss much.  My husband did amazingly well with his surgery and while he rested and recuperated over the weekend I played out in the sunny yard.  Saturday I spend working in the front yard and Sunday was spent around the pond.

 I scooped and scooped out the pond, cleaned the filter, trimmed the plants and cleaned off the waterfall.  It looks so much better.  Unfortunately this is string algae's favorite time of year and it has just taken off.  I spend much of the spring scooping it out of the pond.  I just love that our neighbors Forsythia is right where we can enjoy it.  The gold Mock Orange's leaves and daffodils pop with it in the background.

 Marsh marigold has been blooming for weeks, but now that the pot has been cleaned up the flowers can actually be seen.

 I put the pond floats back in.  The one in the middle is new this year, I bought it at the Flower and Garden show.

 This may not look like much now, but I spent a long time getting the purple oxalis up from next to the edgers.  I also cut the dead branches off the Daphne 'Summer Ice' and transplanted an offshoot from it.  It isn't variegated but otherwise looks the same.  Those Violas have been blooming almost all winter.

 Cleaned up the edges here too.  I love how the shed garden looks in spring, lots more to come here too.

 You can see this Ribes sanguineum 'Kind Edward VII' in the previous picture to the right.  This one has grown so quickly.

 Okay, so I lied when I said I got nothing down outside last week.  I added a long shelf in the shed and made a shorter one on top of the two clay pots.  I've been having fun "decorating" and organizing.  One day I'd love to paint it white inside.

 A view out of the shed.

 The path garden is starting to fill in.  I'd like to focus on this area this year.  I'm trying to convince my husband to remove the deck, so far he has agreed to taking off the far half.  I would prefer a stone patio and no deck at all.  But I guess he should have some say in how our garden looks.

 At the end of last summer I pulled up a currant bush that looked horrible and moved the Winter Hazel and Bleeding Heart to new places here.  I was wondering how the Winter Hazel would do this spring and it seems to be blooming better than it ever has.

 Winter Hazel (Corylopsis) 'Buttercup' has the most delicate butter yellow flowers.

 The Littlest Gardener is thrilled to see Grape Hyacinths popping up.  This is one flower I allow her to pick all she wants.  We seem to have them coming up everywhere and they look so cute in spring bouquets.

 One of the few Daffodils that returned.  Other than Tete-a-tetes I give up on Daffodils.  They either send up only foliage or the squirrels take them.

So, the spring flower show has begun along with a little bit of warmer temperatures.  I'm really excited to see the changes that seem to happen overnight this time of year.
All words and photos in this post are property of A Gardener in Progress.

It's gonna be great...

So many people around here are talking about how behind their gardens are.  Many of us are still waiting for flowers that normally bloom in March and April and here it is 4 days from the beginning of May.  Someone mentioned that everything will probably be blooming all at once. 
I keep wandering around looking to see what is close to blooming, but it looks like most flowers still need a bit more time.  Right now the Hellebores are finished, daffodils are done and the Camellias are starting to fade.  The violas and pansies seem to be the main source of color aside from a pulmonaria or two.  I've got some tulips finishing up while the next round are getting close to opening. 

The Snowball bush, Abelia and Columbines will probably all be blooming at the same time in this corner.  Maybe even the trilliums will bloom with them.  All were either blooming or had bloomed this time last year.

A new Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) 'Little Lanterns' was just added to the garden above.

Will the Deutzia, roses, iris, lilies and Oriental Poppy all bloom at the same time?  It's beginning to look like it will be that late here.

Columbines, Peonies, Alliums and iris don't normally bloom all at the same time in my garden, but they sure would look pretty all together.

It already is looking pretty, but full of flowers will be even better.  I've moved many plants around since last spring and am looking forward to seeing how they will look in their new spots.

The pear trees are loaded with flowers.  Wouldn't it be great if we had lots of pears this year?  Last year we had 2.

The Lilacs have gotten so tall that I don't think I'll be able to smell them.  They may bloom with the Dogwood tree at the rate they're going.  The Dogwoods were in full bloom this time last year.

Chickadees are still deciding on birdhouses.  This seems very late for them.

They sure seemed interested in this one.  Their babies may be leaving the nest when the Clematis that grows up this post is in bloom.

These tulips were a pretty surprise when I saw them coming up.  I don't remember when I planted them or if they were even here last year, so they're a bit of extra color when there isn't a whole lot of other flowers blooming right now.

When things finally start to bloom, it's gonna be great!  Early spring, late spring and early summer flowers all at once.
Is your garden ahead, behind or right on time? 

All words and photos in this post are property of A Gardener in Progress.

Monthly Garden Bouquet - March.

Last month Noelle from Ramblings from a Desert Garden... came up with what I thought was a really fun idea, creating a monthly bouquet with flowers that are currently blooming in our garden. She has had beautiful bouquets both months so be sure to visit her and see them. While I was choosing flowers to pick I remembered that I have a very hard time cutting flowers from my garden. Every year I vow I will pick more flowers and bring them inside, every year I find that I barely do. I think my reasons are: 1. They live longer outside and 2. I'm not very good at flower arranging. This monthly meme will hopefully help me to start bringing flowers into our home to enjoy more.

Here is my March bouquet. I used a small baby food jar (which are great for little flowers) and decided to put it in the terracotta pot. I've never tried this before, so maybe I'm already overcoming my lack of creativity!

I have lots of Bleeding Hearts (Dicentra spectablilis) blooming, but still could not overcome my not wanting to cut off more than a couple. Am I the only one that has a hard time cutting flowers off a plant?

I love little birds and find them at craft stores often during the Spring. I thought it looked kind of cute by the pot.

Pink Flowering Currant (Ribes sanguineum) are just starting to bloom, so I found one with a few open flowers.

I have Pansies, Muscari, Pulmonaria, Bleeding Hearts, Navelwort and Pink Flowering Currant in the bouquet. Now this bouquet is sitting on my kitchen window sill.

I hope others will join Noelle in this fun meme as flowers begin to bloom in your garden.