Another "Spring" day.

We've been enjoying the most beautiful weather here lately.  It's been at least in the upper 50's and even made it up and over 60 degrees a couple of times over the last 4 or 5 days.  Of course that meant spending lots of times outside.  I've had a chance to start a project I thought I wouldn't get to until March and am now sore from all the work I've gotten done.  I forgot how achy I get the first couple of times after really getting down and doing work.  Lifting, carrying and digging things outside after not doing much for a few months is tough on my body, but it does help me feel less guilty when my lunch ends up being Doritos or a Snickers bar.

On the far side of the pond the ground had really gotten low.  This whole part of our backyard is on a gentle slope and after months and years of rain the ground starts to wash away.  It made planting anything there difficult because it was lower than the pond edge.

I moved in a few plants from other parts of the garden and a few Primroses and Violas for some instant gratification.

I was walking around my favorite nursery trying to decide how to spend the points I'd earned over the last year and spotted this Hellebore.  It hadn't even been unloaded yet but I knew that's what I wanted to use my points on.  It is Hellebore Winter Jewels 'Cherry Blossom'.  It's not quite all the way opened but I couldn't wait any longer to post a picture.  I added it to the new bed by the pond.

A surprise Snowdrop by the pond.  Did I plant that?  I don't remember doing it.  I love these types of surprises.

I can't wait to see these Crocuses, that I planted last fall, all the way open.  They seemed to have grown overnight!

Crossing my fingers that this will be the year the variegated Rhododendron blooms.  This is it's third year and no blooms so far.  It's a good thing I like it for it's foliage or I'm not sure I would be patient for much longer.

Ribes sanguineum 'King Edward VII' is really putting on new growth.  If you want a flowering currant that grows quickly, this is the one to plant.  It has caught up to my other Pink Flowering Currant in just 2 years.

I found the first Hellebore blooming today!  This was a seedling from a larger plant.  The rest aren't much further away from blooming.

My husband took a couple of days off (a very rare thing) and how lucky that it was at the same time as the nice weather.  We ended up getting compost to mix in the front raise beds.  It looks and smells so good out there.  I LOVE the smell of fresh compost.  Now all I need to do is get some seeds started.

From the looks of the forecast this is probably the last day of our "fake spring" and we'll be going back to our usual cooler and wet weather, but I can always hope for just one more day.

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