Blooming "bones".

One thing I've learned from gardening is that getting the "bones" of the garden planted first is important. The bones of the garden are usually trees and shrubs, but can be things such as arbors or trellises, that add structure and height and often provide a backdrop for the flowers and foliage to shine against. I remember reading this advice many years ago, but because I'm rather impulsive I had a very hard time following it. I wanted instant gratification so I kept planting flowers. As time went by I started realizing something was missing, it just never looked right. It was the "bones" that were missing, they did matter and I needed to try to go back and fix that. Trying to go back and add them is not very easy, and so whenever I talk to someone that is just starting out with their yard I try to stress how important it is. I've done a pretty good job now, especially in my front yard, to add mostly shrubs that will eventually reach enough height to provide some year round interest and most importantly to let the perennials planted in front of them a background to show off in front of.
Since I'm really a flower lover most of the bones of my garden also put on their own show of flowers, many of them Spring bloomers, which works out perfectly since the taller perennials won't be blooming for quite some time. Now I have flowers that are blooming up higher as well as the Spring blooms that seem to mostly be shorter plants.
Here are a few of the blooming "bones" of the garden now:

Mexican Orange (Choysia ternata) is an evergreen shrub that handles our cold winters pretty well. The fresh white flowers do have a bit of a citrusy scent. Some people find the smell of the leaves not very good, but I've never been bothered by it.

This little Deutzia 'Pink Minor' has been shown a couple of times lately, but I just had to show the flowers up close. They almost look like they are made of wax. Once the flowers fade it will fade into the background, but now it's loaded with flowers in an area that not much else is blooming yet.

Weigela 'Minuet' will stay on the small side. Hummingbirds love the flowers. Once it finishes blooming the Peony and roses nearby will take over.

Weigela 'Shining Sensation' was planted mostly for the wine colored foliage, but I do love the red flowers too. I'm hoping this will fill up a space in front of our back fence and plan to add perennials in front of it.

Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) 'Ludwig Spaeth' is part of the summer background for the butterfly garden once it finishes blooming.

Deutzia 'Chardonnay Pearls' is another one that was chosen not only for it's flowers, but for the foliage color.

Most of these shrubs haven't reached their full size yet, but eventually many of them should help add more structure in the garden, as well as making the garden easier to care for since none require any pruning. What are some of your favorite "blooming bones" in your garden?

Fertilizer Friday the day after Bloom day.

You know it's Spring when the day after Bloom day you still have more flowers to share for Fertilizer Friday. I only wish that the camera could show the feeling that walking around the garden gives me. The way certain flowers or parts of the garden make me feel when I look at them is something I'm sure only other gardeners know. There is just so much promise in the garden right now. The other night I was surprised to hear my husband say, "I think this will be our garden's best year." I know he appreciates the work I do to make it look pretty, but actually doing the gardening is definitely not one of his favorite things to do. There wasn't even a sense of worry in his voice that I may have another great idea that involves him. I wonder if living with a gardener for so many years has really begun to rub off on him. Maybe he just likes that I'm in a really good mood when I get to have my garden therapy. Either way I agree with him, I think this could be our garden's best year.

This is one of the parts of the garden that though it may not look organized, it feels "right" to me. I love the messy growth under the tree right now. So much new coming up, while things like Muscari are just finishing. I'm definitely not a formal or organized gardener. To me there's something homey or cozy about a little bit of a mess. Inside the house is another story. I like it cleaned and organized there, outside I can just let go of that part of myself.

Another Columbine (Aquilegia) blooming.

Deutizia 'Chardonnay Pearls' just starting to pop open. Tina is yours further along?

Deutzia 'Pink Minor' only gets 2 - 2 1/2 feet tall.

The Apple tree is blooming kind of sporadically this year, it'll be interesting to see how many apples we get. I know it's fairly common for them to have better years than others.

Spanish Bluebells

Daffodils 'Sempre Avanti' blooming at the front of the butterfly garden.

Visit Tootsie at Tootsie Time to join in or see who else is "flaunting their flowers."

The Pond in March.

The pond is beginning to show some more signs of Spring now. The waterlilies are sending up some new pads and the miniature cattails are sending up a few green shoots as well. I haven't seen any signs of life from the Pickerel Weed yet, hopefully it's coming back. There have been no recent visits from the Heron, but we did see a raccoon at the pond a few weeks ago. It was in no hurry to leave when it realized I was standing on the deck. Many people around our neighborhood have noticed an increase in raccoons during the day and a couple of my friends have them nesting in trees by their yards. Hopefully they won't be hanging out at the pond too often.

I love how the neighbors Forsythia provides a nice bright backdrop. The birds like to sit in that shrub between visits to the bird feeders. After cleaning out the bird house behind the pond with the bees nest in it, no birds have moved in as of yet. This would only be the second year in about 10 years that no Chickadees have nested there. Hopefully a pair will still move in. I have been watching a pair of Spotted Towhees that I think must have a nest somewhere in the yard or right over the fence.

Deutzia 'Chardonnay Pearls' is covered in the pearl like flower buds.

A strange looking tulip bud right behind the pond. Many of the tulips from this bag have had mushy brown flower buds and this flower is looking a bit deformed as well. I've never had this happen and the rest of the tulips in the yard look fine. Very strange.

Just for fun I took a short video of the pond. I tried to zoom in on a little orange goldfish that was nibbling algae. In the background you might be able to hear the Littlest Gardener singing while she was running around.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! May you find lots of new Spring growth in your gardens today!

The Pond in February.

The pond and the garden around it has been showing a lot of new growth over the past couple of weeks. Our weather was sunny and mild today so I got out early to clean around the pond a bit. The surviving fish were up near the top and swimming around the edges looking for bugs that may have fallen in.

The sun was shining for most of the day, making the pond look more like a day in spring than winter. I made a lot of changes in the flower bed along the old fence last fall. I'm anxious to see how it looks in a few months. I even moved smallish Dogwood (which is to the left of where the picture ends) and the buds on it appear healthy so far.

On the other side of the pond by the birdbath you can see how big the White Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis) is. The shrubs near it are all starting to leaf out. Luckily the apple tree is not starting early, it seems to know that it's still February unlike the rest of the yard.

The glass pond float from the Garden show. The water is green and cloudy from being stirred up while I was scooping leaves out earlier in the day.

The Hostas along the back edge of the pond are all starting to come up through the ground.

Deutzia 'Chardonnay Pearls' was moved to this spot behind the pond in the fall. It's covered in flower buds already.

Lots of birds have been at the pond and the trees around it. This Spotted Towhee has been around a lot lately.

American Robins have been in both our front and backyard in small flocks. The ground is so wet from all the rain that the worms are all up near the surface.

This spring the pond will be needing a major clean out, something I put off from last spring. Once that is done and the water is a bit warmer we'll be looking for a few new fish to add to the pond.