Coming Up Roses

The roses are blooming! I was a little worried because we moved them all from the back yard to the front this spring, but we have flowers on two plants, buds on a third, and the remaining three all have new growth.

And, that's not all...

Irises...

tomatoes...

Marigolds are on the way. There are also carrot sprouts this morning, but too small to photograph yet. And the luttuce is doing well also!

And as always, Scout guards the home where it all grows. 

Finally Flowers

   We've been working around the yard again. Come see what we've done...

Jeff's green peppers are coming up in the raised bed.  We also have marigolds coming up around the outside edge, but they were too small to photograph, so you'll have to take my word for  it for now.

He also installed the second lettuce gutter today. You can see the first batch of lettuce top right, and if you look carefully, the second batch peeking over the top center.  the third batch will get planted next week so we'll have lettuce all summer long.

I bought a bunch of colorful plastic tubs ($2 each at Dollar General) that I planned to fill with the flowers I started last month.

   But once I'd transplanted most of the shoots, I realized there just weren't going to be enough.
   So I broke down, went to the Home Depot and bought a bunch more flowers.

Evan really seems to like the petunias in the window box. 

Can you see Scout sticking his nose between the fence slats ?

The roses and irises are getting ready to bloom too.

And the berry bushes are getting blossoms, too. I hope we get enough berries for a pie this year!

Don't forget to go check out the banana tree...

Rainy Days

  It's been raining all day today which has precluded any work outside - including watering!! So, I decided to take the opportunity to plant hang the new painting in my dining room. 

After the Chance of Frost

Tax day is past, which means the chance of frost in Southern Illinois is also. The time has come to start moving the seedlings outdoors, planting the items that do not get started indoors, and generally preparing for summer.

Can you see the "lettuce gutter" on the fence?  We'll add another one soon. And, behind the fence are the cherry blossom, dogwood, and persimmon trees.

I really like this persimmon tree most of the year. It is tall and shapely.  However, in the fall when the fruits ripen it is a nasty sticky mess. Every year I threaten to have it chopped down as I scrape fallen persimmons off my shoes.

Jeff built a raised bed for herbs and veggies next to the house.

He planted marigold seeds around the edges to help keep pests away.

His tomato plants are coming right along too.

The current batches of indoor seedlings are about ready for hardening off.

The berry bushes are getting tall and leafy, but no blossoms yet.

Ranger and Scout have been busy helping in the yard.

The irises finally are getting buds.

A rhubarb has sprouted in the middle of a patch of day lillies. Jeff likes to cook with it so it'll stay.

I moved the spider plant back out to the porch today. It spent the winter hanging from the bedroom ceiling, but it is now in its summer home.

We hung the hummingbird feeders today! We can't wait to see the first ones.

Jeff has a feeder outside the kitchen window, and we hung a second one outside the screened porch for Evan.

April 14, 2012

   Two days of nonstop rain have left us without much to much to do outside. I did start another batch of lettuce seeds, and before the rain started, Jeff mowed the lawn. 
  Jeff has also decided to install raised beds on the side of the house. We made a hardware store run for some lumber with which to construct one.  Once we've tried it out, we may install more.
  While at the store we also got another "lettuce gutter".  Jeff will install it on the fence once things dry up a bit.  I'll get photos of both raised bed and gutter as soon as  I can.

Easter Week

      A lot of the fast moving excitement of early spring is past now. Trees are greening up nicely. Early spring flowers are blown. I don't have a lot of late spring flowers, but most of them are not yet ready to bloom. I've taken some shots of the yard to share, though.

We did some mulching. You can see some additional bags of it on the porch.

There are a few flowers around: some daffodils on the side of the house, and the roses are budding.

And, of course we have new seedlings, flowers, vegetables and herbs!