Sunday, May 8, 2022

Spring is Here!

 


Greetings everyone! After a long hiatus of nearly a year, I thought I'd come back to post a few updates about what's been going on in our gardens. 

It's been an unusually cool, wet spring this year. While it seemed it might warm up in March, most of April was rainy and cold. Farmers will plant their fields very late this season because the soil has remained very cold until this week.

Here are a few pictures of what's blooming in our gardens:


Our forsythia is blooming exceptionally well this year. We let a nearby farmer put a few sheep in our pasture for a few months every year -- which is nice, because we don't need to take care of them and we still get to enjoy the pastoral look of them for a while each year.


I planted more tulips in this bed last fall and they look pretty cheerful this spring.



These flowering cherry and magnolia trees were looking very pretty the other day.


As were the crabapples near the pond garden.


The Evergreen Border behind my house is looking very colorful.


And here's a closeup of it, in its weedy glory.


The Herb Garden boxwoods are beginning to grow in, after cutting down every other one last spring. I think I may cut the rest down short to let them fill in, as many of them have leaves only on the ends of the branches.


And here's a big change we're making: removing the back part of the white picket fence that surrounds our front and side yard. We removed the fence sections to see how it might look, and will remove the posts and gate once we decide with certainty. I think I like the openness.



And it will allow us to make an opening directly into the Herb Garden from closer to our house (I'll remove a couple of the boxwoods to the right of the short white post at center). We'll leave the fence around the patio and the rest of the yard, which you can see the start of at the far right.



We're happy that spring has finally arrived here -- for a few days anyway, as it's supposed to be almost 90°F for three hot windy days this week, and many of these flowers will burn off and blow away. 

But that's Iowa: we get to enjoy all the spring flowers compressed into one week-long "springtime." Then it's "Hello Summer!" But it will warm up the soil finally, and the farmers can get going.

Hope you are enjoying a slightly longer springtime in your own gardens. Thanks for reading! -Beth





8 comments:

  1. It all looks so lovely, Beth. Spring is so unpredictable. Here in the Northeast, we can have snow one day, and eighty degrees two days later. This spring has been cool and wet for the most part, so at least the daffodils are getting a good long run. Is that Basket of Gold alysum in the last picture? So sunny!

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    1. Hi Kimberley, Thanks so much for stopping by -- I'm sure you have you own share of unpredictable spring weather in the Northeast. Yes, that's Basket of Gold in the last picture. Boy, they're bright, aren't they? :-) Thanks! -Beth

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  2. Welcome back, Beth. It's so good to see your lovely garden again. 'Weedy glory' applies to my garden right now, but at least we have a brief spell of dry weather so I've made a good start with the weeding and composting. I think I like the openness without the fence. I look forward to seeing what you decide. P.x

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    1. Thanks for reading, Pam - I'm glad to read that you think the fence removal is a good choice. Good luck with all the spring work, now that the weather is cooperating, and enjoy the beautiful spring days. Best, -Beth

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  3. Welcome back! The caption "in its weedy glory" felt very close to home with our gardens, too. I am looking forward to school getting out and having time to clean things up!

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    1. Thanks for visiting, Brother Placidus. I hope you are enjoying some time in your gardens this spring. Best Regards, -Beth

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  4. Hellooooooo!!! It's so nice to see a post from you again.
    I think you'd make the right call taking out the fence. It cut off the herb garden from everything else, at least from this view. I like the impression of a landscape that goes for miles. That will get interrupted soon enough as the corn grows. Look at how popular those infinity(?) pools are that look like they have no end.
    Weedy glory doesn't begin to describe what I'm facing. I'll refrain from using the the words that pop into my head when I look at what's ahead of me. I'm soooo far behind in cleanup and weeding this year :-/

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    1. Hi Gail, Thanks for visiting -- I'm so glad you think it's better with the fence removed. I think we'll go ahead and remove the posts. I appreciate your opinion. Good luck with the weeds! -Beth

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