Garden Friday

 It's Garden Friday, y'all!

Spring is jumpin' and poppin'!

Let's take a look at what's going on in the garden.

 The straw bales have been planted, along with some containers.

We transplanted some kale (pictured) and green beans directly into the bales.

Seeds were sown for beets, broccoli, carrots, kale, lettuces, and snap peas right in the bales.

We haven't had much rain, so I've been using the soaker hose every day.

There are a few lettuce varieties coming up in the pots since sowing last Friday.

 On the deck, the seedling trays continue to grow,

especially after soaking them in a slurry of Mighty Grow and water.

These will be transplanted to containers when they get a bit more size on them.

It seems like everything is just ready to take off!

 A few things have popped up out of the ground in the past couple of weeks.

This clematis came right back all on its own.

It is being trained up the deck steps

and I'm hoping it will cover the entire railing posts.

This is a new plant for me, but one I've secretly admired,

so it's thrilling to have it doing its thing without a bit of help from me!

 These sweet violas were picked up at Piedmont Hardware in Maiden.

They called my name when I was walking past

and I just couldn't leave them there.

They will be installed in the next few days.

If you've never visited this historic hardware store, I highly recommend you do.

The folks there are so friendly and happy to help you get your projects done.

 This area of our property is outta control.

The loropetalum is huge and in need of a serious pruning,

but until I learn more about it, I don't dare touch it.

The azaleas in front of it are a mess,

but since they are now blooming and budding, 

any tidying up will have to wait.

This grouping of plants is sitting smack-dab on top of our septic tank.

I'm not sure what the previous owners were thinking...

I can't say the azaleas are my favorite flowers,

 but they do add a wealth of vibrant color to the garden.

They might be more appealing to me

if their placement were changed.

They just don't seem to fit the current space appropriately.

 We also have quite a variety of shades of tulips on the property.

Everything from this brilliant orange, to pink, yellow,

and this delicate white tulip laced in purple.

It's so amazing to see the degrees of beauty that surrounds us.

 I found out that this ground cover we have out front is phlox.

While it is a sight to behold,

I do prefer the more blu-ish shade.

In fact, my next door neighbor has some,

and I just may be bold enough to ask her for some.

There are still daffs coming up in tones of white, yellow

and a few others with a mix of the two.

The apple tree is blooming and although I'm not getting my hopes up 

about being able to pick any for our use,

I plan to leave it in place in case the deer wish to partake.

The gentleman we bought the house from

told us that the apples and peaches grown on the property were sickly

and I don't think any care was taken to improve the conditions of the trees.

After learning about how difficult apple, peach and pear trees are to grow here,

I don't foresee us acquiring any in the future.

Not sure (actually don't have a clue) what this beauty is,

but the flowers are gorgeous!

My smeller doesn't work well,

so it's hard for me to get clues about flowering plants by the scent.

It's a keeper, so I'll have to pay attention to getting it pruned

so that it stays healthy while I work on identifying it.

 

 This path connects the front lawn to the side gardening area.

The mammoth bush on the left will most likely be taken out,

although I do feel badly as the birds take cover there.

It's just too big and directly shades the bathroom window.

I was thinking of turning this lil' corner into an herb garden

with some lemon grass in the back and smaller plants in the front.

The loropetalum sits on the right side and will remain there.

I'd like to create an archway here and start training

a vine over the top.

Something fragrant would be wonderful.

Any suggestions?

Blossoms are bountiful right now

and I can only imagine that as it warms up,

the magic will become absolutely undeniable.

Has spring made Her entrance where you live?