Tuesday, August 9, 2011

I'm No Bleeding Heart



...but I must say, the color of this wonderful trumpeter of spring is amazing in the early morning light as my hosta start opening their leaves around it. By the time it is her time to wither, Blue Angel and August Moon will have their time to show off their spectacular shades of green.

The Daffodils Bloom Just In Time



Easter is just around the corner and the daffodils and forsythia are just beginning to open. How exciting! We will celebrate Easter at the Lodge, with at least some of the clan and I am so thrilled that Mother Nature is cooperating, rewarding Eric and I for all the daffodils we placed in her ground last fall. It is rather like a "daffodil savings account" minus what the chipmunks and voles may find.... every year we add at least a couple hundred more bulbs and the ones that were already planted multiply (the interest) so that each year the show they put on is more and more spectacular!

Spring at the Lodge-2011



Ahh, the smell of mud, the blooming of the daffodils...that last patch of icy snow on the far side of the field where the shadows of the pines let it survive far beyond the temperature readings should allow. Ever so slowly, the hostas send up their pointy shoots, promising the large leaves July and August will bring. A wonderful time of year, full of life, full of surprises, full of GREEN! There is much work to be done. Branches to clean up from the winter's storms, or that need pruning as the weight of the snow has trained them to lower the canopy we work hard to maintain over the hosta bed. There is fertilizing to be done, edging the plant beds, and lots of fine tune cleaning between the emerging perennials. Of course, there are also the obligatory visits to my favorite nurseries and to Fedco's Tree Sale as well as the frequent arrivals of mail order boxes of harder to find delights to add to my gardens. Ahhh, spring....