A Slow Start to Spring

Mid-May was when the daffodils started to bloom at Oak Hill Lodge this year. The nights were still going down into the 30's and low 40's and the days are only getting up  to the high 40's and low 50's.
My hostas are just tiny fingers protruding from the soil. The soil is still so wet, it is stopping me from doing my much loved edging. You can see the first few blossoms on the magnolia in the background of the fully blooming weeping cherry. The grass is just starting to green up, though "City Folk" have already been mowing. The ground phlox is not yet blooming. I am thankful for the number of spring bulbs that I have planted as without them, the gardens would seem glum. Please, Mother Nature... reward us for our long winter with some heat!!!

A Rainy Spring Made for Lots of Time in the Workshop

In April, we had 22 days out of 30 that were rainy or rain mixed with snow, or just snow. As the thick sheet of ice slowly melted off all the gardens, I was lucky that some melted faster than others. I made a pack to try to keep up with the melting and clean gardens as they thawed. It was a pretty successful strategy though the wetter areas on the far side of the field are yet to let me into them as they are still flooded. Days that the rain was too heavy to go out, we spent the days in Eric's woodshop, creating things for the garden. My birthday was rainy and the pub I wanted to go to in Kennebunkport was not open until the weekend, so we spent the day starting work on this beautiful arbor to replace the one I have thought was just "too wimpy" in the rose garden area. The wood ended up costing us just under $175 and it took us about 2 full days to construct. Can't wait for the PT to season a bit so I can paint the posts!

Next Time Someone Calls You A Pansy...

...remember this picture! These tough little guys withstand being buried in the snow and come back even more brilliant in color. Our late April snow in 2019 completely buried all the pansies I had place in urns about the property... but when the sun reappeared, so did they... unscathed! 

An Icy Winter for 2019

Though there was not much snow this winter, the ice was indeed something to be reckoned with. Our new puppy MacIntosh needed to go out lots and with the early nights and frequent dustings of snow, we wisely kept a pair of boots by the door which were always equipped with grippons. More than once, that strategy saved the day!

Christmas 2018

Another wonderful Christmas! Note the Santa dress that came all the way from China at the cost of less than $12.00! Not sure how that is possible, but it did! Jess found "Dresslily.com" and all we girls ordered different dresses for Allen Family Christmas. The tree this year came from right out back. With my pneumonia, it did not make sense to get as large of a tree as in years past, but it was still about 15' and looked really pretty. Allen Family Christmas was celebrated the weekend after Christmas and was, as always, a cherished day. Real Christmas was celebrated with the McCormacks and they gave Eric and I lots of wonderful memories.

Fall 2018

Winter started early in the fall of 2018... October brought us our first snow. The oak leaves had not even begun to fall and with another snow in early November, raking was a bit of a challenge. We got up what we could with the knowledge that spring would bring a harder clean up than some years. I love how the fall décor looked with a coat of icing on it!

The Hot Summer of 2018

Summer of 2018 was a great one. As our first summer completely retired we started the season travelling to a few public gardens that I had really wanted to see. Winterthur and Longwood were simply amazing and definitely inspired me to step up some more things in my Lodge gardens. I set upon plans to add focal points, follies and to be even more conscious of color combinations in my garden. Katrina and the girls spent the summer with us and more was spent at Blackwater Cove than at Oak Hill as it was a super hot summer, so the water was much enjoyed.