Back in the garden......
I feel like I've been in hibernation for a long time. Actually, it has been a long time since I was in my garden, since last October--almost six months away from it. I started working in the garden about two weeks ago, since the sun was warm and the days were mild. It's gotten a bit chillier again, but we are moving toward a nice spring. I sowed out all my vegetable seeds about ten days ago in the greenhouse, and they are starting to sprout. So we're on our way toward a mid-May planting.
Before garden season ended last year, I planted a lot of bulbs--crocuses, hyacinths, and allium among them. The crocuses bloomed almost two weeks ago already (see photos), whereas the hyacinths and allium have not, but they're on their way. My daffodils are blooming (see photo), and my tulips are starting to come up, as are my grape hyacinth plants (Muscari armeniacum). Next autumn I'll plant even more of all of these types of flowers.
I spent five hours in the garden this past Saturday. I love being there. There's always plenty to do, and I accomplished all the tasks I had planned for that day--cleaning the strawberry patches, transplanting some of my perennials, and planting pansies, as well as raking up more leaves for the compost bin. I also spent some time trimming some of the berry bushes, and taking dead leaves off the rose bushes. The little birds are back, happily chirping in the tree near the entrance to the garden and splashing in the bird bath, and the bumblebees are also out, buzzing about the daffodils and pansies. All is well with the world.
