Spring Has Finally Arrived

What a joy it is to see my gardens starting to bloom. It is a virtual treat for my eyes, but my body is screaming! Cleaning and grooming all the beds will be tougher this year, but it is wonderful to feel the dirt in my fingers, and see blossoms starting to emerge on my favorite tree. The "sticks" of my lavender plants are still bare, but little green shoots are beginning to poke out and test the air around them. You can smell lavender when working around the plants and that too makes me happy!

In the back the daffodils are beginning to wilt, but the signs of coral bells, hosta, bleeding heart and the asters are loving the new found spring warmth and have decided to begin poking out from the grounds. Just as exciting is the expanding area of Lilly of the Valley. I started with just a few "pop them in here" shoots and now they are beginning to naturalize. It is still hit or miss, but I am going to let them do what they want! I love the very back of the gardens as it is my little woodland space. Hard to find woods in the city, so the area under my large Maple will have to serve as such. It works. This year I want to finally get my Adirondack chair and stool so I can sit out back and enjoy the solitude with either a book or some applique.

Just as wonderful is that we have new neighbors behind us now. I met Margaritte yesterday as she worked at scraping the remaining vines off the side of the house. This house has always served as a rental to college students and although they were never noisy, the house and the small grounds around it were less than attractive. To my delight, Margaritte told me she'd be living in the upstairs unit, and the male of the family worked hard replacing a cement walk to the back door, cleaning the years of overgrowth and weeds along the fence line and alley way!! It will be a pleasure to have someone to talk over the fence to! I'm looking forward to that.

But first, more bed cleaning. Just a bit more, anyway! And the wicker furniture needs a good bath, and the wrought iron for the deck could use a good cleaning as well. Perhaps by this weekend I'll be ready for coffee on the porch, or the deck! I can't wait!!