Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Daffodil Central

Last November, I dug A-L-O-T of holes to plant 300+ bulbs, and now this March my hard work is being rewarded. Daffodils are such a sunny cheerful flower, and once they bloom, you know Spring has truly arrived. I would like to plant a wider variety of Daffodils for next year, including more whites and ruffled ones, and I am excited to see what this area on my side border will look like in a few more years.

OUTDOORS:
INDOORS:

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Nature Baby

Gardening for children is high on my priority list when I am deciding how to implement my landscape design. Children seem to have a deep intrinsic desire to be outside in nature, and my son is never happier than when he is in The Great Outdoors, running around digging and playing. He loves to touch flowers and move rocks, he points at birds and squirrels and is delighted when I lift him up to grab the budding stems of the Bradford Pear. There is something so precious about watching children lost in free play, and it saddens me to read how so many children have lost this joy of childhood, as nature time has been replaced with screen time. Sitting in front of the T.V. or computer just doesn't cut it when you could be playing under the open sky. My entire parenting philosophy, which included exclusively breastfeeding and cloth-diapering my son, is oriented around Natural Family Living. I want my garden to be my children's playroom, and to teach them that you can have so much fun without fancy gadgets and plastic toys, you can have fun with...a stick.




Monday, March 22, 2010

Spring Awakening

We were greeted with the lovliest weather imaginable to kick off the Spring gardening season, and I spent my entire weekend taking advantage of it by edging and prepping my borders. I sprinkled Columbine seeds around the large Oak tree on the right-side of the deck...



...and I also dug up a patch of grass next to the deck to make way for a salad garden. I planted bunching onions, sugar snap peas, and a lettuce blend to get it started.



The exquisite Pieris Japonica is now completely covered in creamy pearl-like buds (the bees love it)...



...and the Forsythia has become the 2nd shrub in my garden to bloom.



The newly created woodland border, centered with 3 'Forest Pansy' Redbuds and containing multiple shrubs, is underplanted with Daffodils. The early bloomers have already opened, and in a few more weeks this area should be filled with flowers.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Saturday, March 13, 2010

First Signs of Spring

A mere month ago there were several feet of snow on the ground, but recently the days have grown mild and moderate and plenty of plants are beginning to "wake up" from their long slumber. I divided 2 large clumps of daylilies today, and a quick survey of the property turned up daffodils, tulips, irises and peonies sending up shoots, as well as my Pieris Japonicas all set to burst into bloom. Surprisingly, the Camellia shrubs have a couple of flowers that have opened, and I suspect that my Bradford Pear will break out into bloom within the next 2-3 weeks. It's all very exciting, and I'm gearing up for an amazing 2010 Garden Season!



Sunday, March 7, 2010

A Taste of South Africa

I daytripped to Philly on Saturday to catch the Philadelphia International Flower Show, and it was an amazing sight to behold, a 4D experience far more incredible than a 2D picture could capture. The South Africa exhibit featured a plethora of seeds and nature-provided embellishments to stunning effect, and though the whole show was spectacular, this was by far my favorite of all.





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