To Garden, or to Blog About Garden: That is the Question…

That’s easy…  garden, of course.  It feels like ages since I’ve posted anything, but now that we’ve hit a patch of rainy weather here for the past several days, I finally feel like I have some time to sit down and write an update on what I’ve been doing out in my tiny garden.

With the unpredictability of our spring weather this year, I’ve felt all discombobulated with what to plant, and when.  And I’m still feeling insecure about having what I’ve planted grow properly, because now everything is water-logged from all the rain we’ve had.  But all I can do is keep an eye on things out there and hope for the best.

I got all my seeds planted ~ cucumbers, zucchini, beans, and carrots, along with the lettuce seeds and peas I planted earlier.  Which are coming up quite nicely by the way, but I don’t have any photos of them for this post because it’s been raining off and on pretty much ever since I’ve noticed them popping up, and I haven’t really had a good opportunity to take any decent pictures.

I also planted my celery, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, and jalapeno peppers, in addition to all of my herbs.  Might could have waited on the tomatoes a bit longer, but whether the weather is ready or not here I come.  *Fingers crossed*

Also, over the past couple of weeks, I’ve searched far and wide for the same variety of strawberry plant that I fell in love with last year and bought on a whim when I saw its pretty pink blossoms, but alas, it was nowhere to be found. 

However, when I came across this bright little red strawberry pot, I knew it was destined to come home with me…

Although they’ve been around for quite a while, I’ve never grown strawberries in one of these types of pots before, so I really hope they do well.  They were looking quite neglected and scraggly at the store, but seem to have perked up under my tender care, and already have a few blooms and strawberries developing, so they’re off to a good start.

This variety doesn’t have the pretty, pink flowers that my plant had last year, but gosh, look how cheerful and cute this little white blossom is…

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And another thing I find cheerful and cute…

I don’t care what people say about dandelions, I adore them!

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And even though this is also cute…

I don’t adore it feasting upon the seed I put in the new bird feeder I set out…

Although I have to admit, I do admire its mad acrobatic skills. 

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And I am feeling a small bit of mercy toward it too because just yesterday as I was reading in my room, I happened to look out my window and notice a squirrel scurrying up my tree trunk to the hole that is in it, carrying babies!  I grabbed my camera, but I couldn’t catch a shot, it was too quick for me in its mission to get them in there to safety.  In all, I saw it bring three little ones into the hole, so precious to watch.  I love little creatures so much and so it’s hard to be too seriously angry about the raiding of my bird feeder.  But I’m more than just a little concerned about my garden veggies this summer with an entire family of squirrels living in my tree.  It could end up being a nightmare of a battle to keep them away, as I can’t be out there on guard 24/7.

In the end I’m probably going to have to take the bird feeder down.  I had reservations about putting it up in the first place in fear of attracting nearby squirrels, but in seeing all the little birdies flitting about, I just really wanted to put one up so they’d pause for a bit and visit me while I’m out in my garden.  I don’t think squirrels eat thistle seeds so maybe I could leave the bottom section of the feeder up in hopes of the goldfinches stopping by for a quick meal from time to time.

Anyway, here is one shot I did get while the babies were being delivered to the hole in my tree.   If you look closely you can see a baby head peeking out just above/behind the momma’s outstretched arm…

Hi little precious head!  Sooo cute!  But I have bittersweet and mixed emotions about it with my garden being so nearby.  Please leave my veggies alone this summer little squirrels, I don’t want to end up detesting you…

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Okay, so while I’m here and having the chance to “Blog About Garden” let me share some of the photos I’ve taken while I’ve been outside this spring.  It’s been a virtual bloom-fest out there, and in combination with all of the varying shades of fresh, new, spring green going on, it has been a delicious treat for my visual senses!

I wish I could have taken more pictures of all of the freshly sprouted green things I’ve seen popping out all over the place, but all I got was this shot I took one day of the new leaves on the lilac bush.  They were so pretty when I looked up at them against the backdrop of the blue sky.  This photo doesn’t come close to showing just how lovely the color really was.

And here are the lilacs now…

I can’t even begin to describe the amazingly lavish scent filling the air when I took this picture, it was pure and absolute bliss!   Makes me breathe in deeply through my nose just looking at this picture and remembering it.  ♥   Gosh, I love the scent of lilacs!  I really wish they lasted longer…

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Another blooming beauty I’ve been enjoying is the Rhododendron bush I planted for my mom many years ago on the corner of the house.  I’m going to have to share several of the photos I took of its gorgeous, delicate, lavender-pink color when it was at its peak last week…

So lovely!  It’s a bit unfortunate that Rhododendrons don’t have any fragrance to speak of, but if they did I imagine they would smell as beautiful and they look. 

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And lastly, I’m so glad I had the chance to snap some pictures of these few yellow tulips that are left over in the flower bed from a planting many years ago, because the heavy rain has since decimated them.

Tulips are one of those flowers that just seem to symbolize and embody the spirit of spring, and they are an especially refreshing sight in yellow! 

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Ah and spring is such a refreshing time in general, isn’t it?  All the earth comes back to life, urging us to be renewed and come alive along with it.

Spring can be a busy time for gardeners, but the simple beauty, and small wonders of the season are often brief.  May we all pause long enough to soak in and partake in the beauty and new life going on around us.

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✿~Gardening is my therapy~✿

Magnificent Magnolias

While I was out and about running errands the other day, I noticed Magnolias blooming everywhere.  The funny thing is, I’ve lived in Minnesota my entire life and have been gardening for years, but I never realized that they even grew here, I’ve always associated Magnolias with the south for some reason.

Anyway, in seeing that they were in full glorious bloom, I pulled over on a whim and got out of the car to snap a few photos of them.  The weather was a bit drabby that day so the lighting wasn’t the best for taking pictures, but I still think they turned out fairly nice, and I enjoyed myself very much while taking them.  Such a lovely sight on a dreary day, and not only beautiful, but wonderfully fragrant as well!

Most of them that I saw were white, but I found this pretty pink variety while driving along a parkway…

So delicate and lovely!  ♥

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And here are a couple of shots of some of the white ones that I saw.  The pink variety had no scent whatsoever that I could detect, but these white ones were unbelievably fragrant…

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Much like other early springtime bloomers, I have a feeling that Magnolia’s blooming time may be very brief, so I’m really glad I happened to notice them along my busy day, and was able to enjoy some of their beauty while they were doing their thing.  ✿

Knowing now that they grow here, I may have to try and find a sunny spot in the yard to plant one.  Hmm… but pink or white?  Maybe both. 

~Gardening is my therapy~

Pleasures in Planting

I got to go out and plant yesterday!   Gosh, it felt great!  And the weather was lovely too.  ♥

Gonna make this a short one because I’m heading out there again in a little while to have my coffee on the patio and then putz around in my mom’s flower bed a bit.  There’s a high of 78 in the forecast today and I’m eager to get out there and enjoy it, so I’m just gonna share a few pictures.

So, I planted my peas and some lettuce. 

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Here’s my little peas after a good overnight soaking…

getting all tucked in…

and given a drink…

Grow happily little peas, I can’t wait to eat you! 

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 A friend of mine from Alabama sent me a sort of ‘gardener’s care package’ of seeds earlier this spring and one of them was a Mesclun salad mix.  I had already purchased my lettuce seed, so I planted two types of lettuces this year…

such tiny little seeds…

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I was afraid to plant anything else yet since we just had snow last week, but I knew peas and lettuce should be safe.  Ordinarily, around Mother’s Day is the date I typically figure the coast is clear, but with this weird spring weather we’ve been having, all bets are off.

Just planting those two things gave me the gardening fix I’ve so been needing, but wanting to do just a bit more… I also dug up and divided some terribly root-bound iris that I had planted in my mom’s flower bed over 15 years ago…

It was to the point where only one or two of these would actually bloom, but dividing them up should help a great deal. 

I ended up with tons of extra little iris sprouts, and had no idea what to do with them all, so temporarily I just put them into a few random pots that I had laying around until I can figure it out.

I think my sis will be happy to take a few of them off my hands to plant up at her cabin.

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Well that was it as far as what gardening I did, but while I was out there enjoying myself, I also noticed that the Lily of the Valley are sprouting up even more now.  They look like little soldiers all standing at attention…

Soldiers that will smell absolutely freaking amazing!

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And something else that will smell amazing…

LOOK!!  The lilacs have buds!

Ah sooo pretty, I can hardly wait until they start blooming!  ♥

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As I said, it was a lovely day, and I so enjoyed being out there digging around in the dirt.  Like really, you have no idea.

I think it’s safe to say spring has finally arrived in Minnesota!  ☼

~Gardening is my therapy~

Sprinkles of Springtime Snow

Just thought I’d share a few photos I took during the “winter storm” we had the other day.  Thankfully, we didn’t end up getting much snow in my immediate area, only a light sprinkling, but just south of us they got 15 inches!  So insane for the month of May!

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It was actually kinda pretty to be honest, but hopefully we’re done with it now once and for all.  Either way, I drew up my garden plans this morning and intend to go out and plant my peas and some various lettuces tomorrow.  I can’t wait any longer to go out and dig in the dirt…

~Gardening is my therapy~

Mayday, Mayday!

Yes, happy May Day!

~

Meanwhile, in Minnesota…

Mayday, mayday, there’s a winter storm warning in the forecast!

I know, preposterous, but true.  After a nice little patch of some lovely spring weather, the forecasters are telling of yet another winter storm warning for our area.  I just have to laugh.  Hahahahaha!  It’s that, or else I may cry.  Come on, seriously, more snow?

I’m so lost as to what I should be doing in my garden this spring, it’s not even funny.  The date on the calendar is obviously null and void as far as using it as any sort of gardening gauge this year.

During that “nice little patch of lovely spring weather” I noticed that the dirt in my raised garden box had sunken down about a foot from last year, so I aside from being confused by the weather and not knowing when it will be safe to try and plant anything, I figured the first thing I should do is go out and get some more soil.

So I went out to the garden center with my sis to get some, and we saw this sign out in front of the place…

Hahaha!  Are you sure it’s safe?  With this latest forecast, I’m thinking maybe they were perhaps a bit premature in saying that we can come out now.     Ah well, what can ya do?

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 Also while out enjoying that beautiful weather, I took this corny picture of a little hedgehog statue that my mom has hanging on one of the branches of the lilacs.  I thought he was a cute example of us finally “swinging into spring” here, with the little bits of green buds showing in the background, but now I’m not so sure…

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Signs of Life

Guess where I am right now?  Oh… just OUTSIDE!  Hey, this is a big deal, up until just the other day, we’ve been buried under snow here it seems like for freaking ever!  But not anymore, it’s an absolutely gorgeous morning and I’m writing this from the patio.  I’m really distracted at the moment though because  I can hear a Goldfinch singing somewhere close by and I’m trying to see where it is.  I’ve got my camera armed and ready in case it comes this way.  I adore Goldfinches, they’re so bright and cute, and sing such a sweet little melody.  I’m hearing a literal symphony of various bird songs right now actually, and it’s beautiful!  There’s one I can’t identify, so I’ll have to set out on a mission later to find out what kind of bird it is.  I’ve been an avid bird watcher for many years so it’s surprising and interesting to me that I come across one near my own backyard that I don’t recognize the song of.

I can also hear my kitty singing a sad lament just inside the back door.  She’s used to me having my morning coffee and writing in my room where she can be near me.  Poor thing sounds really distressed.  With no claws, she’s strictly an indoor cat, but I do have a little leash that I could put on her so she could come out here with me some mornings.  I’ll have to look into that for the future, it’s hard to concentrate with her in there crying.

Look at this cute picture I took of her the other day.  She looked so adorable laying there napping, I just had to take her picture.  But I accidentally woke her.  Oops. 

Imagine this sweet little creature crying by the door and you’d have a hard time concentrating too.  She’s sooo cute.  ♥

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Okay, so now if I can get passed all of these distractions.

Wait, just one more, my coffee cup is empty…

Yesterday morning I came outside to have my coffee as well and it was so wonderful.  Of course, first I had to drag one of the big heavy wrought iron patio chairs out of storage from the garage so I’d have somewhere to sit, but after that I just sat out here and relished being outdoors after being cooped up inside for so many months.  I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m so very thankful for my five senses, every one of them is in complete overdrive right now and I’m loving it!

After I’d finished my coffee I set out on an adventure to investigate for signs of life around here.  I mean in the way of the green and growing things.  It’s really something how much a person can miss the color green.  My gardeners heart has been longing for it for quite some time now, and it’s such a relief to finally find some.

This may not look like much of a big deal to anyone else, but it is to me.  Look… GREEN GRASS!

Yes, I took a picture of it, and I’m sure I looked pretty silly crawling around on the ground doing so too.    I know I may sound a bit overly excited (about grass, of all things), but maybe if we approached more of these simple things in life with more of a sense of wonder, we just might find ourselves being happier people.  I know it’s that way for me.

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I also found a few other little ‘lifes’ poking out from the ground.

Such as these Lily of the Valley that my Grandma planted next to this house over 70 years ago…

These too, may not look like much right now, and they were so small it was hard to photograph them, but once they fill in, they’ll completely smother one half of the side of the house, and omygosh it’s so gorgeous!

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Lily of the Valley have always been one of my favorite flowers, with their delicate little white bells and their amazing fragrance, but these particular ones are even more precious to me because my Grandma planted them.  I never knew her, she died when I was just a few months old, but a part of her still remains in these lovely flowers she planted all those years ago.  I’m sure she never imagined that her Granddaughter and even her Great Granddaughter (my Daughter) would be here in the future enjoying them.  ♥

Just goes to show… we never know all the ways in which our lives may touch future generations, do we?   We can only hope to leave something beautiful behind…

I never knew when I put in the flower bed here for my Mom on a Mother’s Day over 15 years ago that I would be back living here one day and enjoying it as my own right along with her.  As I sat here yesterday I was acutely aware of that fact.  It’s quite an amazing thing to be able to look back and see how certain things we did in the past can become a part of our future.  The “seeds” we sow and the things we “plant” as we go along our way in life truly are important in the grand scheme of it all.

Sounds like maybe some of the “Signs of Life” I discovered yesterday were more than just the green and growing things I found ay?  I like when that happens. 

One of the other green things I found coming back to life were the Sedum that I planted for my mom in that flower bed all those years ago.  They too were still so tiny that I had a hard time getting a decent picture, but I bet with the gorgeous weather this weekend they’ll be shooting up much more here really soon.

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And I also found some random bulbs that I don’t remember what they are sprouting up, it’ll be a fun surprise to find out.

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Well, with my coffee now drained, I find my laptop battery is too, so I guess that’s all for now.  It’s really amazing what nice weather can do to lift ones spirits and it’s so wonderful to see all these signs of life around me.

I’m excited to be able to start planting soon.

~Gardening is my therapy~

Wintry Spring Morning

I woke up this morning blinded by the light that was coming in through my windows.  My bedroom windows face east so as the sun comes up, its light shines in.  But this sunrise was different.  We had yet another winter storm here late yesterday.  It’s become funny to me now, it’s just so ridiculous to be having this much snow in April.  When the first one hit I was really disappointed because I’m so very anxious to get out in my garden, but now… several winter storms later…

“I throw my hands up in the air sometimes saying ayo, gotta let go.” 

And this morning… even with as badly as I want it to be spring, there was simply no denying how absolutely beautiful the snow was.  Especially against the pastel blue of the morning sky.  Ah so very pretty!   ♥   And the reason the light coming in was so blinding was because the branches of the tree outside my window were sparkling!  It had snowed, but we also had some freezing rain so the branches were a combination of snow and ice, and they were glistening in the sunlight!  It almost looked like special effects, it was really quite magical!

I wish I could have taken a photo of the beautiful sight of it all, but not only would my camera never have done it justice, but I also woke up this morning with an upset stomach and wasn’t feeling up for doing much, so I just laid there and enjoyed gazing at it until I felt well enough to get up.

Once I was feeling a little better, I did try and take a few photos, but the lighting was quite a bit different by then, so it’s not anywhere near the same as what I woke up to.  Still kinda pretty though…

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I also took some pictures of the little birdies trying to get breakfast at my suet feeder.  You can tell this pair of sparrows were looking at it trying to figure it out…

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I think the birds are a bit hard-up for food with all this snow because I even saw a male cardinal trying to eat from it, and they don’t typically feed at suet feeders.  I didn’t catch a picture of him though.

But a while later I did happen to get a picture of a woodpecker that stopped by.  He checked out my suet feeder, but quickly realized he was a bit too large for it.  He was very striking looking and this photo doesn’t do him justice, but I was lucky to catch a shot of him at all because he only stopped by for a few brief moments.

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As I write this, much of the snow from the morning has already melted, and I heard the temps this weekend could reach the 70′s.  So maybe this will finally be the last we’ll see of winter.  Gosh, I sure the heck hope so!  But it was really lovely this morning…

EDIT:  I recently discovered that the bird in the above photo is not a woodpecker, but is actually a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.