Yard Cleanup

Rhubarb
Thanks to the guys from Springdale Lawn Care, lots of little sprouts are now visible. Oh, and yet another golf ball. Six years I've been working in this yard, planting stuff everywhere, and still every spring, I find more golf balls. I do not play golf. I do not have friends or family members who practice in my yard. Not complaining, mind you, it is just weird.


Peony
Sedum and golf ball
Horseradish
Daffodils
Forsythia
Columbine

Crocuses!

Spring has sprung! And not a moment too soon ;) The crocuses are smiling in the sun, and the daffodils are not too far behind...

March

I am always glad to see February in the rear view mirror. March came in like a lamb after February's lion-like exit. How do those 28 little days feel like two months year after year. Hopefully a few days of drying out before the spring rains begin in ernest. My poor yard.

Meanwhile, signs of hope and rebirth all around!

Tiffani Thiessen on Gardens

Check out Tiffani Thiessen's comments on what makes a great garden and a great character.

60 Degrees

Spent the last couple hours setting up the watermelon bed and dragging sticks to the curb. I am grimy and worn out! But, how can you not get out in the SUN in the dead of February, even if it means yard work?


I do hope these pictures of the stick pile portray how big a mess there was in the yard. Giant limbs that had to be dragged in the foreground, oodles of smaller branches and twigs to the back.









I know this looks like a grave, but it really isn't. Really. It is a layered future planting bed: Cardboard on the bottom, then newspaper, then composted manure, then ground up clippings from last year, then peat humus, then mulch. Phew. By mid-May it should be all rotted together into a nice pile of nutritious earth for my watermelons and zucchini. Yay! Would have been a lot easier if it weren't so windy!




Meanwhile, the bulbs are doing fine today after I pulled a foot or so of oak leaves off of them last night. Mostly daffodils, I think. And a lone snow drop. So far.

Can't Resist

Once the seeds go on sale, it is like a magnet, I cannot help but buy some. Yes, some. I have a coupon for Delhi F&G, so I may get more over the weekend...

Meanwhile, I bought some manure, humus, and mulch to prep a new bed for the watermelons and zucchini, pumped up the tires in the garden cart, and cleared most of the leaves off of the tiny strip between the driveway and the west fence. Bulbs are popping up, so I think I got the leaves off just in time. Pix too follow, it was dark by the time I finished.

I Don't Think It's Over...

The snow is almost gone. For now.





And here come the spring bulbs.
















Meanwhile, LOTS of clean up to do in the yard. Feel free to stop by and help...

Amaryllis Progression

January 18th through February 1st.

Return of the Amaryllis

The second stem's bud is starting to open! It doesn't seem to want to stand up, but otherwise looks healthy :)

Frozen Gnome

Guess he waited too long to order his plane tickets south! At least he isn't completely buried like he would be in lots of other places these days...

Winter Quiet

The outdoor Christmas lights are put away, a light layer of snow covers the yard, and the barrage of 2011 garden catalogues blankets the living room ;)

All Buds

All four buds on the amaryllis are now open!




















Guess I'll try to keep it for next year, too--Amaryllis.com says I can ;)

Blooming!

Friday evening.





Christmas Day in the morning.

















Sunday.



Monday evening.

Amaryllis on the Way

From Thursday evening and Friday morning...

Winter Interest

The yard is covered in a blanket of snow. Nice after a summer and fall of serious drought. So, not much going on outside except for the birds scarfing down as much seed as I put out for them and the new neighbors' new boxer who apparently loves the sound of his own barking quite a lot.


Meanwhile, indoors, the folks gave me an amaryllis. They gave it to me Sunday instead of waiting for Christmas Day, as it seems poised to open at any moment. Check out the progress so far: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday morning and evening, and this afternoon.

Fall Color

This is why every yard should have a sweetgum tree! Somehow a photograph never seems to capture the true colors in my yard, but these come pretty close. I know a lot of people hate the not-so-sweet prickly seed balls that drop from the sweetgum tree, but they are a small price to pay. Of course, mine are not near the sidewalk or driveway, so I don't have to sweep them up!


Learn more about sweetgum trees from the Florida 4-H site and the Arbor Day Foundation.