...and then there were three

 It's getting warmer and things are popping outside!

Even though the only thing I've done in the garden is plant my anemones, ranuculus, and some poppies, everything is moving forward without my help.  It's gratifying to see the beds fill in with perennials.

There are weeds, too...quite a bit of them.  I'm going to have to tackle them at 15 minutes a day, every single day, to try to keep them in check.  I mean, starting today.  ;)  

Finally, I've gotten to start picking bouquets again!

It's not just outside where new things are sprouting up.  We've got a couple of new additions!

After the absolutely abysmal Tabitha cat introductions last year, I was determined to have a positive change this year.  After some research, I discovered that TWO kittens are best for an adult cat, because they'll play with each other, for the most part, instead of harassing the adult.  The adult is less threatened, too.  So, we talked about it and started looking around to see if there were any bonded pairs available.    Oddly enough, there's a bit of a kitten shortage here!  But I managed to find these two boys.

They're ten weeks old and both as sweet as can be, although slightly feral when they came to us - they'd been living on the streets for their first eight weeks!  I did not enjoy Tabitha's somewhat spicy kittenhood, but these two are full of purrs and cuddles.  We're still working on names (discards:  Orzo and Enzo, Lothar and Linus, Falk and Fisper, Klaus and Canute, Arno and Alistair), although we're leaning toward Arno (pronounced ar-NO) and Klaus.  We've got a ratty-carpeted spare room for them to romp in and kitten beds, towers, and toys.  Our hands are pretty full right now but we are loving watching these two play!💗💘  More updates soon!

Have a great week!

horsin' around

It's nesting season!  This female red-winged blackbird hovered anxiously as I strolled around the front pond.

The males were preening and posturing.  I'm seeing a lot of fanned tails and flashes of red these days!

A pair of wood ducks visited the pond this morning, too.  I love how beautiful they are!

Springtime robins...

...nuthatches...

grackles...

...and my favorite, the eastern towhee...

...are congregating.  Hooray!  Trees are leafing out nicely...

...and we're all feeling good with the warmer weather.

Every time I can get away, I'm in the garden. I just completed an unplanned project.  A friend gave me a handful of sedum last year.  Sedum is amazing.  Sun, shade, dry, wet...sedum doesn't care.  It will grow and spread like crazy, and it's easy to pull it out by the handful if it's crowding another plant.  I planted patches of it all over the garden last year and love the way it looks.

I thinned it out, but hated to throw away the viable plants.  I decided to use them to line the walking path in the new garden.  Sedum is so easy that it doesn't need any special care to root.  Cover the tip in soil and it will quickly generate roots.

It looks pretty rough now, but it will be a lovely thick green carpet next year!  I also dug  up some of these mystery plants that I am nearly certain are obedient plants.  They have a wicked runner system for roots.

I replanted them in the two new side gardens.

I guess we'll see what comes up in 6 - 8 weeks!

It's been chilly, but it's finally getting warmer, and there's a lot of beauty around here to enjoy.  We've had amazing sunrises...

...happy birthdays...

...and daily horse visitors.

Throw in the occasional groundhog, and it's been a pretty good season!

Even the cats are getting into the feel-good days of spring.

Have a nice week! 

sprouts 'n shouts

Happiness is...

...my spring garden.  I will admit to being a little flower-crazy over this past week.  I've fussed over my greenhouse seedlings (germination 75%!  Hooray!!).  I've micromanaged the new growth in the front garden, splitting up clumps of ferns and spacing out my columbines.  I've mercilessly weeded.  I've worried over a dry spell and grumbled over low nighttime temperatures.  In short, it's been heavenly.

Only a gardener would understand as I bend over some mysterious green growth, puzzling over its identity.  "Is this a weed, or did I plant this?!?"  I ask Todd.  He smiles and nods. 

He doesn't understand my euphoria over sturdy peony shoots.  "These were flattened by the drought last year!"  I inform him.  "Absolutely dead!"  I show him my coreopsis.  "These can be divided next year."  I gloat.  "And wait until we build a potting shed and I can start using rooting hormone!"  Since he's not a "flower person," he politely admires and says yes, I've never seen such a healthy euphorbia and oh, definitely, that probably is a coneflower.  In short, he does exactly the right thing.

I am especially delighted because I've built this big garden from scratch.  When we moved in last year, the only things planted were a few hostas, a bleeding heart, and these daffodils (and weeds!).  I'm sure I've got at least 100 plants coming up now, and that doesn't include what's coming up in the greenhouses.  I've got 30 columbines alone!  Squeee!!!

I did have to do something regrettable, though - pricking out my chamomile.  "Pricking out" means thinning your seedlings, as they are likely to be too close.  That means they're competing for nutrients, space, and water, and are not going to thrive.  My chamomile went crazy this year:

I hate to lose even one plant, so pricking out is difficult for me.  Even though I have plenty of chamomile...even though I still have a few seeds left, and it grows easily if you broadcast the seed...I tried to save as many plants as I could.

This is a dangerous time for young seedlings.  First, they have to survive the upheaval of the pricking out.  Then they have to adjust to a new planting - which means that, until their roots fan out a bit, they are going to struggle to draw up water and nutrients.  Finally, they have to deal with "hardening off," or getting used to the sun, outside the comfort and protection of their little greenhouse space.  We have cold nights and sometimes fairly warm days, so this will make them tough - if they survive.  Finally, they'll have to make it through yet another relocation - to their final destination, my garden.  Fingers crossed that I have a healthy crop!

Todd and I have been working all around the property this week.  We walked the fields, trying to decide where to put the fences.

We attacked the fence line next to the house, spending hours and hours pulling up blackberry brambles and dried weeds.

We're both covered in scratches, but it's worth it to clear out that mess!  On our rambles, we discovered...redbud trees!

Another mystery tree about to flower...

Pollinators out and about!

And an entire slope of trillium/trout lilies by the stream leading to the pond!  They should be blooming within a week.

It's also heartening to see so many birds out and about.

And, another great harbinger of spring - our apple tree is starting to bud out!  I can't wait for the blossoms.

Although I'm irritatingly hampered by my sore shoulder, I love this springtime work.  I can't wait to see the fruits of our labor in a couple of months.

Have a great week!