And now, it is time for the REALLY important stuff:
READY, SET, PLANT!
Armed with numerous seed packets, promising spurting growth and endless and delightful summer color, and 85 roots that simply thrill the mind's eye with images of 6 foot Hollyhocks and Bright blue Delphiniums spreading for yards and yards, one cannot help but be excited.
It is what we gardeners strive for; All that COULD be.
We garden-folk are exceedingly positive thinkers; THIS years garden will be the very best and THIS year, the Lavender WILL produce basket's full of blooms and THIS YEAR, that penstemon seed will really take off and those miniature pumpkins won't rot on the vine.
Here is what I admire about those who "toil in the soil";
we don't really think of it as toil or work...even though it is. When you are digging that hole to sink the naked and dead-looking bare-root rose, you are thinking about a fabulous, heavenly scented, fat bush filled with luscious, cascading pink roses.
When you carefully bury the scraggly looking Phlox root, give it a good drink and mark the spot, you are imagining how gorgeous those tall lilac colored bunches of bloom will look amongst the even taller pink coneflowers and the shorter blue catmint.
.
Scattering minuscule seed hither and yon causes you to reflect on how wondrous it will be if those red Poppies actually DO come up and bloom at the same time as the deep Blue Bachelor Buttons.....and the pale blue Toadflax.
Gardeners are dreamers AND doers.
A beautiful garden is a lot of work, but it is soulful and satisfying work.
By the end of a gardening day, you may be sweaty, covered in soil, and aching from head to toe... but you know that what you've done is to create a garden... a wonderful, wonderful
GARDEN
And every day, it gets even better.
If you get 2 gardeners together, the conversation can go on for hours with talk which may seem like a foreign language to those who haven't caught the garden bug.
And speaking of bugs....
The insect hotel we built last year has been a huge success.
Just watch them as they work!
After all the newly hatched bees moved out, the emptied tubed were soon being refilled by more mother bees laying eggs and building walls.
Here is the link for building this bee haven
It seems that everyone is busy in the garden, yet,We still need a place to sit, and imagine.....
So, to all of my fellow garden lovers, let's go outside and get our gloves dirty!
PS. WOW! Mulch was on sale today, 5 bags for$10.
I'm totally fascinated by your bee hotel! Brilliant! I remember it from last year, but seeing it at work is wonderful. Your gardens are brimming with lovely plants to delight. We finally received a few welcoming showers today, so my garden is smiling! ♥
ReplyDeleteMartha, that bee house is a blast. You couldn't see them in the video, but there were teeny bees and midsize bees hovering and building as well
DeleteEven weeding Jeri? It already looks gorgeous. I have already forgotten where I planted the bee balm. Need to mark things. I have no idea what lots of the plantings are at the city house so it will be interesting to find out. Definitely some things I have never planted. I am growing a crop of bird seed due to bad placement of feeders. The birds are enjoying it though. I went back to the sunflower seed chips so no mess. I wondered how that beautiful bug apartment building went. Good to hear.
ReplyDeleteDonna, Weeding? not so much. I started marking everything when I realized I was digging up perfectly good perennials that were just dormant.
DeleteHi Jeri,
ReplyDeleteIt was so good to have you come for a visit.. I hope your show was a great success..
I really enjoyed the video of your Bee Hotel, and your garden is simply beautiful.. There are several plants I wanted to still get in the ground, but have done quite a bit of planting.. Sadly, only one English lavender.
The Lemon balm that I planted for Fred and Ethel is still there.. They have not touched it! I thought for sure they would enjoy..
Your resting place to sit in the garden is so inviting...
Have a great time in the garden!
Penny, That one English Lavender could grow into a giant, you never know! Fred and Ethel are not choosing the correct plants to feast upon and need to develop a taste for finer cuisine...little stinkers!
DeleteOh JERI LANDERS, ya really know what you're doing....
ReplyDeleteNot only are you a master gardener, but you write so well about the experience. I am aching to get into the garden, and though we are literally A WHOLE MONTH AHEAD in our spring, I have at least one month left of school, and with our rain (that is gracious giving us such great blooms) will not yet allow me to play in the dirt.
HOWEVER, when I do get into my garden, I will remember this post; I will remember how thrilling it is to get my hands dirty, the feel the possibility under the soil, to hope for those blue butterfly delphiniums (my favorites), and to ponder such majesty.
Praise GOD from whom all blessings FLOW!
Anita, I bet the Blue Delphiniums will grow much better in your climate, ours is so humid. But I am trying again anyway. Yes, Praise God for the garden and all it provides!
DeleteWhat a truly delightful post about the joys of gardening. I thoroughly enjoyed it and your little video about busy little bees.
ReplyDeleteI just bought 2 bee balm, 1 stevia and 1 Mexican tarragon. Hope they will do well for me.
I bought 2 'Drift' roses yesterday, one coral, one pink, 3 geraniums, 2 purple and one reddish/purple, one Buddlia, reddish/purple, and one plant with dusty rose blooms that I've never seen before. The name I was given, I cannot find doing a Google search at all. I did email the local botanical garden and sent them a photo, hopefully they can help me out.
It's too dark to get out just yet, and I've a staff lunch to go today for our ladies group, so there won't be much gardening today.
This post was so inspiring. I loved this line that you wrote describing gardening: "soulful and satisfying work".
Happy Gardening dear Jeri. Love & hugs ~ FlowerLady
Rainy, I love Bee balm, it is so trusty I have a few drift roses doing well in the frontyard garden. You've got a good bunch of plantings there, your garden will be stuffed....just the way we like them.
DeleteWow, you are ambitious! If you run out of room to plant, come on over:) Your garden is looking gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteLady, I won't ever run out of room, we have 40 acres! I could never plant it all, and wouldn't even want to, but I do stuff my gardens in the true cottage garden style.
DeleteDear Jeri, hoping that the art show was a grand success.
ReplyDeleteI can say that this report of what you are now doing in your garden has enchanted me. How wonderful to be putting dreams and plans into action! I like the way that you've marked what is planted where.
The video and photographs of the bug apartments are truly fabulous. No vacancies there!
xo
Frances, We were a bit disappointed in the show this year, last year, we did double the sales.
DeleteI learned long ago that I better mark all my plants, I completely loose track of them if not. The really interesting event, was watching the newly hatched bees emerge, a few weeks ago.
Oh, it's spring that wonderful exciting time of year yet again! I thought it would never get warm enough to do anything outside but the weather is cooperating now and there are lots of ephemerals in the shady, shady back that have come and some are already gone by. The clematis is in full bloom on one of at the supports for the swing in the back yard and yesterday one of the peonies opened up with a gorgeous coral colored bloom. I made a wonderful discovery when weeding the area under the Japanese maple---a huge number of great blue lobelia seedlings from the ones that I planted a couple of years ago. So today those newbies are being moved into the backyard where they can compete with the cardinal flowers this fall. Nothing like a little competition to get stuff going, is there?
ReplyDeleteI loved the video of the bug apartments. I keep thinking that I should get some of those mason bee thingees and get my husband to build them a little house to reside in. Maybe this year.
I hope your stuffed critters were a hit at the show and that you sold a bunch.
Vic, what a great discovery to find an unexpected past seed scattering come to fruition. Same thing happened here. I had planted a packet of Hollyhocks 2 years ago, nothing happened; but now, I am finding little seedlings popping up after all this time!
DeleteDefinitely, build a little bug house, or just order a small one off Amazon and place it on the side of a building, you'll love it.
It's the coming back to life that I love so much about gardening! We just bought two 8-foot lengths of rusted wrought iron fencing that I'm eager to set up along the border of my front yard to keep the deer and stray dogs out. Tomorrow is my gardening day. It is cold and gloomy here today. Can't wait till tomorrow~
ReplyDeleteCathy, Yes, that is such a remarkable event, to see last years plantings reviving before your eyes. So, Cool, I got my iron fencing this past weekend! I love that stuff, wish I had purchased more of it. Have a great time in your garden. Be sure to post a photo of your fencing.
DeleteJeri DARLIN'! HOW ARE YA?
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for coming to visit my post. That was a most magical day here on our prairie land, not far from the Twin Cities. Yes, that blue dress is so hold, gorgeously tattered, and the Minnesota landscape is just now starting to bloom. How I love nature, and your sensibilities. HAVE A FUN DAY IN THE GARDEN! Anita
That dress is splendid!
DeleteHow lucky you are to be able to keep you garden so lovely. Every year like you I have planted and planted, well the woodchucks have had lovely dinners and nothing for us even the roses bushes with vicious thorns were not spared.. I have given up, there seem to be no deterrent now I planted tomatoes in a very small green house and that of course survives... If you have a solution for my pests it would be greately appreciated....
ReplyDeleteI do enjoy your garden makes me dream...
Annie v.
Annie, How dreadful! You must live in the woods? Can you plant in large pots and window boxes or really deep raised beds enclosed with an attractive wire fencing? I have to battle with my chickens who like to dig pits around my plants. I have devised many barriers to keep them away from the important plants, but I never had to deal with woodchucks. Maybe you need a pair of large dogs! Our great Pyrenees keep all the wild animals away from the property.
DeleteIt is such a joy to visit your blog. From the pictures on the sidebar, to the lovely art, and now your beauty-ful gardens-wow! I am just so enthralled by that bug home-I was the first time you showed it-but I really think I am ready to make one-I love bees...I do hope you will have doves too. Your gardens are beyond my words to show how beautiful I think they are. Thank you for such a lovely morning!
ReplyDeleteDebra, I know a bee haven would look just right in your garden, as we have the same taste. My dovecote has not attracted anyone! The doves take advantage of the feeders next to it, but I think the Cote is not high enough for their liking.
DeleteOh, I just noticed your little rabbit in the first picture. I have the same one next to my herb garden. I love his little overalls and laid back ears! Do you put birdseed in his little plate or does it hold a potted plant? I have a little round pot that just fits and fill it with something that blooms all summer. I'd put birdseed in it but am afraid that the deer would come and help themselves and knock Riley over in at the process. Not good.
ReplyDeleteVic, I usually have a potted sedum sitting there but I do like the idea of bird seed. I think I will try some sunflower seed this year. My dogs can't knock it over unless they want to get rose thorns in their fur!
DeleteI look forward to your garden this year. It will be a beautiful place to hold a wedding!
ReplyDeleteWe may have a wedding here!
ReplyDeleteI love your bug hotel. I'm wondering what is in the straw holes did you fill them with some kind of food for the bees or did they deposit something in there?
ReplyDeleteNatascha, The female bee travels to the farthest end of the tube, lays an egg and then builds a wall. She continues to do this until the tube is filled with eggs, each with a wall in between. She then seals the front of the tube. In Spring, the hatched bees chew their way out of the tube one by one starting at the front of the tube. Males hatch first. Somehow, the mother bee knew the male eggs from the female eggs when she layed them. Males emerge first because, if a predator is nearby, the males will be devoured and the females may be safe, thereby allowing the cycle to continue. It's pretty fascinating!
DeleteAh Jeri your garden looks lovely. It is truly an exciting time of the year. My beds are calling me to pull weeds right now...better go. Hugs!
ReplyDeleteAh Jeri your garden looks lovely. It is truly an exciting time of the year. My beds are calling me to pull weeds right now...better go. Hugs!
ReplyDelete