Garden!

[velvetpage]

I have two daffodils - the ones that went in the ground in the fall like they were supposed to - that are going to bloom this weekend. All of my hyacinths are blooming. My crocuses are mostly done, except for the ones that didn't bloom at all; hopefully they'll get enough energy to bloom next year. There are buds on several of my tulips. Most of the daffodils that went in a few weeks ago are behind, and some of them probably won't bloom at all, but a few of them have three good leaves and probably a bud hiding down amongst them. My irises are shooting up spiky leaves and will likely bloom on schedule - which means about a month from now. My parsley, thyme, oregano, mint, Russian tarragon, lemon balm, sage, and chives are all doing well - the chives are ready to be harvest for egg salad, which is lovely. My seedlings are outside today, soaking up the sunshine directly for the first time. Maybe a few more will sprout - the swiss chard is mostly not up, and the one in the middle that I can't remember the name of is getting spindly. I don't have a really good seedling window, so I need to make sure they go out on warm days to get a boost. My lilac has lots of budded leaves that are just starting to spread into actual leaves, though I didn't see any flower buds on it. It's still young, so I might not. My lavendar is grey-greening nicely, my sweet william is lovely, and the clematis has a few wood-coloured buds on it, so I didn't kill it! The columbine is also coming back, and I think it may have self-seeded, in which case I'll transplant when it's big enough.

My morning glories are showing no signs yet, but I've pulled a dozen baby trees out of my flower garden. I think they were Rose of Sharon from next door. I also haven't seen any sign yet of my peony, which worries me a little bit - it should be starting to send up spiky red things around the time the hyacinths bloom, and it isn't yet. The lilies in the backyard are in fine form, but the hostas are as yet a no-show. I've found a few spots where they will come back, so the squirrels didn't get them all. I also haven't seen the wild geranium that was back there last year. It was a beautiful plant and I was quite willing to let it grow where it wanted. I may try to tame it this year, since there are other things I want to plant out there amongst the hostas. We'll see.

Claire has discovered dirt as a venue for play. She likes moving dirt from one spot to another in the garden, and she loves the sandbox at the babysitter's - even if she carries most of it home in her diaper. I think it's time to dig out the sandbox from the garage - the one that Elizabeth got for her second birthday and I never got around to filling with sand - and clean it out and buy some sand for it. It's a turtle sandbox, and it's really cute.