Blooms galore

Each time I go outside, there's more and more to notice! I can't keep up with all the new growth, but here are a few snapshots of recent growth and blooms.

Spring continues

The Spring show continues daily.

New growth daily!

Lady's mantle, trout plants, trout lilies, hyacinths, hostas, bleeding hearts, and much, much more! The plants are growing at an astonishing rate with this warm weather! 

Seems like Summer!

Last week, Spring flowers popped up overnight and it was easy to notice each new bud and flower, much like the day to day changes parents note in their newborn children. Now we're having summer-like temperatures in the 80s and the flowers stampeded into full bloom and it's all I can do to turn around, catch my breath and admire the cascade of colors. If I could change the world in some small way, I'd give everyone I met a handful of daffodils and say," Here. Enjoy!"Seeing a dafffodil in bloom is like seeing a genuine smile.  

Burgeoning Blooms

A walk outside assaults the senses these days as buds and blooms increase dramatically practically as you watch! Hillsides are tinged with tree buds in luminous yellows, reds, and every green tint imaginable. Dad celebrates 90 Springs under his belt on April 29th, and says the leaves are usually out by his birthday, and I think they will be this year, too. What a nice way to usher in a new year!




      







        

First Daffodil Bouquet of the Season!

Daffodils greet us as we walk outside these days, and they shout their welcome in the brisk morning air! Gave first two bouquets of the season away to R and my son, Jim.

Bursting Blooms

This dwarf iris literally appeared overnight, as did this wood hyacinth. There's a brisk, drying wind today that ruffled my chicks' feathers. They love to flee their coop and peck around for bits of gravel, grass and bugs. They're pretty easy to put back in, also.

Spring Immersion

I love this time of year- noticeable changes surround us almost too quickly to take it all in! I noticed my first sighting of coltsfoot on Sunday when I took my first bike ride of the year around the "horn" - about a ten mile loop between two river bridges. Coltsfoot looks a lot like yellow dandelions except it has a flatter bloom and distinctive, almost segmented stems and foliage. It often grows along the edge of roads- I saw a good sized clump across from the drive to the lumber store, 88BC.

My crocus are in full bloom and the honey bees are busy gathering pollen- I think they are equally excited about the return of warmer weather! Lots of little flies are hovering about, too. When we visited a New Paltz garden center on Saturday I couldn't resist buying a pack of violas and also pansies- my first porch plants of the season!

    





Yesterday, I submitted two assignments for the summer issue to Pat Stone, editor of GreenPrints, a quarterly gardening magazine filled with gardening stories and accompanying illustrations. One's about an actress who left NYC and found more drama in her San Francisco garden. The other story I illustrated was about a round tool-like stone that contributing editor, Becky Rupp, found in her garden among the poppies. She added it to her garden tote and uses it often while speculating about its history and possible use by stone age gardeners. Happily, Pat accepted my drawings with no changes needed.

    



There is no end of things to do outside these days and I find myself flitting from place to place eagerly trying to do a little bit of everything- raking, weeding, getting the garden ready for planting...I happily discovered three rows of hyacinths emerging when I raked a back garden Sunday afternoon. The weather is warm enough to hang laundry outside again and it smells great, too.

    



    

More Signs of Spring

Even though the weather seems fickle (we had another day off from school last Friday due to icy roads) the rush into Spring is building momentum and there's no turning back! Last week, my youngest son participated in his first band concert at school and it was a wonderful concert to herald Spring.  The Elementary Band did a fine job making music, playing together and keeping time. The concert progressed through Intermediate Band, Advanced Band and a special performance by the Catskill Wind Ensemble and culminated in a grand, soaring finale combining the professional orchestra with the advanced band and even some staff members of the school that left audience members dazed and grateful for such a fine evening of music.

Crocus continue to bloom by color.  First the pale lilac and white ones emerged and now I'm noticing the schoolbus yellow ones popping up. I hope some dark purple ones will surprise me soon. Yesterday, I noticed the tiniest indication of rhubarb plants erupting like new teeth under a swollen gum. Also some daffodils along the stone wall by the old barn site are budded.  They seemed to appear out of the leaf mold overnight!  It's fun to see where daffodils pop up, because I'm not an organized planter, which allows for many Spring surprises.  I'm curious to see where I planted all of Becky's daffodil bulbs last fall!

I took advantage of Sunday's sunny afternoon and continued creating a rock border around my remnant side yard garden. When I finish with the rocks, it'll be time to start hauling wagon loads of compost to fill in the middle garden. 

Pat Stone, editor of the gardening quarterly, GreenPrints, sent me two assignments to work on for the Summer issue. Even though Spring is just about to gain momentum, the publishing world is always several months ahead.So while  I'm digging my toes and hands into the warming Spring soil, I'm also percolating thoughts of Summer.