Thursday, May 5, 2016

The Garden in Early May

May is a beautiful time on the mountain top, when the earth is just beginning to truly warm up and we finally see spring starting to pop through. 

I love seeing the new growth every single day as I walk about my garden. It's such a promise of things to come!

Grab a beverage and come with me as we check out what's happening in my early May garden.

We have had rain, rain, and more rain for the past week. And today they are predicting...guess what....more rain! 


Things on the ground are definitely starting to green up and grow rather quickly. 

The daffodils I planted by the entrance path and up the garden steps are all in bloom now. They are like little rays of sunshine welcoming me home each day!


The Hostas are starting to peek their pointy little heads out here, there, and everywhere. 


The lilacs are coming into bud - I'm so glad we didn't lose all the buds with that last crazy cold spell!


The trees haven't leafed out just yet.....


...but they sure are trying!


The green haze is starting to creep into the forest in spots - what a lovely sight for these winter weary eyes. 


There are wild mushrooms popping up in my perennial bed. I'm not a mushroom person and I definitely can't identify them.....can you?


I would never take a chance on eating them without knowing 100% what they were.


The daffodils that surprised me by the garden cottage are all in bloom. They contrast nicely with all the pink and white flowers I added to the new garden bed. It's still quite sparse, as many of the things I added are perennials that are just beginning to emerge from dormancy. When the garden fills in more I'll give you a proper tour. 


There are many, many ferns unfurling in the new garden bed - they will fill in the bed very nicely for sure. 


I added a crooked little birdhouse on a post in a corner of the bed. Looks like the mums from last fall aren't coming back, so they will need to be yanked out of that corner and replaced. 

The azaleas look lovely now when they are new....but in reality they hate me. I don't even know why I keep trying!


In the veggie garden, the garlic that survived the winter is doing great. Unfortunately, it seems I lost more than half of what I put in, due to growth spurts during the warm winter, and then heavy freezes killing the growth. 


The lettuce I started from seed indoors has transitioned nicely to the veggie garden and is all doing well. 


And the lettuce seeds I threw down in the veggie garden are starting to sprout - look at the different color sprouts!

The peas, radishes, spinach, red onions and leeks are all creeping along nicely.  

Inside, the seedlings are going absolutely mad and can't wait to get outdoors. I'll be starting to harden them off after this weekend - it will be good to get them outside in the fresh air and (hopefully) sunshine!


The strawberries are not doing much as of yet. But the new leaves are green and healthy looking so that's a start. 


The new berry bushes still sit in their pots waiting for the rain to stop so I can plant them. 


They have many buds already, which is super exciting - perhaps I'll get fruit the first year!


There's a new tree waiting on the patio to be planted over the weekend. The Dogwood that does absolutely nothing is going home with Mom & Dad....I hope it's happy down in the valley, because it sure isn't one bit happy up here on the mountain top!


The established Ajuga is just beginning to bloom - I just love to mix different foliage colors and textures to make the garden really pop. 


Just look at how lovely this contrast is! That's Creeping Jenny popping up among the green leaves....perhaps Catmint? I can't recall....


I like to pop in plants that have contrasting foliage throughout the garden. Even when things aren't blooming, they still provide interest and add life to the garden. The Dead Nettle ground cover above is a perfect example. Plus, it gets a lovely flower!


I did the same with the groundcovers I planted along the driveway retaining wall. The blue tinge of the Dianthus plays off nicely against the chartreuse leaves of the Bellflower. 


And the red and green Hens & Chicks are a nice contrast in the center of the driftwood accent. 


The Hens & Chicks are used in other areas of the retaining wall plantings as well, for continuity. 


And a couple of different types of Dianthus popped in here and there also keep things flowing nicely. 


I've slowly started to add a few accents to the garden, my favorite being this metal angel. I saw it first on Brenda's blog, Cozy Little House, and absolutely fell in love with it. Brenda was fortunate enough that a reader sent it to her as a gift. What a beautiful gift! Imagine my delight when I found it online - I ordered it immediately!

I'm not sure it will stay here in this location....we'll have to see if the critters keep knocking it over. But it will have a prime place in my garden, that's for certain. 

An angel watching over the house and garden is a very good thing. 


Speaking of critters, there were no robins to be seen in the new nest they made by the deck. 


I spotted one of the robins having a nice breakfast of worms in the garden. That little fat robin must have eaten 5 big juicy worms in a row!


Then the robin joined it's mate in the Sumac tree. Maybe that's why there was nobody in the nest?


Meanwhile, the little monkey wants to know why the grass is so long when Mommy just cut it the other day. 

And why does Mommy keep covering me in kisses? 

Oh....and where's my ball?  It's time to play!


That's what's going on in my early May garden. 

What's happening in yours? 

35 comments:

  1. Thank you for taking us a walk through your property...everything is beautiful and full of such promise.

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  2. I have mushrooms in my perennial beds, too, and I think it's because everyone seems to be potting them up in mulch now. (And by everyone, I mean Wal-Mart and Lowe's,which are my only local sources) I really don't like that they do that.

    Your gardens are just lovely!

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    1. Oh, I didn't realize that....I guess that makes sense, huh?

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  3. Spring is truly starting there. Love seeing the yellow flowers. You bird pictures are so nice too. Blessings, xoxo, Susie

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    1. Thanks, Susie - I do love daffodils in the spring - they are just like smiles and sunshine on a gloomy day!

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  4. Oh, how pretty your grounds and gardens are. You have so much space and such a great variety of plants. I see lots of the ones I have around my house. Moving up here, I had no idea what some of my plants were! ;) I'm learning.
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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    1. Perhaps I can help if you have questions, Shelia - I think you are up a bit North of me...

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  5. Your property is so beautiful...everything is blooming so wonderfully now! I promise sunshine is coming your way soon because it seems like it comes a day or two after we have it here in northern IL - and the sun was shining here today and will be tomorrow, too.

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    1. From your lips to God's ears, Melanie, please, please, please!!

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  6. Thanks for the walk-about, Deb. I enjoyed visiting. :) I hope the berry bushes are all that you hope for. Love the crooked bird-house. "Hi Monkey" Deb

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  7. Everything is coming along so beautifully. So much nature. I like to mix up plants too. Sometimes on purpose and sometimes it is a surprise, even to me.

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    1. Ha ha, same here...and often now I forget from year to year what I've planted where! Surprise!!

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  8. Your photos look so inviting, I wish I could just pop over and visit! Mr. Cottage just gathered up a bag of mushrooms that have been popping up around our place and tossed them into the trash.

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    1. I guess I could compost them....but then perhaps they will pop back up next year!

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  9. I am in love with those first three pics of the transition from the deck to the yard. Beautiful! Love the upside down birdbath pedestal with the pansies, too! Just lovely! ;)

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    1. Thanks, Donnamae! The upside down birdbath will be cleaned and filled soon...I guess I should add it to my to do list! I have to keep it upside down during the freeze so it doesn't crack.

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  10. I enjoyed that walk through your piece of that beautiful mountain. <3

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  11. What a lovely place! Thank you for the tour. Love the red chairs and angel. We dug up our blackberry bushes but runners came up again this year so I planted them in 5 gallon pots. They are still living but wondering if I can continue to grow them there as have not place for them? Would you have any knowledge about this? Nancy

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    1. I sent you an email on this, Nancy - hope it helps!

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  12. Very pretty. Everything looks lush and peaceful.

    Have a nice weekend ~ FlowerLady

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    1. Peaceful until the Monkey starts looking for her ball like a lunatic!

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  13. You caught me at the two red chairs. Love them!!!
    Lisa

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    1. They were such a mess when I bought the house...the previous owners had let them get so rusty. I fell in love with them anyway!!

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  14. So much life in your garden!
    *sigh* Tell me about the rain...Non stop for a whole week now?

    We have ferns too. Still. I want to get rid of them but they are one stubborn plant, messing up my beds.

    I laughed about the Azalea. Heh, I believe they will treat me the same way and promptly die if I buy them so, I stay clear for now. :)

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    1. I actually like ferns, I guess I'll just have to move them around a bit when I see where all they pop up. I only bought the azaleas because they were sooooo cheap at Home Depot!! :)

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  15. Thank you for the tour of your garden! Those daffodils sure are "friendly" flowers and your azaleas are so pretty. :) I'm a huge fern fan and delight in watching them uncurl themselves. I would have to say that they are one of the plants that I miss most living where I do. I grew up having them in our yard and they were all throughout the rain forests that I loved to explore. I live in a more arid climate now but take every chance I get when I go visit my parents at the lake in Montana to hunt them out and just enjoy their beauty!

    Thank you for your reply about the raspberries...I'm off to buy some cheap gin this weekend and try my hand at making some of your lovely raspberry flavored gin for those hot Summer days ahead.

    I hope you have a wonderful weekend and Happy Mother's Day!

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    1. Tee hee, I love this, Debbie - I think you will absoluely love the gin!! Happy Mother's Day to you also - I hope it was a fantastic weekend and you found some time to relax and be pampered!!

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  16. Thanks for the nice tour! You do have a little slice of heaven on the mountain.

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    1. I think so, Donna...it's my little paradise, anyway!

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  17. I don't think I've realized before that you have such a beautiful conifer garden. There's something in me that will always love them. I love how you tuck the different colored plants here and there.

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    1. I love all the conifers that provide color and structure to the winter garden. The property would be empty without them during the long months of winter!

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    2. So much "pretty" as you enter into Spring.

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