It's Time For Bee-utiful Gardens!

Yes my friends, it's that time again. Spring has sprung and now the hard work begins.  Cleaning out flower beds and making the house look pretty again after winter.  It's a lot of work, but the end result is to sit back and enjoy all your hard work.  The hubby and I moved 5 yards of pure black gold mulch to spruce up the the flower beds and nourish the plants, bushes and trees, they need to eat too!  So while I was out there, this little guy was having a good time searching for pollen.  I love the bees,  they are so good for our environment.

Coming in for a landing and nailed it!

 These are a new garden attraction for Mason bees, The Mason Bee House.  Mason bees don't sting, they are gentle little pollinators. Found this pretty house at Target for $14.99. Hang it facing the morning sun to "wake" your bees up to start work pollinating.

 OMG, Heeeeee's back!  The ground hog, my arch nemesis, he has to go!  He eats or ruins everything, digs huge holes in the gardens, takes out beautiful, growing bushes every year.  I have now resorted to sticking cat feces in his hole to get rid of him, I know it's gross, but I had no other choice, I physically do not want to harm him.  It does work by the way, so far, so good.

 Bleeding Hearts, one of my favorites and lots of Rhodies.

 Another one of my favorites is Irises, so old fashion, love them!

 My small herb garden is planted and growing.  Fresh herbs are the best in the Summer, or all year round for that matter.  I use a lot when cooking on the grill.

 The lavender grows like a weed around here, it' so calming and soothing.

 Got my local tree guy, AKA the hubby,  to cut two cedars down that got damaged from heavy snow.  Replanted a cherry tree in their place.

I planted this honeysuckle last year and didn't expect it to live.  To my surprise it did and it's beautiful and fragrant. It wrapped itself around my deck railing.

 A little shelter for the birds, away from the house.

 Beautiful Peony grew inside my globe garden ornament, they are so pretty!

 I grow a few different kind and colors- hot pink, blush, pale pink and pink with white center.

 When they bloom I always have bouquets of them around the house.  I mixed this one with Lamb's Ear.

 The house is almost in full bloom now except for the Crepe Myrtles, they will bloom very soon.

And here comes another one of my arch enemies this time of year, destroying a tree right now.

It's time to grab your shovels, rakes and gloves, and get moving in your garden.  It really is good exercise, and you can enjoy the fruits of your labor for the rest of the growing season.  HAPPY GARDENING!

Spring Has Been Kind This Year

I go through the planting ritual of Spring every year, sometime Spring is good to me and sometimes not.  In the past Spring has been very hot, more like Summer temperatures, and no rain.  When that happens, it's very hard to keep up with the watering, and some plants and flowers just don't tolerate the heat well.  I have alot of trees around the property, but there is also alot of sun.  The sun burns plants and flowers out, even if they are supposed to be planted in the full sun, that's how hot it gets here.  So this Spring has been kind to me and my plants, so far.  Everything is coming up nicely, including the vegetable garden (more on that later).

Pretty pot of petunias and a mandevilla on the font step.

 The rhododendrons in full bloom, and the knockout roses are peeking their heads out!

The peony garden is poppin'!  These are my absolute favorite flower.

I have them in all kinds of sizes and colors.  I covet the yellow peony, I want them for my garden.

I have a long row of peonies in front of the house, and can't wait until they all open, they are so pretty.

Peonies

One of my favorite flowers is the Peony.  There is something about them that reminds me of a summer wedding.  When and if my girls ever get married, I am going to ask them to carry Peonies in their bouquets.  I picked these peonies from my garden that is in full bloom, I planted a whole row of them last year and they are beauties!  They are varied in color and have full big heads on them, I picked the right spot to plant them, they love the soil. When they started to bloom I ran a string across the front of them and staked it on either end to hold them up, the heads get very heavy because the flower is so dense with petals.  They don't really smell good, but you don't smell them unless you stick your nose inside the center.

Fuchsia and pink are two of the colors I have.  I also have a very pale pink, a white, and a striped peony too!

 This is my favorite one, it's like getting a surprise when it opens, big pink petals on the outside and white small petals on the inside.

 So pretty!

Spring Has Arrived, Finally!

Well, after all that bad winter and spring weather, everything is finally blooming.  We got moving in the yard, the hubby and I over the weekend, cleaned up some more of the gardens and planted a lot of new things.  We have an animal problem on the property, deer and groundhogs.  They eat everything including the trees!  It's awful, all the money spent and they feast on it.  I have tried everything to discouraged them, but nothing has worked.  So, now I did my homework and research and planted things that they don't like, not the things that I like though.  And so it goes, nature wins again!

This is the front garden last year, everything new planted, it didn't grow much until this year.  It finally took off, just starting to blossom and it looks beautiful, still have to mulch, but no deer yet!

This is the other side of the garden, still combating a groundhog over there, he took out another rhododendron, and have to replace it AGAIN!  This is third time he has ruined it digging a hole under it.  He left the other three bushes alone.  I also have Russian sage growing in this garden, lilacs, and the big trees to the left are crepe myrtles, they are just starting to bud.  All the gardens in the front of the house are a colorful mix of pink, fuchsia, purple, white and salmon hues.  I just happened to be walking in the door when I heard this bumble bee collecting pollen.  If you look closely you can see it on his back legs and on his body.  Busy little bee!

The other rhododendrons are blooming, as well as the azalea bushes, this one is hot pink.

Pretty white viburnum and a whole row of peonies, I love them!

Lavender is another favorite of mine I planted that along the sidewalk with coral belles, bleeding hearts and basil.  The columbines are standing tall.

This azalea is a beautiful deep dark salmon color, and the lilacs are surely a sign of spring.

 So, last year I planted this very cute garden all around the shed, I spent about $250 on plants, dirt, mulch.  Within a week the groundhog had eaten all of it! The only thing left standing was the knockout rose bush, yeah that's right, so guess what got replanted in that garden ?  Two more rose bushes, I need to get 5 more to finish it around to the other side.  I don't think he will be dining here anymore!

 This is the extent of my vegetable garden, can't have one on the ground the animals eat everything!  Two big tomato plants, 1 grape tomato plant, 2 sweet pepper and 2 basil.  I had a huge garden two years ago, planted everything - lots of tomatoes big and small, peppers, 3 different kinds of lettuce, zucchinis, cucumbers, eggplant, cantaloupe, fennel, all kinds of herbs, blueberries, strawberries.  I had a raised garden bed, fenced it with a four foot fence, staked it all along the bottom so no animals could get in.  I watched the groundhog climb the fence and it was all over from there!  The cat mint is growing, cute little purple flowers, lily tuft is planted in this garden too.

 Boston Ferns at Home Depot for $6.88 they were originally $14.99.  They are huge and beautiful.

Even the cat is catching some rays.  She is so happy the sun is finally out and shining!