More Irises

New irises opening every day!

Hooper's iris

Tag's iris

OK, not an iris, but the color on this poppy is amazing.

Spring brings flowers and lots of projects

Wind has been blowing like crazy the last couple days threatening my flowers but most have somehow survived. The Red Charm peony is outstanding with the biggest flowers I've ever seen. It would be nice to get another one or two to place around the garden but sadly, our local peony farm closed last year. I bought other varieties of peonies from a mail order outfit last fall but they aren't performing as well in their first season. The roots had fewer eyes and will probably take a couple extra years to catch up.

The irises are going to be a big job to divide but as they are threatening to overtake the peonies this is the year to do it. This so-called red iris still looks purple to me but I love the orange beards. 

My kitchen window garden.

And a pretty iris planted last fall.

Work in progress and work to be done

We are extending the fenced yard to include the nice evergreen trees on the west side of the house. Bob is pulling out the existing fence to reuse the posts. Then maybe a little gazebo can be built in the clearing for a sitting area. We need to move some of the veggie beds away from the raspberries so I can mow around the patch to keep suckers under control. They aren't as bad as blackberries but close to it, cropping up in the blueberry, strawberry and asparagus beds. I'm liking the results of the experimental strawberry tower we built last year despite it's being awfully tippy. We'll need to use better wire and line it with something to hold in the soil. I'd also like to remove the never-used sliding door in the family room and put it in the master bedroom where the big window is and where it would be far more useful. Haven't proposed that project to Bob yet, but it's churning in the back of my brain. It's kind of like the Winchester House around here!

More of my favorite things

I'm good enough to be doing duck duty again and finding four blue surprises every morning.

Bob spoiled the girls a bit while I was out of commission. They crowd into the shed as I get their dinner pellets, surrounding me and loudly demanding a handful then and there. They do rule the yard.

Really, this is a BIG peony! That's my hand supporting it. 

Wowed by this. Unique Marmalade with brilliant green new growth. 

A new iris blooming.

I've discovered cistus grows fabulously in my dry, sandy soil so I'm planting lots of them. Hot pink, pink with crimson spots, white. They are happy in the far corners of our property and liven up the bleak areas with color in the hottest weather.

Around the yard

I walked a mile and half around the neighborhood today with one stop at a bench about 2/3 the way through. There's no pain in my new knee but it doesn't bend fully yet so there is stress on the right knee and hip each step, and that's what hurts in the end. Recovery after the walk was quick but I think this calls for moderation so I don't injure my real parts. Still, I was happy to get out and Hattie was thrilled enough to walk by my side (off leash) much of the way.

Pictures from the garden today.

First peony to open, and it's magnificent!

Irises are starting to bloom. This year I need to divide them. An amazing number of blooms to come.

Purple allium, purple smoke tree and sequoia.

Moonshine yarrow (flowers will be yellow) and Grace smoke tree, a yellow green version of Cotinus.

Lupine (in shades to match my hair!), allium and columbine.

Beautiful leaves. Hosta and oxalis. 

Tag and Hooper's Memorial Garden growing vigorously with rugosa roses set to bloom. Will be lovely when blue flowers of ceanothus (rear left) open. This is a wonderful time of year, full of color and new things to find every day.

Flower Album

I never know if these things are going to load properly. Here's a go.

In the Garden

Time to tour the yard again.

Porcelain poppies and pods.

 Rhodie Unique Marmalade. One of the three I relocated last fall because they were suffering from mildew. Looks like I found a good spot for them. They are all growing happily.

Rhodie Unique. Opens pretty pink and cream, then turns white. 

Tomatoes, herbs, fennel, kohlrabi and cipollini onions in the greenhouse.

The purple trillium will open soon. I was delighted to find a second growing along side it, hidden by the fern frond in this picture. Beautiful heart shaped epimedium leaves fill the upper left corner. I've been collecting various epimediums with different color flowers and leaf shapes to grow with the hellebores on the shaded north side of the house. I love the combination.

Purple alliums growing with lupine, iris, columbine, etc.

I planted three different mini bearded iris last fall. One was trampled by the ducks. I hope it will have a better chance next year. The one blooming now is just an inch or two wide and very delicate. The third one is pearly pink with purple beards but bloomed earlier and I didn't get a photo.

A new rhodie we just planted, Anna Rose Whitney. This is supposed to grow up to a foot a year with flowers that are huge and showy, eventually reaching seven to eight feet tall.

One last thing of color. This is my new peacock colored hair! 

Two Months After - Total Knee Replacement Surgery

Here is my knee today and it is looking a little puffy but good. Scab is gone. There is still quite a bit of swelling to deal with but I am cycling (indoor) and walking without a cane so things are looking up. Pain is minimal to none. You can see how the kneecap isn't centered on the right knee but the left one is now proper. They were both shifted off to the side with no cartilage under them. I really don't recall a time when they weren't offset, and the right one is going to stay that way a while longer as I'm not going through another surgery any time soon. The last picture was taken at the one month mark, peeling skin, green shin and all, so you can see the improvement in the last four weeks.

Some flowers

Yard is needing a lot of weeding and I can only devote an hour or two a day to it, but flowers aren't deterred.

Tulips, beat up from all the rain and the ducks walking on them, but still lovely color. I don't look forward to cleaning them up.

The rhododendrons are blooming nicely this year. I'm going to try pinching back the new growth on President Roosevelt to see if that sprawling legginess can be filled in a bit.

Unique

Unique

President Roosevelt starting to open

An azalea that survived last years move

More tulips in yellow and orange.

Some blues, too

Lithodera I think

Pt Reyes ceanothus

Wool

The crows found a use for some of the wool our boys have been shedding everywhere. Here they are picking out the best pieces of fluff. I suspect it will be used to line their nests. Smart little birds.

Bad Cold

I've been blowing my brains out with this cold, but I took a short walk around the house today because it is warmer and dry. Tomorrow the rain returns. Excuse me while I fetch some tissues.

Beautiful bulbs in front of the house

Flowers on new rhody

It's small now, but someday it will be a mighty rhody