I'm Back in the House

Hello? Anyone still out there? I've been gone a few days. My 'bug" has passed and I feel a Blog coming on.

This morning I'm all about Spring. I sat in my new perennial garden which was planted last summer. It used to be a shade garden as a very beautiful, double-trunked Hemlock used to live there. It's a great greeting spot from our driveway to our back door. About 6 years ago, as a Mother's Day present, my husband helped me make a pretty shade garden in the area around the old Hemlock. The garden enjoyed some limited success, and I always took delight in my Pansies and Coleus that I grew there.

I can't say with 100% certainty why we took the old tree down, I do remember my husband not liking how it was encroaching on the side of the house, blocking lots of nice sun-light from getting in and one of the trunks was having "troubles". It must have made sense about two years ago when we had the HUGE , 100-year(+) old, Silver Maple in the front of our house, which was rotting and threatening to wreack some heavy duty damage on our house, should it go over in one of our infamous ice storms, to also remove the old Hemlock at that time.

This of course meant a whole new life was about to start there. Goodbye shade garden, hello sunny perennial garden. It took me nearly two years of trying to keep it weeded, overturned, install irrigation, puncture same said irrigation during weeding and turning until I finally gave up and hired a good friend of mine and her husband to help me with my new Welcome Garden. They own a wonderful business aptly named "Perennial Pleaures",and I must say - It's All Good!

They really worked with me and brought my vision to fruition and then some! They also helped with some other landscaping I've had the best of intentions of getting to. They did a great job and I am forever grateful to them!

Well, with that huge build-up said and done, this brings me to the point of my "Earthly" inspired blog today. This is my first Spring with my new garden(s). This am was the first time I sat out there on my little fairy bench (frooze my little fairy butt!) and had my morning coffee (which by the way, I think I'm just about done with coffee and the rot gut feeling it gives me).

It's a done deal as far as I'm concerned - Spring is Sprung! Some things are greening-up, others still quite dormant. However, I truly love the first sightings of the spring bulbs. Another good friend of mine gave me so many nice bulbs last year (I believe they are crocuses, daffodils, tulips, and Johnny-Jump-Ups? Who knows - It's All Good! Thank you so much to L. They are coming up beautifully and I'm sure they are a step up from the bulbs I buy at Christmas Tree Shops, and then treat to a year or so of torture in my basement before I plant them. These look very healthy!

As I inspected nearly every square inch of my garden for signs of life this am, I really felt so fortunate to have so many friends who have contributed to it. I wouldn't have this SAME garden without each and every one of them. A few to note -(more as they spring to life)- are M's Mums and manintenance, K's Lillies, L's Bulbs and our Birthday tree - A beautiful Japanese Red Maple you helped me transplant. It looks awesome! O helping me weed it. C helping with maintenance. My Mom's Irises and big bunch of Autumn Joy. Actually all of my friends have been nice enough to lend a hand at helping me with one of my most treasured projects. Thank you all soooo much.

I'll close with one extra little perk. My daughter came out the front door in her pajamas, coat, hat and gloves and joined me on a tour of "our" garden. She enjoyed seeing all the little bulb flowers poking their heads through. She has the corner turn section of the garden. It's doing great and she even pointed-out some things I missed! We sat together and frooze our butts on the fairy bench for about 40 seconds (My Bad! Thought it was one of those true Mother-Daughter bonding things. I don't think she got it, but you never know! I'll die if she tells me she did this with her daughter some day!)

Well the Fam is waiting for me to watch a Werner Herzog film on the Loch Ness Monster. It looks quite good. He is quite a director and character!

Happy Spring to all! Much Peace, LPK