Beautiful June

This has been an amazing late spring--moderate temperatures and low humidity. These are the kind of days where all I want to spend all of my time outside. The spring flowers are lasting longer now, but heat and humidity are on the way, which is good news for the tomatoes and peppers. Above is the viburnum/native cranberry bush. Below is prairie smoke. 

This is an overexposed photo, but you get the idea---the cool weather crops are doing well. I've eaten lettuce and radishes, and I may nibble on some kale and chard soon. And I may have to thin the bok choy.

Below is an update on the front garden featuring native plants (the lupine is just beginning to bloom). I've added some plants (dianthus and chives and iris) that aren't technically prairie plants, but I think the bees will love them. I've learned to plant what the rabbits won't eat. 

These are strawberries...inside the fence. I'm not taking any chances, and soon I'll cover them with netting. These are zone five daisies that came back this year, which is a surprise. 

The mountain ash that was on the property is in full bloom--what a gorgeous tree!. 

After I wander and admire the lovely plants, I take advantage of the cooler temps to get some physical labor done. I took down the fence, dug out the encroaching grass (look how tall it is), added new mulch, and put the fence back. I slept well that night. Next year, I'll put the mulch down first. It was nice to have some help getting the fence back up so it didn't lean or sway . Thank you, darling husband.

Spring in the backyard

Of course, my backyard can't compare to the Arboretum (my crabapple above), but...

 I still enjoy it, and so does this bunny. 

The serviceberries are blooming! They survived a drought (with watering) and a long winter. 

Spring Trip to the Arboretum

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum was busy yesterday...for three good reasons. I went to see the tulips, which seemed to be the most popular place yesterday. But I was in awe of he crabapples trees, which were breathtaking. We stood at the top of a hill, completely surrounded by their blooms.  According to their website, they have 268 trees. 

The lilacs are looking good, too.

And, of course, the Arb planted 40,000 tulip bulbs. It's an amazing display. 

A short video of the crabapples shows a tiny portion of the display.

A Late Spring

Daffodils are a perfect symbol of spring. These petite beauties are delicately scented. I was worried that I lost this new batch bit it's a late spring. Last winter we had a cold snap with little snow, which killed that old batch of daffodils, so last fall I planted these in place protected from the northwest wind.

The variety is Tete-a-Tete. They grow to eight inches, and I'm hoping they naturalize. 

Below is a new lilac, Bloomerang. It should grow to five feet, so I can have it closer to the house where it will shade the air conditioner, and we'll have a view from our future deck. 

Spring Fever

North Dakota is dealing with a blizzard. Minnesota is wet and cold. And windy again.(I'm truly thankful the blizzard is missing us!) My seedlings are languishing due to lack of light, so I've replanted some. I start seeds indoors and give them some outdoor time every day, but temperatures are now too cold and will be for the next week. So what do I do? Go to the greenhouse! I walked every aisle (above). It raised my spirits to see healthy plants and lots of color. I trimmed some crab apple branches earlier and a few bloomed indoors (below). 

Happy Spring!

The first official day of spring makes me happy. I've started some seeds: Shasta Daisy and Black-eyed Susan--Goldstrum. I'm never sure when to start seeds. I'm soooooo ready to be out in the garden, but that doesn't mean the garden is ready for me. We've got snow, and the ground is frozen. I've had to compost entire flats of seeds because I'm too early. And then there's the space. Ours is a fairly simple home, and this is the only south facing window, so I need warmer temperatures to put the trays outside during the day. If I start too many too early, they'll languish from lack of light. The branches are what I've trimmed from the old crab apple two days ago, sitting in sugar water  to encourage blossoming  indoors. This is the season for hope. 

Winter Interest (sort of)

These are the front garden wildflowers in winter. In other words, the "winter interest" in Minnesota is snow. Lots of snow. I'm glad the seed heads of the purple coneflower are above the snow line, so that birds can nibble if they'd like, and some are stripped of seeds. It's amazing how long these have lasted, given that the wind blew open our screen door and damaged it during one storm. Ah, winter (even if we are in meteorological spring).