May Flowers

This is truly a lovely time of year. The tulips (above) have just finished blooming today. The native geranium (below) I planted is looking good. Let's hope the foxes don't trample it. 

The prairie smoke (below) is out in the front yard, and the foxes generally stay away, perhaps because of the cars and neighbors' dogs.

My pure yellow daffodil bulbs came with surprises...two extra varieties. I'm actually pretty happy with them because they bloom at different times, extending daffodil season. 

The service berries (below) are still a bit small, but the flowers are so pretty.

The pasque flower (above) looks good this year, and the muscari (grape hyacinth, below) I planted survived the winter, thank goodness. I hope they naturalize. 

Cool temps. No bugs. Gotta love spring!

Clever, Rambunctious, Destructive Foxes

We have seen seven kits and one adult. The foxes are so cute! However, they "attack" each other, rolling across the lawn, crashing into plants. They get past my bunny fence and dig and chew. At dusk, they come up on my back deck and explore. What I have planted is struggling because of the damage, and I'm hesitant to plant more until I get this figured out or they move on (more likely). So far, I've tried cayenne pepper and securing the fence. Next I tried netting. That seems more effective because their paws get tangled. (It's plastic and easily snapped or chewed, so no injuries.) I'm also trying a garlic spray and small bowls of vinegar tonight. Whoever said patience is a virtue wasn't kidding. 

Daffodils and Potatoes

The daffodils survived our extra long winter! I'm planting potatoes in bags this year. Even though it's cool today, the forecasted rain will save me some watering, so I planted them today. It's a bit late, but potatoes shouldn't freeze, so I delayed until the forecast has decent overnight temperatures. I paid more (out of character for me), but I love the purple! 

Happy May Day!

The first daffodil! This spring is late, of course, but it's arriving. My experiment with seeds in a cold frame has the cool weather crops like kohlrabi and lettuce doing fine, but the three pumpkins seeds have yet to sprout. They may not make it because they've been in the wet and cold for two weeks, but there's still hope. It may be a little chilly, but I added another set of seeds as an experiment with flowers.