May Update

This wild geranium or cranesbill is thriving (above). I lost quite a few perennials including daisies and coneflowers. My theory is we had some below-zero weather with little or no snow cover. But the columbine below was a surprise. It's from the previous owner's garden and flowered for the first time. 

The wild columbine I planted last spring survived.

The Bloomerang lilac (below) is in its "leap" year (sleep, creep, leap), full of flowers and fragrance. 

And I ate my first French Breakfast radish. I love this weather, so I'm trying to spend as much time outside as I can.

A Warm Spring Stretch

The strawberries are blooming, which seems early. The neighborhood lilacs are in full bloom, and the crabapples are finishing. This (too) warm stretch of weather affects everything and all of us. Below, the new daffodils thrive, though some old ones didn't survive, perhaps due to a cold snap without snow. Yes, those are dandelions. The bees love them. 

Below, the muscari  have brown tips on the leaves, mostly likely due to a frost as they emerged, but they're looking good!

Spring Excitement

May has arrived, and I've completed several projects. This is the first spring in a few years when I've had time to work outside in the garden because my schedule and the weather have cooperated. And I'm happy to have found some great deals! Above is a dwarf Alberta spruce "Conica." It gets 6 to 8 feet tall. I'm planting it so that birds have winter cover. It's small enough that it shouldn't block the light for my vegetable garden. Below is a cherry tree, "Mesabi."

Below is a mock orange "Snow White." It'll block the view of the electric and cable boxes eventually.

Below is a wire fence to keep the rabbits out. Last year they chewed through the plastic fence, which had become brittle after a few years of use. I'll keep this fence up year round because it was a lot of work to install. Thanks to my hubby for helping!