Spring is in the Air

Today’s weather was just absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, I spent the bulk of my day inside… but I got home around 3pm and poked around the yard looking for signs of spring (and also looking at all the “fall clean-up” I failed to finish).

My Crocus have started coming up… though my neighbor’s started blooming last week (grrr…). I have a few varieties in the front yard and these little lavender ones are always the first to pop-up once the warmer weather hits.

The darker purple Crocus have also started to bloom. Note the Periwinkle (also called Myrtle and Vinca Minor) surrounding them… I suspect these vines will be covered in their traditional light blue flowers very soon. In case you haven’t already guessed, there is a theme to the flowers in most of my yard — they reflect my favorite colors… blue and purple. That’s not to say I don’t have Daffodils and Tulips and plenty of other colored perennials… it’s just that you’ll notice a trend toward the blues more than anything else.

Surprisingly, the Lady’s Mantle that I neglected to plant in the ground last year is coming back. We have about 6 plants in the back yard that were planted in Spring 08… and they did AMAZING last year and got huge. Since these three neglected pots made it through the winter, I will have to figure out where I want them to  go… as these clump and get very full… spreading to about 18-24 inches wide.

These look like my Grape Hyacinth — one of my all time favorites! I love the look and I love the smell. I think these are the coolest little flowers ever. I have 4 or 5 different varieties that I grow and look forward to them coming back every year.

Even my Chives are sprouting up. Then again, even if I wanted to kill these things, I couldn’t. I have a huge clump in my front yard garden and an even larger one in my vegetable garden in the back. They last all season… starting early and ending late — so if you are just starting out as an herb gardener, these are pretty much a sure thing and taste great. The flowers are edible too and are a beautiful light lavender. Add them to salads or use them as a garnish — though be warned that their flavor is quite strong.

With the arrival of warmer weather comes the melting of the ice and the appearance of my fish. Guess they made it through another long winter… staying outside all season. I have 4 Carp (large goldfish) and 1 Koi. The first picture is one of the carps checking to see if I had any food — which I didn’t. I desperately need to go buy pond fish food this weekend. You may be thinking that it’s cruel that I am not going to feed them for the next few days but… I haven’t fed them ALL winter! I stop feeding them as soon as the water starts to freeze and don’t start again until Spring. They basically stay at the deepest part of the [150 gallon] pond all winter… hibernating and living off the decaying plant and organic matter.

The second picture… which is very hard to see because of the glare… is my crazy koi. He REALLY is crazy… he tries to climb out of the water on top of the plants all the time.

A quick check showed that my Ornamental Pear has some fresh blossums waiting to bloom. It looks lovely when it’s covered in all the fragrant, little, white flowers… but it sucks when they all fall on the ground and blow all over the backyard — driving me nuts.

And last but surely not least… you know it’s Spring time when my dogs are spending more time outside than in and when they are being their normal disobedient selves by perching on top of my outdoor chairs and table. Bad dogs! That’s [crazy] Daizy on the left and Oliver on the right. They are destroyers… but we love them.

Well, for those of you sharing this change of season, I hope you enjoyed the weather today and as of late. It was actually my last day off for a while, as I am starting a new (3-month) job tomorrow! I will do my best to continue with my daily posts, but please forgive me if I fall a bit behind…