Arriving

Our first two tulips bloomed today. I wish that I could sit in the grass and watch each one unfurl its flower. Does it happen slowly or quickly? Could I watch it happen gradually over the course of a sunny afternoon?

Dogwood

I almost titled this post "State Pride," but truthfully I am not very proud of our state at the moment. I feel like we are stumbling and tripping painfully backwards to a place of social and political ignorance, intolerance, and prejudice. Our state tree is quite beautiful, though.

The Tulips Will Bloom Soon

The buds are ready to open up any day.

New grass is on the way. Time to mow soon. sw

A Note on Roses

For the record...

I undertook the terrifying process of pruning our rose bushes on 3/14/10. I am certain that this will become less anxiety-producing each year as I become more confident with the clippers. I followed instructions on the internets (because you know that you can always trust the internets) carefully. I pruned the smaller (south) rose bush back more closely than the taller one. That tall one is a little intimidating! This is what they looked like a week later...

That's good, right? kj

pic captured by kj, edited by sw

Plans

As the weather gets warmer and the bulbs start pushing their way through the earth, we are growing impatient to start planting. The March weather still leans towards the 30's and 40's at night, and the ground is saturated from the past seasons of rain and snow. We have heard rumors that we can start planting hardy perennials and cooler-weather vegetables, but we are moving forward hesitantly this year. Plus, we still have to buy our plants (start seedlings next year!), landscape our backyard, and till. But, oh, we have plans.

List of Wants:

1. Roses - already have two in our front yard - do we want more? Roses are my favorite flowers, not for the romantic kitch of them, but for the thoughts of my grandmother and mother and the indescribable smell.

2. Herbs - basil, oregeno, thyme, mint - more? The rosemary is obviously well established, and we will need to cut that back so that we have room for everything else. We are going to plant all of the herbs in our back garden except the mint. Mint appears to enjoy invasion, so we are going to confine two diffent kinds to pretty pots on our back deck. I am at a level of obsession about planting this year that I had to physically restrain myself from buying starts of herbs at the Fluvanna garden center. Melissa convinced me to wait until the Maymont Herb Festival coming up in a month or so.

3. Lantanas - oh lantanas! We will definitely plant some in our garden but also some in hanging pots with sweet potatoe vine. Thank you, Amanda.

4. Zinnias - also such a dear favorite. We grew these from seeds the past two years, and I can't wait to plant them all through our garden.

5. Vegetables - I seriously cannot wait for that first sweet bite of a homegrown tomato. We definitely want several types of tomatos and peppers. We also want to plant cucumbers, potatoes, and onions. We really want to have garlic, but we have to do more research about the correct time to plant and harvest.

6. Plants for the future - azaleas, hastas, forsythia, etc. One step at a time, right?

7. Sweet Pea - pink and white vines grew so lovely over the fence at our last house. They feel so old-fashioned, dignified, and sweet. This I could not resist buying in Fluvanna. Our first garden purchase of the year! The owner of the garden center said that this is a two year old plant, and no one is sure of the color. Wonderful.

A More Mundane List:

1. new hose (two? for the front and back?)

2. get the composter working

3. slate for the walkway coming out from our shed

4. tiller (sigh - should we buy or borrow? what size? should we just suck it up and put our shoulders to the shovel?)

5. figure out the lawnmower situation

6. weedeater? (a GOOD one this time if we do get one)

7. clothesline!

8. grill

9. organize that shed

10. put the random door under the house kj

Transplants

all pics captured by kj, edited by sw

Our Neighbors Have Pretty Flowers, Too

pic 4 captured by kj, edited by sw

Spring Comes to Fluvanna

Daffodils

Gardening makes me feel alive. After years of working with death and finality, even just the ideas of planting, of warm soil, of a small bloom seem powerful and comforting. I feel like I am grasping at ways to stay connected to the living. I turn 30 this spring. All of the stereotypical existential questions float through my head. Underneath it all a small panic persists. So I look outside for soothing metaphors and reassurances that life goes on.

I saw the first daffodils in full bloom in Richmond today. The small bunch of flowers in the back yard of a patient’s home bravely swayed in the cold gray wind. Little beacons of sun. kj

Beginnings

We moved into our beloved little home on the hill in September 2009. We spent the long and snowy winter tending to the inside. Now, Spring is seductively close, and we are drawn outdoors. We are new to the craft of gardening, with just little bits of experience.

This is the space to record our growth.

March 13, 2010

We moved in at the end of the season so we have no idea what is about to bloom! It is truly lovely to find little green stalks shooting up around our house. We think that these are two different types of bulbs, but truthfully, we don't really know. These are located in the north flower bed by the front steps.

These are located under the most southern Crepe Myrtle in our front yard. Yes, we have two old, well-tended, and magnificent Crepe Myrtle trees!

These are shoots coming up among the weeds along the driveway. I have not weeded yet because I was not sure that the purple-clover-like plants were actually weeds! Then I noticed that they were taking over the grass in the backyard. Hey, we really are beginners.

This is a small bed of bulbs at the end of our driveway. Everything looks a little rough as we all try to clean ourselves up and find the sunlight after a deep winter hibernation.

A closer picture along the fence in our driveway.

Our backyard. We planted the rosemary in October 2009. It may be the only living thing that survived the multiple feet of snow. Our plan is to plant a garden around the edges of the shed and extending along the fence.

Desolate and begging for planting. kj

pics 2, 4, 5, 6 captured by kj edited by sw