The Next Step

We went to the Maymont Herb festival on Saturday with Matt and Melissa, and it was amazing. Vendors lined the big field by Maymont's back entrance and tons of people milled around carrying large flats of plants. Our favorite vendor was Amy's Garden from Charles City County, and we bought four gorgeous heirloom tomato plants - "hillbilly," "purple krim," "speckled roma," and the notorious "mortgage lifter." I am way too excited about them. We also bought a random pepper plant called "carmen." We bought lime basil, blue African basil, hot and spicy oregano, and curled parsley at A Thyme to Plant at Lavender Fields. We also bought "Irene"lantana and a sweet potato vine at County Gardens. I want to try to start some plants by seed after this growing season, so we got a pack of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange Tropic Tomato seeds.

We decided (hoped!) that the soil was dry enough to plant, so we planted all of our new plants right after we got home as well as three big boy tomato plants, three green bell pepper plants, and three banana pepper plants that Elaine gave us.

I re-potted the strawberry plant that Mom W gave us for Easter as well as the mint and aloe from Matt and Melissa. We planted the lantana and sweet potato in the barrel in the driveway.

There are, of course, several things left to do. We still would like to get a sweet basil plant and several cucumbers for the large beds. We also plan on putting marigolds throughout to help stave off the bugs. We still have no plans for the side bed. Perhaps annuals and more lantana (I love that stuff). And, we need to actually use the mulch that is sitting in bags on our patio.

Cycles

The tulips were a startling source of joy for us. We did not expect them to be so red, to be collected in such perfect clumps around the trees and in the front beds. We did not expect to be so pleased by the three rouge white tulips that somehow worked themselves up in between all the red. I was surprised about how deep a sense of loss I felt when the blooms began to fade. But, then, the Spirea began to bloom, spilling the white blooms over the top of our steps and dropping tiny white petals on the ground below. They are beginning to fade slightly now, too, and I have been feeling the same sort of peculiar grief as with the tulips. Perhaps I should have more faith because our first rose opened this weekend. Pink and sweet smelling and otherwise wonderfully indescribable.

Spirea By The Front Steps

Some New Wildlife and Some Old

This bird hopped around our garden for a few minutes.

I think he is digging up worms from the soil.

Kitty likes to sleep in the garden.

This is a notch on the fence in the backyard.

Not really wildlife, but it looks cool.

Macro Shots

That strand is part of a spider web on one of the geraniums.

Click on the full size for a closer look at the web.

The lemon tree has started to flower

tiny strawberries

Timeline So Far

For the record:

March 27 - Broke ground on the back garden with a shovel and maddock.

Planted onions, potatoes, pink and grape hyacinths, sweet peas, snow drops, and virginia bluebells (all provided by Elaine). Mom planted a few bulbs of daffodils in the front beds.

April 5 - Planted broccoli and cabbage.

Might have planted these too late - we'll see.

We have been turning and working on the soil every couple of days.

The grass and weeds are persistant.

Green Spring

As in pollen...everywhere. We woke up one morning to sunshine, balmy weather, blooming flowers, and a thick layer of green pollen everywhere. Green on our cars, our cat, on our couch in the living room through the screen! Pollen is like a nature-produced industrial chemical. Spring is not messing around this year.