My garden...yesterday and today

Yesterday, as in literally  yesterday....and literally  today.

Hyacinthus orientalis

Kerria japonica

Backyard woodland center garden

Path through backyard woodland gardens

Narcissus in the backyard woodland garden

Helleborus x hybridus 'Velvet Lips'

More shots of the backyard woodland garden

Heuchera 'Georgia Peach'

Anemone sylvestris (behind frog) and Helleborus nigersmithii 'Ivory Prince'

Helleborus x ballardiae 'Pink Frost'

Backyard woodland corner garden

Actually, by the time I took these photos today, a lot of the snow had already melted. And by the time I uploaded all the photos and at the time of this posting, most of it is already gone! But for the record, we had snow last night;-) Thankfully, it's almost a thing of the past! I know many of you in colder climates cannot say the same thing so I am by no means complaining. Just keeping a record;-)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ *Have you stopped over to participate in the Gardeners' Sustainable Living Project? It will be 'open' until April 15th so you have plenty of time. I am giving away over 15 garden gifts including a Rain Barrel and a Composter. Be sure to check it out!

Words and photos ©Thanks for today.™, by Jan Huston Doble @ http://www.thanksfor2day.blogspot.com/

Not to be reproduced or re-blogged without express permission of the author.

Of Gloves and Shovels

On the last day of February
I put on my gloves
Grabbed my shovel

--and got down to some serious planting.




OKAY...Do you really want to see what I work with?



But I digress.

I planted 2 Erythronium americanum (Trout Lily--or as some call it, 'Dog Tooth Violet'), and 4 Hepatica acutiloba, in a shady understory in the side yard.

Just a few days before, I had seen them lying in a bin at my local Big Box store. I know that these rhizomes are not of the finest quality, and that there is a good chance that they'll never see the light of day! Still, I felt a certain satisfaction as I dug just a few inches of soil and placed them in.


Oh, and while I was at it, I added to my cart several flats of Hyacinthus orientalis (pink and purple), Muscari armeniacum (Grape Hyacinths), Scilla, Daffodils (including miniatures) and Tulips-all in various stages of early development. When I'm in Lowe's or Home Depot, I'm not picky about fancy varieties and plant cultivars; I'll take them any way that I can get them!


So that is why I went right to work as soon as I got home, planting four or five groupings of hyacinths. Then, realizing it was getting late, I quickly placed some of the flats on my (covered) front porch, and hid the rest beneath some protective bushes, because...


On the first day of March
I put on my gloves
Grabbed my shovel
--and got down to some serious shoveling. (sigh).



We were given the gift we'd wished for all winter-just in the nick of time-as spring is just literally days away! The inch or two after Christmas was just a tease-as we, like many others from Alabama to Maine-were caught in one of Mother Nature's practical jokes.




I'm sure the plants will be fine.

While the snow did begin on the 1st, it wasn't really until today (March 2nd) that the shoveling got underway. I fudged a little on the date... so that I could include this post for this month's Garden Blogger's Muse Day, which Carolyn gail hosts on the FIRST of each month at Sweet Home and Garden Chicago. Visit Carolyn's blog to participate in and read more GBMD posts!

--Today I am thankful for gloves and shovels!