Rain Mixed with Snow Today

That's the weather prediction.

No wonder I have no enthusiasm for planting.

My primroses are blooming.


They are always so bright and colorful. I like them blooming at the same time as the tulips. I also love them next to big boulders. Have you ever noticed that many flowers look good next to rocks? At least I think they do.

Yesterday was nail day and I asked her to give me something "bright and springy".

I think I got just what I asked for. This is certainly bright! I only have the nail art on the ring finger. Otherwise it's too much. The background is a new summer jacket that arrived yesterday.

Now if the weather would just cooperate, I'd be all set.

Johnny-Jump-Ups, Grape Hyacinths & a TON of Creeping Phlox

The phlox has just started on the sunny side of the rockwall garden. This is just 1/4 of the phlox bordering this area. It goes all the way down for 100 feet. I have this plant in many of the other gardens as well.

As you can see I have a lot of creeping phlox to keep the grass out of. It's a daunting task and I complain about it every year. I worked on it for a few hours Saturday. When it all blooms, it's worth all the work.
It should be a beautiful sight by the weekend.

Cock-A-Doodle-Do

I can't seem to shake my passion for poultry.

I've been buying them since I was about twenty (oh, I guess it's only been a few years--ha, ha).

Today I thought I would show you a few of the roosters/chickens that reside above my kitchen cabinets.





This is a floor rug. I think it might be cute framed and put on the wall.

The only thing I dislike about these farm birds, is cleaning up after them. I climb up and take them all down to wash at least three times a year. I don't like sticky dusty chickens!

It's Never Been my Favorite Flower, But I am Liking it This Year

Bergenia

This plant is very hardy and likes a little shade. It is grown from rhizomes and has leathery leaves. The leaves are evergreen and by spring they can look pretty tattered. In past years the flower has been hidden in the leaves. This year there are three nicely visible pink flowers and I like it against this boulder.
This pic shows the big round leaves. Earlier in the season I removed a couple of the really tattered leaves.

I almost got rid of it a few years ago. I've had it in three or four different places and it's never done much. I think I may have finally found a spot it likes.

Here is another bergenia.

I may have to remove bergenia from my list of plants I don't really like. I am finding it quite interesting this year.

When I got home from work at 3:30 p.m. it was raining a little. About 5:00 p.m. I noticed the rain had stopped so I bundled up and went outside. I was shocked that it was really warm out there--too warm for the long sleeves I had on. I decided I'd spend 30 minutes removing grass from the phlox. Once I got to working, I spent over an hour. It was quite pleasant (except for the bugs that are coming out already).

I am hoping to spend a few more hours weeding this weekend.

Size Matters

Even though it's still only in the 50-degree range, there was a bit of sun out today and the new tulips were opened when I got home from work.

They are both quite beautiful when fully opened.

The Greigii Kiev boasted of 7-inch blooms, so I thought I'd see if the advertising was correct.
Hmmm....six inches is the biggest one I could find. It's still a nice size for a tulip. The Monsellas maxed out at the same size. Not bad. I am happy with both of them.

I have not done anything new as far as the deck planters go. I usually have them all planted by now.

This year it's been too cold and I have not even been in the mood to go to the local stores to see what plants are available. That is very odd as normally I want to get there first so I can get "all the good stuff" before it's gone. Maybe I will just pull out the dozens of cannas, callas and dahlias I have stored from last year and not plant any annuals...........I am not even in the mood to do the big planters at work....it all seems like way too much effort this year. It's really amazing how much work is involved to get the deck to look like it usually does.

Greigii Kiev and Monsella Tulips

Despite my lack of care, I have dozens of tulips blooming. I did not go out once to deer proof them. As it turned out this is one of those very rare years when there were no deer or rabbits eating my flowers.

This bold beauty is 'Greigii Kiev'. I ordered 35 of these last August from a telephone sales pitch from Breck's. I like these.

They are supposed to have "purple-veined" leaves. I don't see any purple, do you? Oh, wait a second. Let me get my magnifying glass out.

Ah, there are some tiny little specks of dark color. I guess that's the coveted "purple veining". I'd say that advertising is just a tad misleading. I was expecting to see the purple without having to enlarge the picture on my computer screen! Nonetheless, I'd buy these again for the dramatic flower color.

These 'Monsella' are also new.
These are not as bold, but they are no wallflower either.

I am very happy with both of these. It's wonderful to get mail-order flowers that meet (almost) your expectations.

I am waiting for my phlox to bloom before I take long shots of the other tulips. It should be this week.

I did a ton of cooking this weekend.

Remember Saturday night we grilled steaks? Well, we grilled extra so that after work tonight I can make a stir fry. There will be no frozen bagged veggies in tonight's stir fry. I spent a lot of time cleaning and chopping and have everything ready to throw in the wok. Bagged and frozen mixtures are so much easier!
I just love to look at all the nutritious ingredients.

Have a great Monday everyone.

OMG--the Things I do for a Blog Post!

I know I've been a little lax on posting lately.

But can you believe that I stuck my flip flop adorned foot this close to a snake just to have a picture for posting?

OMG, I get the jitters just looking at this picture! My foot had no protection whatsoever. Thank goodness the reptelian didn't lash out at me!

Blogging has made me a crazy woman!!

DH and I spent most of the day staining the white part of the deck. What a pain it is. DH got a ladder to do the top part of the lattice

while I gave my favorite piece of deck furniture a fresh coat of the same stain.

It's only 55 degrees out today, but with the sun shining, it's a perfect day for this hated chore. Now we only have to stain the floor and the deck will be ready to bring out all the plants--even if the weather isn't.

DH bought corn on the cob when he went grocery shopping early this morning. After I finished with the staining, I brought the corn out to the deck to shuck. It saves me having to clean up all those hairy things from the kitchen floor. He also bought some steaks to celebrate finishing this dreaded task. He is outside right now cooking them. I have the corn boiling and the onions/mushrooms sauteing.

It should be a good celebration dinner.