signs of spring

Hmmm, I am wondering how I somehow sneak back into blogland after not posting anything for three months?  Do I just jump back in and pretend I’ve been here all along???  Or maybe I list the five million reasons why I haven’t been able to blog??? No, I think I’ll start with:

I have REALLY missed taking pictures and blogging!!!

O.K., now to my list of excuses 🙂   Suffice it to say that working, coaching, parenting kids who swim and Irish dance, and traveling 700 miles a week has kept me out of the garden. But it has been during this time when I couldn’t be on my blog that I discovered how much I truly enjoy working on my blog, and I really miss it.  So once again, I will do my best to stay on top of my garden and reporting all things beautiful to you (while hopefully maintaining a level of sanity)!

Daffodil bulbs – more signs of spring

What could be more beautiful than the greens from bulbs pushing their way out of the soil?  I see this as new signs of life and hope for all things beautiful to come!  I can even ignore all of the weeds and ONLY see the new greens from the bulbs … because why spoil something so exciting?

Tulips pushing through in the Rose Garden

Look at the stones in my soil!  I clear them away all the time, and new ones appear.   Ha!  The same thing happens with the weeds!

Winter Sunshine Helleborus

I bought this lovely “Winter Sunshine” Hellebore last year.  The flowers are really pretty!

Helleborus Winter Sunshine – look at all of those flowers!

Have I mentioned our weather to you? I titled today’s blog “February brings spring to Ireland … sorta” because the weather we have been having is more  “winter storm-like” than spring-like. We haven’t gone more than a day without rain, and I mean a lot of rain. The bad weather has been relentless since November. November!  We’ve had major (rain & wind) storm after storm after storm.  The funny thing about Ireland is, though, that the sun will peek out for a short amount of time every now and then… just enough to keep us from going completely crazy. Good thing!

Helleborus Winter Sunshine

O.K.,  now I have a picture that could win a prize for “Worst Garden Ever” due to the bed being completely taken over by grass.  This is why you should never have a wild flower garden where you really want a proper flower bed.  Lesson learned!

Grass is everywhere!

I definitely know that anything can be achieved by starting small. Just look at any of my gardening projects and you’ll know I have patience and perseverance. But this bed has me running for any other job in the garden!   I’m hoping one of these days I’ll just dive in and dig up that grass (again)!!!

Weeping Cypress Nootka

Elsewhere in the garden… My weeping Cypress Nootka is well settled in now. I simply love it.

Abies Koreana

Almost directly across from my Weeping Cypress Nootka is my newest tree, an Abies Koreana.  It shouldn’t grow too big, and has a lovely “Christmas tree” shape.  We grow our garden one tree/plant at a time!

Ditch Wall Garden

The color in my ditch wall garden is really striking at the moment, don’t you think?

Favorite Winter Flower – Anemone

I probably have too many pictures of my anemone, but I love the color they provide in the winter and very early spring months!

It was so lovely sharing my garden with you.  I hope you enjoyed it, too!

I hope that no matter what the weather is where you are that you are able to enjoy it! … and I also hope that the rain in Ireland eases up a bit so we can enjoy more time in the garden!

Happy Winter/Spring! 🙂

In peace,
Dana