Hello, and welcome to my blog! Spring has truly arrived, with trees covered in buds and early blooming flowers totally showing off. What a glorious time it is, filled with hope and excitement as we watch everything unfold before our eyes. (It’s not just me, is it?!) No matter how many years I’ve experienced this newness of spring, it still feels magical every single time. And there isn’t even a need to wait until flowers are fully in bloom to enjoy their beauty – they are truly beautiful from the first sign of life! I see parallels in life, here. The only thing that is not fully aligned with spring is the temperature. At least here in Ireland it is still rather cold. No matter, I just bundle up and out I go (note the wooly hat in my picture below).

I think the most exciting thing in the garden for me this week is that we planted our ‘Little Lime’ hydrangeas. I bought these at Pergola Nurseries, in Virginia. Perhaps you’ve seen their videos on Instagram? They do lots of short, informative videos about so many different plants that the owner has become quite the celebrity! (And well deserved!) It is well worth a visit there – either online or in person. But back to my Little Limes, I’ve planted five of them to form a wall at one end of the raised bed garden. I decided to go with the dwarf hydrangeas because full size hydrangeas can grow quite big, and I didn’t want them blocking sun or taking over that area. I also went with Little Limes because they are supposed to be the easiest hydrangea to grow, and I really like ‘easy’! I’m excited to see how it will look as they grow.

I hope you have been enjoying the wonderful signs of spring where you live. In these times especially, it is really important to seek out the beauty in the world. I will be joining The Propagator again this week, for his Six on Saturday meme. Thank you for visiting, and have a great week!

In Peace,
Dana

1 – These hyacinth are called Woodstock, from Farmer Gracy. I think the color is absolutely stunning. They are next to the bleeding heart plant (Lamprocapnos spectabilis, formerly Dicentra spectabilis) which will grow much bigger as the season progresses. This area is around our playhouse, where I also have a bunch of tulips planted – still waiting on them to bloom.

2 – Tulips! These are new to me this year: the pinks are Finola tulips and the white ones are Swan wings (I think).

3 – Daffodils! It doesn’t take many to make a delightful bouquet that can brighten your day! I love having so many different varieties. My plan is to add more in containers next year, as that worked really well this year.

4 – Things to come: I love how the peony plants look as they first throw out their new foliage. I know the flowers are the main show, but after the gloom of winter it is so nice to see the pretty shades of their leaves! This picture was an evening that I was weeding in the garden, and working in the last of the aged manure. Such a great feeling to keep the beds looking tidy – for now!

5 – Little Lime hydrangea plants. Not much else to say about these cuties, and you can’t even see them in the picture! The five plants are between the black weed mat and the grass. We still have some things to figure out, like how to neatly cover the weed mat. But we’ll get there. 🙂

6 – A view of the beds in April. We have our garlic growing (to harvest in July), and the raspberry plants have started to grow after getting a trim early in the winter. The strawberry plants (on the far end) are also starting to slowly look better after the winter. Nothing beats the blue sky, though!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed your visit. 🙂