Hello! Welcome to my blog. Gardening always has its ups and downs, and that’s just the way it goes. I had some big fails with my seeds this year, and while I still have some plants that might grow, it is nothing compared to what I had at this stage last year. The good news is that I have lots of other plants (not from seed) that I’m so excited to have planted, and while the garden might look different than last year, I think it’ll look lovely in a new way. 🙂

It is always nice getting jobs done in the garden and this was a very productive week! My husband was tasked with figuring out a way to cover the strawberry plants to keep the birds out but also allows us to easily pick the strawberries. We’ve tried netting before, but it was a mess (and birds can get stuck in them). His design is not only functional and light weight, they also look really good. He did a great job, and I am very hopeful to have lots of strawberries this season!

Tulip season is still going strong with the late varieties just coming into their glory now. I have two different types in front of the playhouse and they are quite pretty. The jury is still out about these two tulips being paired together, though!

It is such a wonderful time of the year, with new flowers awakening and blooming all of the time. I am joining The Propagator again this week for his Six on Saturday meme, as I think it is a perfect way to sum up the week! Feel free to join in.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you have had a good week!

In Peace,
Dana

1 & 2 – Tulip Lilac perfection and Tulip Mascotte. Ok, I think you can tell that I prefer the Mascotte tulips, although that might just be because they are a tiny bit further along than the Lilac perfection. I like the fringed edging. They are both lovely, and I’m happy with them, the bleeding heart and Japanese maple around the playhouse. Last year I pulled out a scraggly lavender plant that was in front of the playhouse, and I think that these tulips look much nicer. I now need to think of what to plant here for the summer!

3 – Lily of the valley. The scent! Oh how I love scented flowers. These are tops. And they have finally settled in enough to spread. That took a little longer than I’d hoped, but never mind, they are finally doing it. They are in the shade of an evergreen, and I really like them there.

4 – Cherry tree. I know I showed the cherry tree last week, but I loved the contrast in this picture of the black cloud with the yellow rapeseed field and the sun shining on the cherry tree. I’m sure this is the longest that I’ve seen the cherry trees looking their best. They’ve had a super season.

5 – Freesia. This is more a picture of the planters that I tidied up this week than of the tiny freesia flowers, with bluebells and tulips in the background. I was so glad to finally have weeded the containers, put in some fresh potting soil and feed, and cleaned them up. Great to see some signs of life in the planters, too.

6 – Strawberry covers. It wasn’t until my husband was nearly finished with the covers that I asked him if he’d taken any pictures along the way. So the best he could do was a picture of the painting side of things (a hassle in itself, I suppose). There are five sections, and they are light enough to lift with one hand. They will also attach to the base, which I’ll show in another post. The last picture was taken after I planted the squash/pumpkin plants that managed to survive their transition to outside. I have a few of them under a mini poly tunnel. We’ll see how they do. My sunflower plants are so teeny tiny! I’m not sure they’ll bloom this season! Fingers crossed.

Thanks again for visiting. I hope you’ve enjoyed the tour! 🙂