Hello, and welcome to my blog! I’m sitting at my desk at the end of a weekend where I spent more time being in the garden than I did in the house – and what a great experience that is! While the weather is still not exceptionally warm (it was around 13°C / 55°F), the sun was shinning for most of the weekend. There is no doubt that sunny days lift my mood, and when I’m able to get into the garden, it is euphoric!

What’s going on in the garden in April? Well, I’m mainly taking care of my new trees, the plants which we moved in March, as well as the new plantings. We haven’t had a lot of rain, so it was a big enough job making sure everyone had enough water this weekend. The first year of planting trees is pretty important, after that their roots will hopefully be deep enough so that it isn’t as big a deal if we miss some rain. I also added more compost around the birch trees to help keep the moisture in and to feed the soil. We will need to move our compost ‘heap’ this season and I want to use up as much of the ‘good stuff’ as possible before we set up the new spot. The new spot has not yet been determined, unfortunately. All in good time (says she, hopefully). 🙂

The strawberry plants have settled in perfectly. They are hardy, to say the least. The blueberry shrubs also seems to be happy enough in their new homes. The raspberries, on the other hand, are giving me trouble. Some of them are wilting. Perhaps it was from the frost we had after they were planted? But then why aren’t they all wilting? We’ll see. Again, I’m still hopeful!

The vegetable plants that I started from seed are now growing a little too fast. I’ve started to acclimatize some of them, setting them outside during the day. If all goes well weather wise, I’m hoping to get some of them planted the beginning half of May. My little flower seedlings aren’t growing at as fast a pace. I’ve moved them to the south facing part of the house and I can already see an improvement. I have no choice but to be hopeful!

The tulips are in full bloom. The early varieties have already started to fade. This has me planning on what I can add to which bed for next year. But for now, there are so many signs of what’s still to come, I don’t think we’ll be stuck for color any time soon!

We’ve observed so many birds resting in the new trees now. There is a noticeable increase in avian visitors, which is delightful to see. It is just a joy to see and hear them. If you follow me on Instagram, you can often hear them in the background of my stories.

I hope you are enjoying your weather, wherever you are in the world! I also hope that you, too, have much to be hopeful for.

In Peace,
Dana

There isn’t too much progress on the new beds. The raspberries in front are challenging me, while the blueberries and strawberries seem to be doing fine. The pear tree is flowering, too, with pretty white blossoms.

The blooms on the Arthur Turner (cooking) apple tree are a very pretty deep pink before they open to a lighter pink. The tree is covered in blooms.

This apple tree will have red apples that are classified as ‘eating’ apples (not cooking). The blossoms are a light pink when closed and a pale pink when opened. The tree is quite a sight as it is completely covered in flowers!

April was all about Tulips! We enjoyed a lovely display, mostly due to the fact that we hadn’t had any major storms, which would usually batter the tulips. So thankful for the calm! (Top right: Queen of the Night, bottom right: Pretty Princess)

This white tulip is a new variety this year, although I have had similar before. It is called Tulipa Honeymoon and is pure white with a fringed edging. It is very pretty. I thought Kitty looked sweet sunning herself in the evening sunlight between some of the tulips.

Our hallway is becoming quite full! I can’t wait until we can plant out everything in the garden! I did buy some fleece, just in case we get frost *after* I plant them out. The picture on the left shows the plants which are further along (outside).

I spent a lot of time with the birch trees this weekend!

I think the ‘Rose bed’ looks so pretty at the moment, with the aubrietia (in front), purple anemone, pink and deep purple tulips and the rose bushes starting to fill out with leaves. Oh, and that blue sky sure helps!

Thanks for stopping by! Take care! 🙂