working in the yard

 Another beautiful, sunny spring day in our neck-of-the-woods. We've been spoiled by this wonderful weather all week. Brian had the day off work today (he usually works weekends), so we went to Home Depot and picked up some pansies and a couple of herb plants. The place was packed! Rain is moving in tomorrow and the rest of the week looks cool and cloudy, so I think everyone wanted to get a start on yard work today. We saw a lot of customers buying big hanging baskets of ferns. Wonder what was up with that...why the popularity of those all of a sudden? It almost became a joke while we were walking around the store because everyone we passed was carrying at least two of those baskets of ferns. 

This is the first planter I put out on my porch every spring and pansies are always what I start with too, as they can withstand the cool weather. They always look kind of pitiful when I first plant them, but they'll perk up and fill out in a couple of weeks.

 Cilantro and dill are two herbs that can also handle cool weather, so I started with those in a planter instead of my herb garden. I figure if we still have a danger of frost at night (which is very possible until mid-May), I can move the planter into the garage.

 We were outside for several hours this afternoon, planting and dragging outdoor furniture out of the garage, pulling weeds, cutting back perennials, raking, and sweeping.

Just the other day, the hostas simply looked like purple asparagus coming out of the ground. Now those purple shoots have burst open and the leaves are slowly unfurling like little twirling ballerinas.

If you are looking for an easy, spreading groundcover that likes the shade, try pachysandra. This is about six years worth of growth but we started with only a handful of plants. We actually had no idea it would spread this much and it's now overtaking our stepping stone path that leads to the patio. And it's not fun to dig up ~ it has strong roots! So just a warning to be sure and plant it somewhere where you don't mind it really spreading. This plant is so hardy that it stays green all winter. We also never water it unless we have drought conditions.

Another plant that grows at least an inch a day in the spring ~ sedum.

 

 I could not believe the chives in my herb garden when I saw this plant today! It was just a tiny plant I stuck in the ground last year. This thing is already a monster. That's lemon balm in the background - a perennial in the mint family that loves to take over a garden, so I have to keep that under control, too.

 Clementine was watching me out the living room window. I don't know what she was looking at when I took this photo. Perhaps a bug. We've already seen bees (a good thing), box elder bugs, one of those small white butterflies (another good thing), and the most dreaded flying insect...mosquitoes. We were sitting on the patio yesterday evening and we were already swatting at a couple of those wretched things.

So, where's my hard-working man? Aha! Caught him red-handed. Guess his work in the yard is done for the day.

 Mine, too. 

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend! How's the weather where you live? Are you doing any yard work this weekend or are you up to something else?