Spring Yard and Garden

We've been busy. Baseball season is starting (both boys are playing this year, so on top of Oliver's Tae Kwon Do, we basically have at least one practice, game or class every day now). The kids are still in a hybrid program for school so they go to school every day, but only a half day, so it makes working in the afternoon a challenge sometimes. When we're not working or shuffling from one sport to the next, we're outside enjoying the warm weather, sunshine and flowers. 

I did a pretty good job of yard cleanup in October, but once I had the appendectomy in November everything totally stopped. So there's a chunk of fall cleanup that I've been tackling, one section at a time. The goal was just to get things back to a clean slate for all the emerging plants and keep an eye out for weeds until I start mulching in May. 

In the back garden I had a lot of help to put things to bed, so it's not bad back here at all. I cleaned up the perennial herbs and strawberry beds in the back to give the plants space to bounce back. I planted peas and lettuce to get mid-April started. The paths need weeding. The tomato and flower seedlings in the house and greenhouse are all doing really well and should be a good size by early May. Right now it just looks empty. 

In the greenhouse I started some of my dahlia bulbs early for a head start. Every container I had saved is filled! And there are a lot of dahlias I'm not starting early - I literally had 6 bins of bulbs this year between the raised bed garden and all the ones in the yard. My ranunculus and anemone bulbs finally arrived too so they are in a tray pre-sprouting. These arrived MUCH later than I thought they would so it might be too hot by the time they sprout... but I'm hoping to give them TLC to keep them alive until next winter and I'll plant them much earlier. 

I'm focusing on doing a little every day. Some days that's just enjoying a bouquet of daffodils and watering the greenhouse plants. Some days that's planting elderberry bushes and lavender that arrived in the mail. Today it was pruning some branches. 

One of my fancy succulents is blooming in the greenhouse. Just look at those pinks. 

It feels so good to have the world coming back to life. The grass is green again, there are tiny leaves on most plants. The flowers are blooming and the colors are most welcome. 

The to-do list is massive... but most of it is for May. Mulching, planting the garden. Planting flowers in the containers. Getting the rest of the furniture out. Putting the pool back up because that was a highlight last summer (I'm a total convert). For now I'm just getting a jump start on what I can and enjoying the winter being over.