What has Sprung this Spring?

70º today.  Into the 80ºs tomorrow.  You call this spring? 

I took a walk around to capture what is showing itself in the gardens.  I was pleasantly surprised with some of my finds.  Here's an assortment of what has sprung.

Inside the tomatoes, basil and peppers are doing just fine.

Outside I've been slowly working my way around the perennial beds straightening the rock borders.  I've done three of 8 so far.  Washing screens took up a lot of outside work time this afternoon.

Found sprung: bleeding heart.  Here's one of three I have.

 Some daffodils are spent but other varieties are just coming into their own. 

 I should remember the name of this wild flower but right now the name escapes me.  This was a surprise I found today.

 My one and only rose is leafing out.

 Hostas are in varying stages of new growth.  This one is next to the house so its farther along.

 Another daffodil along the glen.  For some reason ...

 these daffodils turn their faces away from the house.  Well, I guess they like to face the south.

 This daffodil was newly planted last fall and at first I wasn't sure they would even come up.

 They did and this one has a trumpet problem.

 In the vegetable garden I have a decision to make about volunteer pumpkins.  They are coming from a pie pumpkin that daughter, Emily roasted here at Thanksgiving.

 My bed of broccoli.

 Wintered over spinach in the bed where new spinach has germinated.

 Assorted lettuces.

 Snow peas.

 Garlic.

 Pak choi.

 In the front garden the daffodils have started to bloom and

 hydrangea is leafing out.  I didn't trim it back yet this year and may not or if I do not as drastically as in the past.

 More hostas.

 And finally the pond garden.  This is a chore I started last week but didn't finish.  I managed to cut down all but a few cat tails.  I haven't trimmed the water irises or the Siberian irises.  I may have plants to move too if we build a deck to the right side over looking the pond.

Bird House Project

As I was clipping back dead stalks I realized I could put to use some of this material.  The brainstorm came overnight as those typically do, that I could decorate wooden bird houses.  We stopped at Joann's on Saturday before going to see a wonderful movie (The Artist) and there outside the doors were an assortment of wooden houses just waiting for me.  I couldn't pass up getting three different ones.

Wednesday afternoon I assembled my supplies in the the wood shop: a folding table, chair, hot glue gun and refills, bird houses, clippers, assorted dried stalks, seed pods, leaves and flowers and went to work on the first one.  Here is the result:

Now I have to figure out how to preserve it and whether it can go outside.

Wordless Wednesday - Return of Some Familiar Faces

Harvest Monday and Other Stuff

I actually had a harvest on Sunday evening: spinach from last Fall's sowing.  There were just enough leaves to add to a stir fry at the very end so they just started to wilt.  What rich flavor they had.  I wish there had been more.

You can see other harvests at our host: Daphne's Dandelions.

In other stuff here's a look at how the seedlings are doing.  I've now only had no shows in two pots of Delicious tomatoes.  I may try to put some more seeds in there or just try some marigolds which I know will germinate.  I planted three or four seeds in each pot and now face the daunting task of deciding which one plant to keep in each pot.  You can see below that of the three, no four New Ace peppers there is not much difference so how to choose?

 I'll have to decide fairly soon which of these Amish paste is the one as they get their second set of leaves.   Decisions, decisions!

 And finally also under the category of other stuff, here are the daffodils outside the bedroom wing windows ...

 ... and the hanging pot of pansies using the cinchers I got at the Flower Show ...

 ... and an interesting pattern on the window of my study in the morning light.  The drips are left over from when I had the humidifier in here when I had a cold but the other mark is left by can you guess?

Yes, a bird making contact with the window.  A hazard unintended by having large clear windows in a woodland setting despite my attempts at putting decals up to warn them.  No dead bird was found on the ground so I think this one survived to hit again another day.