Around The Yard | Very Early Spring 2014

AE_Front

I have daydreams of sticking closer to home this summer.

Those often parallel my travel daydreams so it's hard to tell where I'll really end up.

I love my yard and I love working in my yard and I love hanging out in my yard and I love having people over for dinner and eating outside.

It's an amazing spring day here today so I grabbed my camera and took a walk around my house. Here's what I found:

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In the front yard right now are those gorgeous little blue flowers around the icy blue lavender.

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Forsythia. This is my sure sign that spring is coming. I have one on the right side of my house and one on the left side.

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When you come around to the backyard there's this great ground cover under a large Japanese Maple tree.

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It's short and lovely.

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From left to right: really large white lilac along the side of the house (that I die over every year) + three blueberry bushes along the little fence + the giant wisteria which is what I saw the first time I walked through the doors of this house and it took my breath away (far right).

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The blueberries.

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Up close on the lilac.

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There's a neglected rhododendron in the far edge of my yard with beautiful pink blooms.

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These will soon be cherry blossoms.

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These, my favorite of all forever and ever amen, are peonies just coming up out of the ground.

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There's five or so groupings right here and nothing makes me quite as happy as when they bloom.

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I've got some more peonies in a few other parts of my yard. Some that were planted over three years ago that might finally bloom this year. The others that are in the ground above produce the most amazing huge light pink blooms.

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A white hydrangea that did pretty well last year. Doesn't look like much now but it will have lovely large white blooms.

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These will end up being really tall (I think they are day-lilies).

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These came up again from last year. My Mom has told me that daffodils don't always return again and again. Just one this time. I'll likely put more bulbs in the ground there next fall. Behind these are a bunch of dahlias which are my second favorite behind peonies.

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I have a shaded area along the back of my house that includes these white bleeding hearts and some other shade-loving plants.

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And the beds. Obviously in need of some major TLC. The tomato cages are leftover from last years crop that were all volunteers (meaning they came up again from the year before). I really want to work on this area again this year and make sure I get some sweet peas in here like I did a few years back.

As you might be able to tell, I love perennials. These are the flowers that die to the ground and return again next year and the joy they bring me is big time.

I know how fast this all goes.

By the end of next month my yard will look more like this:

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This was taken April 30th of last year when the wisteria was going crazy. We miss you Lily!

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57 thoughts

  1. APRIL NOWOTNY says…
    03/17/2014

    Love all these plants. In Florida, we don't get these kinds of flowers in our yards. I miss this. Everything is tropical here.

    Reply 0 Replies
  2. Michelle O says…
    03/17/2014

    So lovely! I have a peony that bloomed the first spring we were in our house. Hasn't bloomed again. We also have a blue hydrangea that blooms sporadically. I think it doesn't get quite the right amount of sun.

    Someone told me that the secret to getting daffodils to bloom over and over again is to let them completely die back after the blooms fade. The bulbs get nourishment from the faded blooms or something. (I'm no gardener!)

    Reply 0 Replies
  3. Alida says…
    03/17/2014

    I really thought tulips are your favourite. But peonies are my favourite too. How wonderful to have a photo with both George and Lily in it.

    Reply 0 Replies
  4. Dawn F. says…
    03/17/2014

    Since my yard is still covered in 2 feet of snow, I loved looking at the signs of spring.

    Reply 0 Replies
  5. Christina P says…
    03/17/2014

    How exciting! I can't wait for spring here. Make sure to post pictures when your flowers are in full bloom!

    Reply 0 Replies
  6. Jenni Hufford says…
    03/17/2014

    ahhhhh this gives me hope spring will come someday in the midwest. it's in the 30's here today :( everything is BROWN.

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. northcarmen says…
      03/17/2014

      Everything is white here -- I am wishing for brown!!

  7. Marge G. says…
    03/17/2014

    So nice to see flowers and sun, Ali. Here in Philadelphia, we just had (yet another) snow storm last night, and I'm sitting here looking at (yet more) snow. Sign.....

    Reply 0 Replies
  8. Hometownbeautiful says…
    03/17/2014

    Gorgeous spring plants. I'm dying every time I walk past my hostas and see that there's a little more green than last time. Spring is the best.

    Reply 0 Replies
  9. LIsa W. says…
    03/17/2014

    Ahhhhhhhhh I miss Lilly TOO...I have a lab, I KNOW how special they are...best friends!!! Ali I am amazed how much GREEN and BUDS you have coming. Didn't you just have a snow storm AND ice storm not that long ago?? Wondering does spring and summer come much earleir in Oregon. Man we still got winter here in Michigan...probably 8 in. in some spots. Allot will melt this week we are supposed to have mid 40's. Well your yard is off to what looks like a great start. I LOVE how you love to work in your yard, have people over...all sounds delightful to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply 0 Replies
  10. Sharon says…
    03/17/2014

    Awesome to see that spring is on its way. The snow banks at the end of my driveway are over my head. Its been a long winter. Thanks for the pick me up,

    Reply 0 Replies
  11. Vanessa Babin says…
    03/17/2014

    I am so ready for spring too. We have never had a winter this long in South Louisiana. The pear trees are beautiful (looks like cotton balls) and the Japanese Magnolias are glorious. i can't wait for the Azaleas to start blooming (they are really late this year). Love all the beautiful colors and the green green grass!

    Reply 0 Replies
  12. susan kopp says…
    03/17/2014

    Love your garden photos! I miss having my garden and in fact the pictures of it are on my desk getting ready to scrap. Daffodils do indeed come back year after year and in fact multiply like crazy! I had clumps of them showing up all over my yard and the clumps getting bigger over the years!

    Reply 0 Replies
  13. Allison says…
    03/17/2014

    Isn't it great to watch your yard wake up? One of my favorite things. I'm in NE Oklahoma and I noticed some buds on my peach tree Saturday. So excited about that!

    Reply 0 Replies
  14. Elizabeth says…
    03/17/2014

    I believe your ground cover is Vince, in case you're interested. Everything looks lovely!

    Reply 3 Replies
    1. Elizabeth says…
      03/17/2014

      Nope. It's a perennial evergreen, invasive too. Can't get rid of it here!!

    2. Sue P, says…
      03/17/2014

      I think Vinca is an annual??

    3. Elizabeth says…
      03/17/2014

      Vinca, not Vince

  15. dianne d. says…
    03/17/2014

    I live in Corvallis and my daffodils always come back, in fact they multiply so quickly that eventually I divide them to share with others. As Michelle said above the trick is to not remove the leaves until they turn brownish and pull easily off. We also always cut or break off the flower stalks when the bloom turns brown.

    Reply 0 Replies
  16. Carole says…
    03/17/2014

    It is so nice to see some signs of spring - thank you for posting these photos! I think the little blue flowers in the first two photos are grape hyacinths. They've always been a favorite of mine.

    Reply 0 Replies
  17. Patti L says…
    03/17/2014

    Nice to see signs of spring...we are covered in 4 inches of snow in NJ today! I can relate to the wanting to hang home, but I also have wanderlust and like to travel. My OLW this year is home, which means a lot of different things. Love your yard!

    Reply 0 Replies
  18. Sue M says…
    03/17/2014

    Aren't God's blessings wonderful! All those signs of spring are just what my old heart needed. It's been a long cold winter! You also gave me the inspiration to take a walk (and pictures) and check out those quiet changes in my yard. Thanks.

    Reply 0 Replies
  19. tracey says…
    03/17/2014

    How exciting Spring is every year!

    I thinks that's creeping Myrtle under your Japanese maple. (At least it looks just like ours!) Love those purple flowers on that gorgeous glossy green.

    Reply 0 Replies
  20. Anita K says…
    03/17/2014

    The ground cover in pictures 4 & 5 are purple vinca. They are a great ground cover! Enjoy - happy spring!!

    Reply 0 Replies
  21. Megan stiles says…
    03/17/2014

    I've been looking for a white lilac! My grandmother had one in her yard, right outside 'my' bedroom...can I steal a couple cuttings?

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Ali says…
      03/17/2014

      Totally!

  22. michelle t says…
    03/17/2014

    Very lovely yard. Wonderful sign of renewal. Michelle t

    Reply 0 Replies
  23. Merrilee says…
    03/17/2014

    I really enjoyed seeing your signs of spring, Ali! Beautiful photos! We still have snow covering the ground; no signs of spring yet in Minnesota. We always hope April will bring spring.

    Reply 0 Replies
  24. Nicole Geiger says…
    03/17/2014

    I have spring envy. 7 inches of snow here today. **big sigh** At least this gives me hope!!

    Reply 0 Replies
  25. Debbie says…
    03/17/2014

    Love this garden walk! Thank you for it. The lovely vine ground cover is a vinca vine. It is such a shiny deep green lovely plant that has beautiful flowers in early spring. I am trying to remember the 'Lovely blue" flowers name. It's a bulb that lives and reproduces for YEARS. I transplanted some from my grandfathers garden in the 1980's. They are abundant and full of meaning to me. The name will come :)! Enjoy these sweet signs of life.

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