The weather has been teasing us the last month or so, but at long last we have had 3 consecutive weeks of spring weather. When we bought the house last spring most of the early spring bulbs had already died back due to early blooming from the mild winter. We knew there were bulbs in the beds, but we had no idea what they might be. Needless to say the last few weeks have been full of discovery as greenery first started peaking through the ground.
In anticipation of gardening season I have spent the last 3 weekends cleaning out beds, mulching and moving rocks around. I must say that compared to gardening in Texas with only an inch and half of topsoil, gardening in Rhode Island is a joy! I no longer have to struggle to dig a hole deep enough to plant a rose bush and of course not having drought conditions is also helpful. Here's a pictorial tour of the great garden cleanup.
Week 1: Front Yard
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| Random daffodil came up behind one of the shrubs. Must have been an extra. |
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| Used rocks from the cave-in to line the lilly bed around the lamp post. |
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| Cleaned out the front bed. I've since planted two rose bushes in the empty space in the middle to get some color into the front bed. |
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| This hedge is long overdue for a trim. It is absolutely massive. It is next on the list of outdoor projects. |
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| I also plan to line the sidewalk bed with stone as well. |
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| Mr Squirrel, the Pig's nemesis, happily snacks on an ear of popcorn Loyd left out for him. |
Week 2: The Backyard
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| On side of the backyard retaining wall was already collapsing when we bought the house. The weight of all the snow from the blizzard was apparently just too much. Spent most of the day clearing rock and weeds to see how badly the cave in was. We plan on putting a water feature here in the future, so we aren't too heart broken over the loss of the wall on this side. |
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| Backyard beds ready for mulch! |
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| Looking back at the garden sed and flag pole. |
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| For a yard with ZERO trees in it, I raked up SEVEN bags of leaves from the neighbors ' trees. |
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| Hyacinths just starting to bloom in the triangle bed. |
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| St. Francis has been moved to his new spot. Bluebells (?) and daffodils (closeup of blue flowers below) |
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| Early Daffodils |
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| Retaining wall bed filled with Daffodils. At this point only 1 or 2 were starting to open. All of the junk is from cleaning out the shed and garage. It will be halled off once we get finished this weekend. |
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| Leaves everywhere! |
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| Front view of cave in |
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| Early Daffodils, waiting to bloom. |
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| More flowers emerging from the triangle bed! |
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| Grape Hyacinth--the garden smells wonderful!! |
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| Hydrangeas have set their buds and are just starting to push out new leaves. A couple more weeks of nice weather and they should be in full flower. |
Week 3: Full Bloom
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| Daffodil bed in backyard |
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| One of several flowering bushes. I have a purple magnolia that is to the left of this bush that is full of buds. It should be gorgeous when it finally blooms. |
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| Our bird friends have returned. This one fussed at me the entire time I was taking pictures today. |
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| Corner bed is almost in full bloom. |
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| Pretty in pink. |
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| Bleeding Hearts. I love these plants. I had one in Texas but the heat was just too much for it. I had no idea what the plant was when I was weeding last week-- it was fairly small and I almost ripped it up. Glad I didn't! |
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| African violets |
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This is actually in our neighbors yard but the branches spread over the fence. These are everywhere.
Well there you have it, evidence that winter has been pushed aside for a few glorious months. Temps have been in the 60s during the day, with clear blue skies. I've actually been able to wear my Texas spring clothes!!
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