Good news!!!  The Mahonia at Meeks Park has berries.  We were afraid they might have gotten burned by the cold.  Nope, the berries look fine.  They will get bluer as the season goes on, and tasty when they are all the way ripe.

 

Those leaves look a bit ominous, don't they?  They are stiff and sharp, I guess in an attempt to protect the berries from foragers like me.  I am careful when picking the berries, and I don't walk around barefoot in the presence of Mahonia.  Just a tip from a friend.

 

HAPPY SPRING!!

 

 

 

I planted a little catmint a few years ago, and it is still coming back.  It has looked like this all winter.  And now that spring is here, it will start growing, and will get up to about 3 feet tall.  It gets kinda sprawlly, if that is even a word.   You know what I mean.  I'll show you another picture when that happens.

 

Gizmo loves to sniff all around it.  Not sure if he eats it, or just smells it.  Anyway, he likes it.  We do too, because it is pretty growing next to the deck rails.  

 

Let me know if you want some, we have lots.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

Violets are blooming everywhere.  Don't they just make you smile?  Me too.

 

HAPPY SPRING!!!

 

Not such a great picture, but I wanted to show you that the Dogwood we planted last year is blooming.

 

Last year for my birthday we planted 3 Dogwoods and 2 Redbud trees.  They are all in some stage of bloom right now.  Thank goodness the redbuds are later blooming than the big ones in our yard.  They are a little redder too, so I will get a picture of them when they bloom all the way out.  

 

As you can see, we have to cage everything, so the deer don't eat them.  We just look past the cages to see how beautiful the trees are.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

We were weeding the garden paths the other day, and I came across a fairly large patch of clover.  I dug out most of it, then looked and saw this.  

 

It reminded me:  how lucky I am to have this fabulous garden, however much work...

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Look how pretty!!!  

 

HAPPY GARDENING !!!

 

I took this beautiful picture of a Redbud branch at Meeks Park.  It is the only Redbud that I've seen showing color.  

 

Our Redbud trees were in full bud a few weeks ago, but then we had two days of 14 degrees.  All the buds were burned by the cold.  So, no redbuds at our house, but  there are redbuds blooming at the park.  So glad.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

The Blood root is coming up.  They are one of the first to show their faces in the Spring.

 

We saw lots of them yesterday at Meeks Park.  There are some down on the Creekside Trail too.  We'll be looking for them next time on the trail.

 

HAPPY SPRING!!!

 

These are not Bluets, but they are definitely blue.  Sky blue.  (I guess that's why I am tempted to call them Bluets.)  But Bluets are purple and sometimes white.  

 

This weed is Corn Speedwell, botanically Veronica arvensis, not even related to Bluets.  It is often found in waste places, open fields, and pastures.  There is a huge patch of it in Meeks Park on the hillside across from the Sorghum Festival site.  You can see it from the bridge.

 

I love seeing it in bloom, reminding us that Spring is here!!!

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

I just noticed the Lovage is coming up.  I planted seeds in a pot seven or eight years ago, and it comes up every spring.  I haven't checked, but I bet the roots are way into the ground by now.  I just leave it in the same spot, and it does what it does.  I love it.

 

It gets really big, about 4-6 feet tall, and we use it all summer and into the fall.  It smells and tastes a lot like celery, only richer, more complex.  I don't know how to describe it adequately, except to say it has kind of a smoky celery taste.  Anyway, I love adding it fresh into salads of all kinds, and cooking it into soups.  It is really delicious.  Lovage is related to celery, carrots, and parsley, and it is pretty enough to plant in your front flower bed.  Just put it to the back, because it gets tall.

 

You can get seeds from  https://sowtrueseed.com/ or  https://www.superseeds.com/  and, probably other seed catalogs too.  I've never seen them at Home Depot or WalMart, even with the other herb seeds.

 

Anyway, catalog shopping for seeds is so easy.  They have good pictures, and great descriptions, and some catalogs like Sow True Seed even give you information on planting and seed saving.  I have learned a lot form my seed catalogs.  Not bad for FREE.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!