We all know this vegetable in the grocery store, but do you know it in the garden?  

 

I found a few sprouting in the basement, (last fall) so I stuck them in the ground, and forgot about them.

 

Now I have potatoes growing in the garden:  for FREE!!!

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

When I was looking up something about Mother's Day, I read in the Farmers Almanac about the "Mother's Day Rule."  It says to wait until after Mother's Day to plant.  Seems reasonable for warm weather crops like tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, and squash.  But our cool weather crops have been in the ground for over a month, and loving the cool weather.  

 

Warm weather crops don't like nighttime temperatures below 40, so we wait on these. 

 

We also keep an eye on the blackberries.  Often when the blackberries bloom, we get one last frost, affectionately referred to as "Blackberry Winter."  

 

OK, Mother's Day is past, the blackberries are looking gorgeous, and no freezing weather in the forecast.  I guess we can get busy now, since the danger of frost has passed.  

 

I love this time of year;  it is so exciting!

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

I have probably shown you this before, but it is a favorite image, so I thought you might like to see it again.  

 

Momma and me having a walk on the boardwalk at Betsy's.  

 

Even though we don't mail cards to our Moms anymore, we will still be celebrating Mother's Day.  And remembering how fortunate we are.

 

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had never seen Honeysuckle growing as a shrub, but here is one growing at the Methodist Church in Blairsville.  

 

As we were leaving the Fringe trees and Iris, we saw this 6 foot tall and wide shrub, and stopped for a close up view.  I was surprised to see that it is Honeysuckle.  The flowers look just like the vining Honeysuckle that we all know, and the scent is the same.  

 

My Landscape Gardening book says that they can grow up to 10 feet tall and wide.  WOW!!!  That's a lot of Honeysuckle.  

 

So while you are checking out the Fringe trees and Iris at the church, go around the corner toward the exit, and you can see this gorgeous bush. 

 

HAPPY SPRING!!!

 

And just beneath the Fringe Trees are these beautiful Iris.  And they smell divine too.  We could have stayed there all day, just breathing the air.

 

I know where you can get some Iris corms if you want to grow them in your garden.  Let me know if you're interested.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

We saw the Fringe tree in the park blooming, but its blooms were up too high to get a good pic.  So we doubled back to the Methodist Church where I know there are several beautiful specimens, and took this picture.

 

They are at the entrance to the sanctuary, and when you get close to them you can smell the most gorgeous perfume.  

 

Definitely worth a trip to Blairsville to experience these trees.  They are fabulous.

 

They are probably blooming now in Yorktown too, along Fort Eustis Blvd.  I miss seeing them along the highway.

 

HAPPY SPRING!!!

 

Good job you guys!!!  For keeping your Rhododendrons alive and out of the clutches of the deer for a whole year!!!

 

They are so pretty right now, but it will soon be time to cover them with wire cages to keep the deer away.  Don't wait too long.  :D

 

HAPPY SPRING!!!

 

Look how much the cinnamon fern has grown.  We love that there are big rocks around it, so the mowers don't get too close.  

 

It's up about 30 inches.  Beautiful at every stage.

 

HAPPY SPRING!!!

 

Look at Roxanne's Clematis in bloom.  They grow all the way up this trellis to the top of the garage, but I wanted to get the gnome in the picture too.  

 

So pretty!!!  Makes me think of a Fairyland.

 

THANKS ROXANNE!!!

 

April showers brought May flowers.  Same flowers, but new haybale.  

 

As soon as we finished April's display, we started thinking about what to do next.  Jon suggested a sun with rays.  So we got busy cutting and painting the rays.  It seemed like a good idea at the time, but yesterday when we went down to install them, we couldn't cut holes into the haybale.  The hay is so tightly packed, we just couldn't cut deeply enough.  (Hahaha, I say "WE".)  We ALL know what that means:  Jon, cause he does all the hard work.  I just paint.  

 

So we came back home and collected more tools:  a big knife, a pruning saw, a machete.  He utilized all of them to install these 9 rays.  It took about 45 minutes!!!  

 

We learned not to try to do THAT again.  Stick to paint and cute cutouts that can be screwed into the hay.

 

We hope you like seeing our work.  We love doing it!!!

 

HAPPY SPRING!!!