Flowers and Critters

First of all before we talk about the garden there are these little purple finch fledglings ( to the right) in our hanging basket that are very cute but this morning the smallest one was just sitting outside the nest and he doesn't look too good. : ( We will observe the nest to see what happens.

As for the garden these are some flowers that are blooming now.

Allium and Columbine:

Jack in the Pulpit and Morning Glory:

Mandevila and Peony:

Now if you will go back to our first post and look at the pictures of the whole garden here is the same spot two months later. Quite a difference!!

This is also the season of insects and we saw an example, a fuzzy caterpiller hanging from a tree branch in our backyard and here it is:

Bluebirds and Morning Glories

This morning we went bird watching and saw some Eastern Bluebirds. The female ented the bluebird house in the park right awayand after that we didn't see her again but the male perched on a branch and we got a good look at him through binoculars. We planted the Morning Glories which we grew from seeds. It took them 5 or 6 weeks to grow big enough to plant outside. They are about 3 inches tall right now and some might be 4. Here is a picture of them.

Trough Planting

Today we planted some troughs of alpine plants that like sandy and rocky soil. The pebbles we put on top of the trough help keep the plants warm and moist. These plants will not grow very tall but some will bloom all summer. Here is a picture of one we planted.

Remember the photo of the woodland poppy we put in our fist post? Well here they are now three weeks later and in bloom. This morning we cut a bouquet of them and gave them to a neighbor for May Day. I think she enjoyed them a lot!

Too Wet To Garden Today

Hello all blog readers. Today it was raining so we couldn't do much gardening so instead.... we made a double batch of cookies and forgot to double the flour so when they were done they looked like little round dried up mushrooms. But they still taste OK. Happy Unbirthday and we'll see you next week on Grandma's blog (AKA Water and Stone)!

PS The temperatures have been very low and therefore things have been growing VERY slowly but

we hope by next week there will be some noticeable change that we can post. The Morning Glory seeds sprouted and have leaves, but the Sweet Peas are waiting for more sun.

Here are some pictures of our cookies and the morning glorys we planted last week.

Planting Seeds

This morning we planted Sweet Peas and Morning Glorys

in paper cups of potting soil because it is too early to plant them outside. The picture on the right is the seeds we planted soaking in water to help them sprout.

Next we added water and placed them near a window where they should spout in about a week. (see below) I hope by next week we will be able to post a picture of the baby plants.

Peeping Plants

To the right is a photo of some Woodland Poppies peeping though the oak leaves. Later we will have more photos of their progress as Spring arives.

Lately we have been removing all the mulch to see what has survived the long Winter. Despite the snow cover most plants seem to be doing well.

We are anticipating warm weather so we can plant some seeds. I especially am looking forward to planting cosmos, nasturtiums, and sweetpeas.

Below are a few photos of the garden as it looks now.