Everything sublime is as difficult as it is rare. Baruch Spinoza

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Dancing in on Thunder's Call & Lightning's Flash

We entered spring.

Spring is quietly creeping into my life, by way of my yard. Perhaps not so quietly, as we had a humdinger of a thunderstorm overnight. If you feel tremors under you feet it would be me doing the happy dance. We needed rain in the worst way.

I bought two cold hardy repeat blooming rhododendron today, which is why they are in full bloom. We have a limited selection of azalea and rhododendron we can choose from because of our harsh climate, but I am grateful to the University of Minnesota's horticultural college for developing these winter hardy plants.

The box elder are budding.


Old fashion orange day lily making an appearance.


The asiatic lilies are feeling brave, it is April after all.


Rhubarb!


Never spring without dandelions.


French tarragon.


A favorite - delphinium.


Blurry red twig dogwood. I liked the image with the wood pile focused behind. We dig the dogwood out of the ditch and transplant it, as well as honeysuckle. They grow wild and I use the free landscape material.


I use a lot of what I have on hand; like horse manure. It makes a good fertilizer, but I also use it as mulch. The bedding is ground wood, so it works great as a mulch. After fermenting in a pile all winter you can hardly tell what it once was! I do live in the country, you know.

10 comments:

Cyndi and Stumpy said...

Argh! I must get to where there is green life! Everyone is making me homesick for a real spring.

I like my gardens wild, with no rhyme or reason. They were beautiful and full of surprises!

Ganeida said...

Sandra:

We are semi rural too & I so love seeing how you deal with your natural resources. I wish I had horse manure on hand. Best use for a horse I know! ☺ When I could get my hands on cow pats we'd toss them in a big drum, add plenty of water & drain of the liquid for the best fertilizer I've ever had.

Free plants are always good. I love rohdedendrons & azaelas ~ & that is a gorgeous colour! Probably wouldn't do well here at all. Enjoy. ☺

Sandra said...

gsc, we NEVER get a spring like this. We have two seasons: winter & waiting for winter! I start out with a design plan, but my inattention and the wild things that seed themselves in change it very fast.
: ) I have hollyhock in the strangest places, and I never planted it in the first place. I owe it to the birds.

Ganeida, I am always scouring the tree line and the ditch. Trees, bushes & wild flowers in abundance. I buy some things for their ornamental value, like the rhododendron, but most of the fill is from the ditch or was already here. The best tomatoes are those fertilized with horse manure. I don't know why, I just know it's so!

Deb said...

Wow! You've got a lot of new growth already. Yea. I think you might be ahead of us here in sw Colorado! The azaelas are gorgeous.

Jill said...

I love the way rhubarb leaves look when they are just coming up. Beautiful shots.

Homer and Queen said...

Gorgeous...I wish I could grow an english garden here in Vegas. Oh well...it's the price I pay for no snow.

A.Smith said...

This makes me feel like the poor relative. How can you be so ahead in your tundra when here the plum is just beginning to leaf out, the azaleas are just beginning to color the tight buds and I have yet to see any veggies awake other than the impressive Italian Parsley that I am expecting any minute to break into some aria in the potager.

Everything there looks wonderful, so filled with promises that instead of envy I am happy for you, how about that?

Sandra said...

Deb, we have had the best spring I can remember. We are 3- 4 weeks ahead. I love it!

Jill, I wish I had taken a photo of the rhubarb as the leaves were emerging from the red base. It looks alien. : )

Queen, right now I would not give up my climate for the desert. Of course that opinion would change in January!

Allegra, it hardly seems we could be ahead of your season. The rhododendron are in bloom because I just bought them. Otherwise they probably would not be budding yet. I put my first full-fledged vegetable garden last year. Before that I grew herbs and tomatoes. I will now and for all time call it a potager. I love the sound of it. Parsley does not survive our winter, so it is an annual plant. I often wonder at the tenacity and the durability of the perennials that do thrive here. I had dianthus survive the winter because of the early, heavy snowfall. A pleasant surprise!

Unknown said...

I'll keep my fingers crossed for the rhodo. They are touch and go here, the ones closer to the lake do better. I've tried a few times and admitted defeat. Az. are ok, although I don't care for them, hubby does. They seem too tropical.

Hope the weather holds. We're having an unusually warm spring and it's glorious.

Sandra said...

deb, I know they can be touchy in this climate. I had them when I lived in the city but have not tried out here. I have them close to the house in a well protected area. They were not expensive and I couldn't resist their beautiful blooms!