Around My Yard

The beautiful irises are blooming.  Too bad they don't last longer.  

I love this mound of phlox.  I can spot it from the bottom of my driveway whenever I'm coming home. 

The peonies are very close to blooming.  Can't wait to being a bouquet into my home!

And the compost is growing, which is just hilarious to me.  All it takes is a bit of potato to start a plant growing. We have 4 raised beds and rotate which one is a designated compost bed each year.  And every year we get potatoes from our compost bed.  

Mr. GV has the rain barrels set up, and they've already been used this year.  Right now as I type this, the one we have (barely) emptied is filling back up quickly with the pouring rain we are getting. 

Macy supervises me. 

As does Milo. 

These are kale plants that have been growing for about 3 years now.  I keep expecting them to die off, either in the very cold or very hot weather, but they just keep getting taller and putting on new leaves!  Right now they are flowering, and I am going to gather seed when it is ready, then probably pull up some of the larger stalks.  I have watched several bumble bees, and what I think was a honey bee, hanging around and enjoying the flowers.  I'm overjoyed by all the beneficial insects that hang around (after all, that's a sign of a healthy garden) but I'm especially thrilled about the honey bee because of all the talk you hear about their declining numbers.  

The lilac bush has greened up. 

Mrs. GV has been working hard to make the flower beds look good by trimming, mulching, and the other back-breaking work that is needed if you have landscaping.  

The pear trees are blooming.

And my Japanese maple looks so beautiful right now.  I just love it.  It was here when we bought the house, and I'm glad, because I don't know that we would have spent the money on one otherwise.  

I do love these days of spring, before the terrible humidity arrives!