Thank you for all the wonderful comments yesterday. Well, make that every day. And don’t worry about commenting, I was referring to the times when a frequent commenter suddenly disappears and I find myself worrying about them.
I love that you’re there, silent or not. Thank you for that.
This is a weed that is popping up all over the property. I don’t know its name, but it’s awfully pretty! Such a pretty dash of yellow. Between these and the dandelions, there’s quite a bit of yellow around these days.
Wild honeysuckle. If there’s a scent, it’s so faint that I’m missing it. This bush is right by the shed.
Just because they don’t last very long. So there will be lilacs here as long as I can still take pictures of them!
Yesterday, I drove north to visit another HomeGoods store (looking for more cushions for the porch) and I marveled at the seemingly endless variations of green everywhere. Truly astounding! I did find some more cushions and I’m awaiting the bench cushion I ordered for the glider to be delivered. Once I get that, and once I put the other Adirondack together, I’ll show you what I’ve been doing. It’s all about color and lots of it. I’ve been texting photos to Don and he’s very excited. Nothing earth shattering, by the way, but rather a sprucing up of the sitting area on the porch. It needed it.
We are known for apple orchards around here and everywhere you travel there are apple trees in bloom. It was gloomy yesterday as I took this photo, so I brightened it up a bit. This particular road has row after row of apple trees and it’s quite stunning. I’ll try to get more photos when and if the sun comes out again!
I’m going to sow my morning glory, moonflower and zinnia seeds today. Then to the nursery to buy some mulch and some impatiens.
Happy Tuesday.
There can never be too many lilacs, as far as I’m concerned. Or apple trees! Your photos are stunning!
Thank you, Shanna!
I love the lilacs! They don’t grow well here as we don’t have a cold enough winter. So post all the photos you can. The porch sounds like it will be wonderful when done. I should have already planted my flower seeds but I think there is still time for them to grow! Hugs!
Yes, as long as you plant them soon! I’m doing my best to be on time this year as I waited a bit too long last year and the darned frost stopped my morning glories and moonflowers in their tracks!
Your yellow flower looks like mustard. It’s blooming everywhere here in west-central PA.
You say that you are a solitary person who is chatty. I’m a solitary person who doesn’t like to talk. I like listening. That’s why I like checking your blog every day.
Ah, that’s what it is! Thank you, Linda. It’s rather pretty, isn’t it?
I’m so glad you like checking on the blog posts every day. I’m glad you’re here, Linda!
My morning glories sowed themselves this year, which I expected after the craziness of them last season. They are always welcome at my home, even if they do sort of take over! I started my zinnias downstairs as we still have some nights of frost coming up. I think I might put them in pots this year as last year they kind of got lost among the perennials. As for Home Goods, that’s one of my all time favorite stores and I am definitely overdue a visit!
You know, my morning glories have never sowed themselves! What’s your secret, Debbie?
I think it’s going to go down to 36 tomorrow night, so I’ll bring in my few porch plants and hold off on potting anything until the coast is clear! I really got some great stuff at Home Goods! I don’t get there enough, but when I do…wow!
I never tire of lilacs…keep the pics coming! Still cold and rainy here…tomorrow promises to be warmer, and sunny!! Yippee! ;)
About time! You guys deserve some sun! We’re getting rain on Friday and Saturday. And we had it last night, as well.
Apples trees in bloom; so beautiful! With few exceptions, we don’t have them where I live in SoCalif, so it’s such a treat to see the photo. We did plant two ‘local-variety’ apple trees when we overhauled our landscaping 2+ years ago but they’re not doing very well at all. South-facing (we had no choice) and I think they’re getting beat up in too much sun and heat. They were probably started from grafted trees ‘way back in the mountain canyons where it gets colder. We knew it was a long shot, but I was SO hoping to be able to have a small crop of pesticide-free apples. The nursery said we might need to water them more – – so, Phase 2 of my landscaper’s work this week (he didn’t finish the big yard projects last week) is to check the individual ‘drips’ on our drip irrigation system (they can stop working because our water is very ‘hard’; the mineral deposits in the water harden and clog up drains and lines; it’s continual maintenance).
As newlyweds, we once lived about 15 miles from here and had bought an older home with a very well-established apple tree that had a good fruit yield (until my husband decided to ‘trim’ it, and shocked the poor thing nearly to death) but I think the problem is that apples need a colder climate than our milder one (I live at the very edge of a river valley that becomes a coastal plain). I know San Luis Obispo County, Kern County and San Bernardino County have apple orchards as does the northern part of our state.
Looking forward to your color reveal. It’s good you can enjoy sitting outside. I just haven’t been able to do it; we are too, too buggy (too, too early). ‘They say’ it’s because of all the rain we got. And we haven’t had a hard freeze in such a long time, which usually kills off a lot of the bug life. I got in the car yesterday afternoon and something had gotten trapped in there; bit me three times while I was driving (I was batting the air like crazy and had to pull over; I’m sure I looked like a crazy woman!). I have a lot of welts and weals right now; itching misery. And the mosquitoes aren’t even out yet. Sigh. This will be a very hot week (again) and the flies are bad dayside because they fertilize the row crops around here; they try to cover up the smell with something but it’s still manure which of course is a breeding ground for flies. So, I’m pretty much pushed indoors all the way around lately. (Big sigh.)
Glads are coming up here; waving spikes of brilliant orange bordered in yellow; yellow ones bordered with Barbie pink; others that are velvety dark purple. Last year, I was surprised that I could put a few cut gladiolas in a vase and they’d last for days so, on Mother’s Day, I’m going to take a bunch of them to the cemetery and I think they’ll look hold up well and look really pretty. We might have a cooler week, next week; I hope.
We didn’t get any tulips this year, though. I could see two starting to force and then they just sputtered and died. Disappointed! Again, it doesn’t get cold enough here and I’ve now read that you really need to put out new bulbs each year if you live in most parts of SoCalif. They did better at our other house, north-facing from the cottage.
Anyway, fun to see all the changes in the landscape and garden in Spring, isn’t it? Everybody seems to be talking about it; so much color and new ‘life’!!
One of the things I loved about living in San Diego is that there were no bugs! No mosquitoes, nothing! But I think that’s changed as the weather patterns have changed. It bets more humid there now than it did when I lived there. Ah well.
Spring has certainly energized me – seeing things grow, the birds hanging around and singing like crazy, the occasional appearance of Henry – all of it makes me happy.
I love orchards! There’s an abandoned orchard near my daughter’s school….so sad to see the old knarled trees, but at least they aren’t being pulled up for a redevelopment. I’m sending you a photo of my Chinese foxglove, which is blooming now. Such a hearty plant. It was literally a stick when my friend gave me the cutting last year. This week the garden chore is tidying the front yard, as I’m part of the garden tour to benefit the local animal shelter.
I’ll check out the photo later, Wendy. Thank you!
You’re on a garden tour? Neat! Have a great time!
That yellow flowering plant looks like what they call Wild Mustard here. I have always thought it was kind of pretty, also! Weeds/ flowers ~ sometimes a pretty fine line, indeed.
It is still cold and rainy and windy here. Trying to get some indoor things done, but so many gloomy days in a row don’t help to create a happy mood. I am so very ready for some sun!! I’m glad you are having fun prettying up your porch. And I bet Don wishes he was there sitting on it with you! Do you know when the play he is working on opens??
It IS pretty. I like it. Occasionally it falls prey to the mower but for the most part it’s on the edges of the property where it can do what it pleases. It rained here last night and will again at the end of the week. Today was a very changeable day – rainy in the morning, then cloudy, then sunny, then windy. Crazy.
I don’t know when it opens…probably starts previewing next week, so maybe mid-May? It runs until the end of June.
Hi Claudia! I am a lurker, and just want to tell you how very much I enjoy reading your blog. To peek inside another life is so fascinating and a priveledge . I too collect, and dote on my dogs. I garden and amass books. I volunteer and arrange flowers, cook, copy quotations, always have CNN on. I talk to my trees( very privately) have a darling treehouse, and thoroughly enjoy the warm and fuzzy side of nature but the other side upsets me terribly. I guess i am princess, not a farmer, but i am doing all i can to improve the world, one saved baby bird, or uplifted soul or beautiful bouquet at a time. I think that is what i relate to with your blog. Thank you for sharing.
I talk to my trees, too! But I sure wish I had a treehouse like you!
The other side of nature is too much for me, as well. Thank you so much for your kind words – it’s so nice to meet you!
Lovely photos :-) The rust on the glider only adds character…love the pillows and color combos. Ah, the apple orchards…how I miss them. It sort of troubled me to see all the good apples left on the ground though…surely someone could gather them and at least make applesauce? My very frugal grandmother would be horrified to see edible food left to waste. The Depression caused her to find value in everything until it was u.s.e.d UP, nothing left to toss in the trash bin.
I don’t know if they leave the apples there or eventually gather them up. I would hope they donate them. In fact, Don told me that some of the local orchards that sell apples will sell not so perfect ones for much less. He’s purchased them before to feed to the horses.
What fun perking up your outside living space and planting flowers. I’m waiting for the deck to be power washed before I put too much stuff out and will start planting after I get home from a short trip to Dallas to attend a wedding. Happy Spring!
It’s going to be cold tomorrow night so I’ll hold off on the flower planting until after that. I did plant the seeds today, though! Happy Spring to you, Karen!
I’m enjoying your photos of all the flowers and plants that are coming into bloom. I saw the lilac photo on instagram the other day, it really is lovely, such an intense colour.
Just thought I’d say I’ve been following your blog for a while now and I don’t comment that much. It sounds silly but I’m rather shy. I do read each and every post and probably enjoy your blog more than most of those that I read. I admire your honesty, how you see things and what you have to say. So thank you for taking the time and effort to post, you are appreciated. Fiona x
Don’t even think about it! I understand shy, believe it or not, I’m rather shy myself! Thank you so much for being there!
The photos are gorgeous. The Apple tree one is my favorite.
Marilyn
Hope to get more shots of those apple trees in the next few days!
Something special about getting the porch ready for warm weather; porches call to the heart in so many ways. Porches were a huge part of life in my girlhood; traditionally painted grey wooden floors, sisal rugs on the floor, awnings, rockers, wicker furniture, and usually a floor lamp. Plus quite often a riot of bark cloth flower prints! They were a staple until the fifties when the new homes built after the war rarely had sizeable front porches but if you were lucky you might have a screened porch, usually toward the back. A friend had a huge front porch that had a daybed at one end and I fondly remember the summer days when we flopped on there talking about everything under the sun.
Your lilacs are so beautiful and the photos showcase that beauty. I do love zinnias and they are a true garden flower with a long heritage of their place in the home garden. I always think the so called weeds that flower are just a form of wildflower and who doesn’t love fields of wildflowers? So much to enjoy around our homes that’s very personal once spring comes along. Happy porch days! Dianne
I grew up with a porch – it wasn’t huge, but it ran along the front of our bungalow. Loved sitting out there and chatting with neighbors, or reading a book, or coming home on a hot summer night to see my dad sitting there, trying to cool off. One of the first things we saw when we came to his house with our realtor was the fieldstone porch that wrapped around the house. That was it. I really wanted a porch and so did Don (we had one in San Diego.) In our small cottage, it gives us an extra room for 3 season! Thanks, Dianne!
That yellow looks like wild mustard. It grows like mad here in No. Cal. Every January we visit Napa Valley and when it grows profusely in the wine regions. When little I would visit my Auntie and she would climb the steep hill behind her house and pick the young greens and cook and eat them. I was suspicious and not eager to try. She came from a very poor background and even though doing well at the time, she was always frugal. I wish more of her rubbed off on me in that respect. Our Spring flew by and it’s fun to enjoy your photos and experience Spring again. Love how you detail each photo. I had never seen a groundhog. That was fun. Also, your new duds for your porch are wonderful. Nice combination of pattern. You inspire me to spruce things up around here. Love Home Goods. I need to visit. Hum, maybe not! If you know what I mean.
I just read a post by a woman who lives in NYC and leads people on foraging walks, using many of the the plants she finds in food and she had wild mustard in her salad! Thanks so much for stopping by, Lyndia!
Hi Claudia. Looking forward to seeing your new cushions! I’m one of your readers who is not commenting as frequently. Basically it boils down to being busy. I can read a blog post quickly…commenting takes more time than I sometimes have.
Meanwhile, our home was perfumed with lilacs the past few days…heavenly fragrance.
I have the same problem! Sometimes I just don’t have the time to comment!
Oh, the scent of lilacs is simply heavenly!
I agree with those who say it is wild mustard…there’s lots of it here and I love it just like any other flowering weed…weed or not it is still a beautiful thing to me…the lilacs are so pretty I can almost smell them..lol..I am going to put morning glory seeds along my fence..I would like to know how you soak them and why…
Morning glory seeds and moonflower seeds have a very hard shell, so soaking them is recommended before planting. They are more likely to germinate that way.
Lovely flowers, lovely porch, lovely time of year in New York State! :) I believe your yellow flower to be what we called yellow ‘Rocket’…
We get rocket here, but what we call rocket is more like phlox!