Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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I decided to power through my lack of sleep yesterday. I added top soil to some of the garden beds and I mowed the front lawn (both sides). Goodness, I always forget that the first time is always the hardest! I’m not in my best lawn-mowing-shape yet, but I’ll get there.

The lawn slopes downhill and the land behind the house is on a higher elevation. That means that rainwater flows down hill and the grass gets really long – really quickly. I knew I had to mow soon or I would be dealing with constantly clearing a clogged lawnmower.

I took a break halfway through. I do love seeing a freshly mowed lawn and the spring greens that are popping up all over the property are so lush!

I came in, took a shower and laid low for the rest of the day. Today it will be in the eighties and I’m going to do some plant, topsoil, and mulch shopping.

I slept well last night, so I’m feeling much less ragged this morning.

I found the hyacinth bulbs a few years ago when I was digging a new garden bed on the side of the house. I had no idea what kind of bulb they were. They had been buried deep within the soil. So I took a chance and planted them in the big garden bed. Imagine my delight the first time they came out of the ground and I discovered they were hyacinths! They’re awfully pretty this year.

This is one of the Italian pots we purchased a few weeks ago. I’ve filled it with lavender, which should do well on the very sunny funky patio.

And here are the other two. I’m not sure what I will plant in them, but I’ll figure it out.

The pansies are keeping me going as I wait for my garden plants to grow and flower. They’re so darn cheery!

I hope your weather has changed for the better and that you are able to get outside and do some therapeutic gardening! Speaking for myself, it makes an enormous difference in the quality of my life. After many years without a garden, I started gardening in earnest at our rental in San Diego and then when we first moved out east, I asked my landlord if I could put in a little garden on the side of our rental cottage. Seriously, I now wonder what the heck I did all those years without a garden! Tended my houseplants, I guess. I still do that.

Happy Wednesday.

 

Comments

  1. Things are looking lovely around your place! I so admire your green thumb and your love for gardening. Around here it’s put away, pack up, and close up time, ugh.

      • Judy, it’s just our twice a year migration from the South to the North, to spend the Summer. Both places are nice when we’re there, but hard to leave when the seasons change and it’s time to travel.

  2. how beautiful; your hard work is paying off!

    i live in a rental at present and there’s no place for me (or anyone else) to garden. i am okay with that. i’ll just enjoy looking at and sometimes buying the results of other people’s efforts (hurry up, farmers’ markets)!

    glad you slept better. happy wednesday!

  3. ps:
    i agree about getting outside every day. for me, that’s walking and/or running (often in neighborhoods of homes {practically mansions} that i will never be able to afford nor choose to buy … just something different from my little part of town). it is very therapeutic and just plain enjoyable to be out in the world, breathing fresher air, seeing/hearing/smelling/feeling nature, petting dogs out for walks and having little chats with their people …

    love those new flower pots!

    kathy in iowa

  4. Wow, what a difference a few weeks make. Your lawn is so green and big. Glad you’re getting out there to enjoy gardening again…you’ve waited long enough, Claudia!

  5. That pretty green lawn is making me smile. I know how much you love being outside and gardening. We have finally had some pretty days and I’ve been out some but we are still having pollen issues. I went to the Dentist and I need a root canal next week. Ugh! It’s my first so not looking forward to it. What is it about getting old. Ah well. My roses are blooming so I should take a photo for my blog I almost never post on. Hugs!!!

    • We are having pollen issues big time, as everything is starting to bud.

      I don’t think root canals have anything to do with age – I know plenty of people who have had to deal with them in their twenties!

  6. We are enjoying gorgeous spring weather in Minneapolis. I just bought 4 hanging baskets for the patio. I am one happy girl. Heading off on a bike ride now!

    • I just bought some hanging baskets today but I had to take them down because it’s 90 and windy and I didn’t want to shock the plants!

  8. Claudia, Love the lavender in that nice pot. Your pansies are so sweet. The lawn looks so good. I always consider yard work true exercise. I dug dandelions here yesterday and then went to my daughters and helped her. Blessings, xoxo, Susie

    • I hate exercising, Susi, but I love working out in the yard – so that’s definitely how I get my exercise.

  9. Oh, it finally feels like Spring is really here! Warmth, sun, flowers popping up everywhere [at last]. A lovely breeze blowing the curtains. And it only took til May!! Too darn long, that’s for sure. Your garden is looking great, thanks to all your hard work. I’ve never really had my own “in-ground” garden but I’ve had houseplants since college, and later hanging baskets and container vegetables. And it really is so satisfying, isn’t it? I love being able to pluck cherry tomatoes for my salad from right out on my patio. Glad you’re getting so much done outside. Not having near-daily rain really helps, huh? Enjoy your day but don’t do TOO much. Easy does it. Peace. 🌺

    #Resist
    #ProtectMueller

    • And today it’s 90. What the ???? And 85 tomorrow. I take comfort knowing it’s only going to last a few days. But it’s just too darned hot today.

  10. Your lawn is looking great…as are those pots. We have the windows wide open today…it’s so lovely to be breathing fresh air again, and air out the house. While I haven’t planted anything yet…there’s still the danger of frost…I did begin making my plant list….it’s quite the list. I put the hummingbird feeders out yesterday….now, I’m anxiously awaiting my first siting! ;)

  12. Everything is popping now that the weather is warm and the sun is out. I only do container gardening now with the exception of a few perennials in the front of the house. I’ll be travelling for a week in May, so I’m holding off on buying anything until I return, so they won’t dry up while I’m away. Looks lovely Claudia – being outside does so much to soothe the soul.

  13. Saw a bunny on our lawn yesterday enjoying a spot on the newly mowed lawn which was in the sun. I guess rabbits are the same all over.

  14. We had some wondrous rain yesterday and everything greened up almost immediately. So pretty!

    We worked around the house yesterday and the day flew by. I always try to have my Oriole and Hummer feeders out on May 1. As my husband was leaving to go announce the HS soccer match, I realized the feeders weren’t out. I may have whined a bit. (They are up higher and I can’t reach them.) At 9 last night, when the match was over, I looked out the window and he was out there hanging them up!! To my surprise and joy ~ this morning we had Orioles!!!! They do so love the grape jelly. I have an orange out there now, too. Each day brings a bit more of amazement!

    I hope you had luck shopping for outdoor things today. Always a fun thing to do!

  15. Dear Claudia,!
    What I came here to do is apologize for some of the people of My Home Town,Hands up anyone hear what happened in Salt Lake City,DURING that fabulous Creation Hamilton? That is correct, people in the Audience had to be told by the Actors via tweet ,Turn your !#$%$#!(*&%$^%&**(&^@##$%CELL PHONES OFF>! because our Utah Jazz was playing in the Western semi Final playoffs. NO EXCUSE! I Love Basket Ball too. But make a choice People. I apologize to the beautiful wonder people of the cast and crew of Hamilton, and those who had to forgo other needful things in their budget to afford tickets. I didn’t mean to be so long winded I am Truly Sorry! Sorry!- Judy A-

    • OMG. I can’t believe it! I love basketball. I love the theater. But in times like playoffs, pick one or the other. You are rightfully upset and I would have wanted to deck those audience member using their phones. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been sitting in an audience and have had to tell someone repeatedly to turn off their cell phone. I explain that the actors can see the blue screens. They always look shocked because they think no one notices. I want to smack them!

  16. Your lawn looks nice. All the rain has made the grass grow quickly. I love those Pansies.
    Marilyn

  17. I love those Italian planters Claudia…your lavender looks great in the one and will be beautiful when it blooms…Please give us a look when that happens!…I will have to look for those pots although I probably couldn’t afford them anyway…I am getting ready to go outside and make up some hanging planters and some big planters as I got a great bargain on a couple of very big Geranium plants at an Amish greenhouse nearby…There is a stray kitty that someone dropped off outside…he usually comes by when I’m doing things outside…I believe he stays here at night also…I give him some food to help him survive and he gives me companionship and someone to talk to while I’m busy…He know that he is welcome any time in fact if I could get him into a cage I would take the money and get him fixed as it was never done (only $40 at my Vet for males)and then he might stay here permanently and not go roaming…Keep planting those beautiful plants Claudia…I love seeing them!

    • Oh, I hope you can get him fixed. He clearly likes you and I bet he would like a home!

  18. Oh, your pictures are lovely. Our weather has very much improved – skipping spring and going right to summer and 80’s. They’re going to dip back down to seasonal 50’s soon, but I can live with that. I set the only flowers I’ve bought yet – 2 flats of my beloved pansies – out on the patio steps. Yesterday I got up to find the (expletive deleted) deer had eaten every single bloom! So guess I’ll wait until there are other options for them to munch on before I plant any more pots. I love those new pots of yours. Can’t wait to see what else you fill them with.

  19. Loved seeing your photos this evening; look at how beautiful your lawn looks, Claudia. What a diff from all that snow. Congrats on a job well done; your yard is GORgeous and, oh, to have hyacinths; so, so pretty.

    I confess to being a lazy gardener; I don’t have your energy or stamina. I love looking at gardens (and going to garden centers/plant sales) and having a bit of one at home but my husband does the initial hard work. He has a farmer’s genes although what he doesn’t have is TIME away from his job(s) so I get what I get each year; and, no complaints from moi.

    We currently have gladiolas coming up all over the place and, although he planted them awfully late in the year, the tulips are forcing admirably. The daffodils seem to have said goodbye. I don’t know what the heck my husband sprayed on the roses for aphids but it’s as if they’ve gone dormant, which is troubling me. But I saw another patch of blue lupine in the foothills this afternoon and I had to stop the car; probably my fave wildflower. We ladies seem to love the blues, don’t we all; at least I do…so drawn to those hyacinths, the lupine; jacaranda trees due to bloom by month’s end for sure, although that’s of course more blue-purple.

    Of course I also ‘can’t wait’ for summer veggies and oh, are they hearty in our planters here in the yard; squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers; they seem to be very happy although we’ve had a few (blissfully, for always-overheated me) cool/overcast days which made running errands and getting to appointments so much more pleasant than being in Spring-humid sun (and a hot car).

    In general: It’s May; yay!

    Was at a small municipal airport today, watching a couple of squirrels scamper near the runway, just in a bunch of scrubby brush that sure wasn’t a tree with acorns. The person that I was with, threw them some French fries; not the best diet for a squirrel, but maybe a change of pace from whatever they were digging up to eat. One rolled over and over in the dirt, giving himself a dust bath. Planes coming and going, a freeway adjacent…and the wildlife adapts. A bit of green in a concrete/asphalt jungle, and that’s what these squirrels called home. Amazing. They’re near the river, so can maybe get scant water for their survival, although there’s only a trickle in that struggling riverbed environment.

    We’re back to drought here in my part of Southern Calif. Warning notices all over my area to obey weed abatement by June 1 with a 100-ft cutback/trimback around a house in the most vulnerable wildfire zones which is essentially my entire town. (My landscape crew is pushing my limits, now telling me they can’t get to my hillside til May 15 although I’ve been calling them since MARCH; they’re unimaginably busy, and I get it; still…I don’t want any fines and I don’t want to be contributing to a problem!) The December fire hopscotched and leap-frogged, leaving large swaths of land not burned although what DID burn is probably a contained area for at least ten years – – but nobody can get too comfortable.

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