Variety adds spice, predictability keeps us grounded.
I enjoy the novelty of each season, and their predictable arrival. Though it feels like winter passed us by, the planet continues to rotate. Once a year I celebrate the Vernal Equinox, aka the first day of spring.
I found a super-cool site called Time and Date that spells out the specifics if you’re curious. I was. I love learning new things. As gardeners in the Northern Hemisphere welcome spring, green thumbs in the Southern Hemisphere are seeing in the first day of fall.
My celebration is simple: I plant. Nothing says spring like tucking seeds under the soil with optimism in your heart.
I also pulled weeds, topped of the planter boxes with rich soil, checked on the mini-greenhouse *and* remembered to do a good job with my sunscreen. Lindy kept me company, happy to be outdoors on this glorious day.
Lindy-lu
Planter boxes, rotating composter, mini-greenhouse and worm bin
The hummingbirds circled the feeder, jockeying for territory.
Swooping in for some nectar
They’re also drinking from the Abutilon lining the fence.
Abutilon lines the fence near the patio
I heard a squirrel overhead, and noticed activity in the little mason bee nesting house. What a day!
Mason Bee Habitat
How is this for serendipity: the lovely Boomdee sent me several packets of sweat peas, and they arrived yesterday! Perfect timing. She sent a purple variety as well so that my sister, Sharon can enjoy them when she’s here.
Goodies from Boomdee
To round out the day, I popped in to SummerWinds Nursery and picked up an EarthBox™ and some potting mix. I’m planting assorted lettuces in the front of the box, with the sweet peas in the back. The trellis from the now-deceased Hardenbergia is the perfect size. I’ve placed it at the edge of the lawn near the patio for easy viewing. I can’t wait to watch them grow.
There is much more to do, as their always is this time of year, but I enjoy it all. Wishing you the best of the new season, be it spring or fall.
Gardening Nirvana 
So glad to see you observing this day in a meaningful way that brings you joy and satisfaction… and more beauty to the earth! I love your mason bee habitat, so thoughtfully provided. Also happy to see LIndy accompanying you, enjoying the sunshine. While I’m not planting seeds in the ground, I am planting figurative seeds of change, embracing growth and enlightenment, and the spirit of renewal.
Wishing you bright days ahead, filled with the pleasure of new life springing forth and thriving under your tender care.
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What a lovely and poetic message, you write beautifully 😀
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Thank you for your kind words, Boomdee! Though I rarely make time to indulge in my own recreational writing, I always love reading your and Alys’s posts, and admire you both greatly for your creativity, skill, and dedication. It’s also a pleasure to witness the heartfelt devotion and deep friendship that has developed between you. Keep nurturing that! I know you will, and that many more seasons of bounty lie ahead. Reap the joy, my dears!
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Thank you for this, I feel like I won a friendship lottery when Alys wandered into my life. One thing is certain, we are, as you, passionate about all creatures. My bounty is overflowing.
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xoxoox
Group hug!
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Thank you so much, dear Alicia. You are so generous with your words and praise, today and always. xox
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She does indeed.
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I love that you are planting figurative seeds of change and growth. I saw your lovely shrine as well. Good things to you, dear soul. Wishing you bright days as well. xox
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Things sure don’t take long at your place Alys 😀 You already have the planter, repurposed your trellis, photographed spit-spot garden, wrote a wonderful post, enjoyed the lovely hummers long enough to capture their joy, gave elegant Lindy-Lou the attention she so richly deserves….. is it even possible I’ve missed something? OH, and I assume you got C to school and a pick up too. I feel like saying, “I’ll have what she’s having” 😀
Does the Abutilon blooms from now to October hon? Or am I getting my visits mixed up? The photo on my post the other day of Alyster and his little Aqua phone is right in from of the Abutilon. He sat on your potting table. Well it’s perfect there as a backdrop for you patio evenings.
Thank you so much for showing off your snail mail and linking back to moi ! You’re so thoughtful, xoxoxoxoxo BTW, I just had to comment on your previous message because it’s so darn beautifully written 😀 I know I thrive under your tender care, mwaaaa
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Oh you. xox You always manage to make me feel so good. Thank you for all your kind words. I love this time of year and try to cram as much into the days as possible. I did have to stop to pick up C around 2:30, and managed to leave my mobile phone behind at the nursery. I don’t know how…it’s always in my purse. The good news is I got it back. As soon as C got into the car, I had him call the number, and the store answered. Hurray, hurray!
I love my snail mail. Your crafts are so over the top, unique and special. I still can’t believe what you come up with, and that I’m the lucky recipient.
I soaked the seeds over night and hope to plant them this weekend.
xox
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Oh, I’m so glad they had it. There’s been news stories here about brazen cell phone heists. They just grab it right out of your hands and take off. I finally put a password on and plan to do a backup of all info to my computer once I re-enter it. They’ll just open it and still the battery and throw the phone away I’m sure.
Thank you again for the nice messages for your package. You are always so thoughtful and kind. Mwaaaaa. You are more than welcome. You spoil me….I spoil you 😀 It’s so fun ! I have the most fun.
We must be a constant force of good in the universe to counterbalance all the nasty bad riffraff out there.
GIRL POWER…zing….pow…boom!!!!!!
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Your garden looks so tidy and ready to go – those sweet peas are going to give you months of happiness 🙂
Have you caught that Hummingbird in mid hover? That is a most remarkable shot!
I like your tiered planter boxes too, and the bee thingy which I have never heard of before! I am longing for a worm farm – it is on my list of things I require 🙂 But today I bought a vacuum cleaner as my attention is on the inside as I prepare for winter days.
Autumn is just beginning to show her face here with the trees turning and my Boston Ivy just showing a little spark of red in her leaves. Orlando has just begun to use my tub of lettuces and spinach as his sun bathing bed, so I am rather afraid my days of plucking a few leaves for my evening salad are over – apparently it is in just the right place for him to get the best bit of sun and no other spot will do……… sigh!
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Thank you, Pauline! I do a big tidy at the end of the season when I put things away, so I don’t have as much to do in the spring. I picked up bits of trash in one bucket (broken tubing, bits of this and that) and put weeds and other garden debris in another. I like the process of tidying up the garden, though it can be back breaking work bending over so much. Still, I love it.
I’m glad you liked the hummingbird shot. I was so pleased to capture the little fella in flight.
It’s been great having a worm farm. My friend Liz (from this area but currently living in New Zealand) brought me those worms two summers ago. I keep them fed and happy (pretty easy with worms), and reap the benefits of worm tea for the garden.
I hope you love your new vacuum cleaner. It’s amazing how high-tech they’ve become.
LOL, Orlando. You are such a cat! I can just picture it, too. I know you’ll miss your salad greens. You’ve inspired me to start some this summer. I hope I can keep the snails at bay. I bought a package of copper tape. They won’t cross it, so it works well if you can grow things in planter boxes. I’ll let you know how it goes.
I love fall almost as much as I love spring. I hope you enjoy the days ahead.
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I did not know about copper tape – must be tried as I spend a few minutes every morning discarding snails from my tiny garden!
Orlando insists on sitting on the lettuces – and I am too soft to be stern with him so there goes my fresh organic greens freely available. Sigh! Plan B will have to be called into action when I come up with it.
My new vacuum cleaner is a hoot! Everybody has to have a play with it and trots down the hall with an amazed look on their face… If I played my cards right I could have the house cleaned by my free maids 🙂
This week has been hot summer again – I am enjoying it and hoping it will last a few more days.
We call it Autumn here – but, by whatever name – it is lovely!
My computer has been reset for the second time and is now up and running again. It has been a trial!
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Hmm… If it isn’t too late, perhaps you can fill an empty pot with warm soil or sand for Sir Orlando, then rescue your greens.
Love the vacuum stories. It’s amazing when you get a new appliance after years of the old one gradually failing. I love my vacuum cleaner as well (as much as one can truly fall in love with an appliance). It does a great job, and always amazes me at the amount of cat fur floating around in my house.
We also refer to it as autumn. People use fall and autumn interchangeable. My mom used to say ‘fall’ so I guess I picked that up from her.
Oh, computers. You love them, you hate them, but you can’t live without them. When you’re not ‘around’ (on WP or Facebook) I feel like you’ve left town…even though you aren’t really ‘here.’ It’s an odd thing, isn’t it?
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I LOVE my new vacuum – I want to clean the floors all the time – it just goes by itself and all I do is act as the brake. And steer it 🙂
Alas it is too late for the lettuces – I got what I could, but in the face of a determined kitty – whom I am far too lenient with – well – so what – to see him all blissed out, face to the sun on his bed of green – I should have got a shot but I was too busy laughing!
I feel like I’ve left town when I can’t access the www – so much of our lives is in here now – Lor what will we do when the internet goes down? That will be a brave new world for sure 🙂 Looking forward to our skype session thuogh!
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Have you named your terrific vacuum? It’s sounds like you’ve made it a part of your family. 😉
I understand all about determined kitties. I too am lenient with our cats (and in fact must own up to the fact that they run our lives). I don’t mind.
I’m looking forward to our Skype session too. We’ll all be talking at once.
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I would love to garden with you, such sweet nirvana at its finest! I can’t wait to be able to head outside and dig in my flower beds and plant in our garden. Our ground is still frozen solid, and I am anxiously awaiting its thaw. Your garden and yard is so beautiful, what a great place to relax at the end of the day! ❤
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Thank you, Val. I really enjoy every inch of it. I realize, too, after reading so many east coast and Canadian blogs, how very lucky I am. How soon can you plant after the thaw?
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Your garden looks so inviting. I love sitting there with a glass of tea and watching the hummingbirds and the bees. It’s a virtual visit but I’m enjoying it none the less. It was 32 here this morning. Spring is here but it’s just playing with us. 🙂 Thanks for the warm visit. Hugs.
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Aww, aren’t you sweet, Marlene. I wish I could hook up a camera so that I could see the bee’s activity. I’m fascinated by them.
32 is chilly. Is it expected to warm up soon? Sending sunshine your way.
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It warms up when the rain comes back.:)) When we get sun, it’s cool but I love it all. seeing your humming bird feeders has reminded me to hunt down my own in the garage. Your photos make me feel like I’m right there.
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I wish you were right hear, sharing a cup of tea and a chat. That would be wonderful.
Your hummers will be happy to see your feeder go up. I had a magical moment yesterday, when one flew within inches of my hand. They seem to know who’s friendly. It helped that I had a feeder full of sugar water in my hand.
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Ah ha! So that’s the trick. 🙂
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Beautiful website, I’ve been thinking about setting up a little bee home in my garden so encourage pollination, have you noticed much of a difference?
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We have a wide variety of bees visiting each year, so it is hard to quantify. I’m just so excited that they’re using it. I think anything we can do for the bees is a positive.
This one is far more elaborate, but given the success of our first habitat, I may consider another one.: http://www.gardeners.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Gardeners-Site/default/Search-Show?q=bee%20habitat
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Happy spring gardening! Your post sounds so full of joy.
Unfortunately, it has turned cold and rainy here, so it was definitely good to see the sunshine in your photos 🙂
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Sorry to hear about the rain and cold. As much as you miss sunshine, we are missing the rain.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the post. Thank you.
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Well, in Brtiain it isn’t normal to miss any particular weather – it was sunny as well yesterday!
We do get droughts – in fact, I thought we might have been at the start of such a scenario already as I had begun watering the garden, which isn’t something I should be doing here in March.
Your situation sounds very worrying indeed, though. I do hope it will rain – and substantially – very soon!
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Thank you for those well wishes. We actually have two days forecasted for later this week. Fingers crossed, though. They’ve been wrong before.
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Fingers crossed!
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You are not going to believe this but, I, Laurie Buchwald, have two earthboxes!!! Aren’t you proud that I’m not quite as clueless as I portray 🙂
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I am proud (and I never fell for the cluelessness anyway). What are your growing plans for this season?
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I really do live in the woods; my 1/2 acre, hilly lot is surrounded by big, lovely trees on all sides. Someday, I’ll post a photo for you. I have lots of beautiful moss as a ground cover, through no effort of my own, and also vinca. The Black Eyed Susans, Daisys, and Daffodils grow well; we’ll see how the transplanted irises do. Hostas just feed the deer. My rhododendrons are gorgeous, and the forsythia, too. Again, most of this because of the previous owner. They had a beautiful, more groomed look, but I’ve let a lot of the grass go back to woods. It’s all about the balance between a natural, woodsy appeal and some plantings. Someday, when the motorcycle and the camera don’t distract me so much, I’ll do more 🙂
By the way, I like that Time and Date link!
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Laurie, your place sounds wonderful. I like that you let a lot of the grass naturalize. Is the house on the hill or at the bottom of the hill?
When the snow melts, I’m hoping you’ll treat us to a few pictures. Or…maybe I’ll see it at our blog tea party.
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It’s still too early here in New England to plant, but I’m enjoying cutting back the old growth on the perennials to let the new growth push upward! Spring is truly a miracle!
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Do you still have snow on the ground, Betsy?
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