have to be a grown-up today :(

No hiking today--too much to catch up with around here. That's OK, I really wanted to get out into the garden anyhow.

Spring is one of my (many) favorite times of the year. Everyday is different, and I love seeing the latest sprout burst forth from the earth and think of what it will look like in just a few short weeks. Let's take a stroll around my garden to see what was blooming last year.....

This spot is the first thing you see coming off the driveway. It's very shady - in fact no sun at all once the huge maple blooms (is that right? to say a tree 'blooms' or is that just a flower term???). Pete built this deck right around the tree - if you look closely, you can see the trunk in the center of the pic. The awesome wine press was a gift from our neighbors, Bonnie and Bill. They found it in their basement. LOVE IT!

Meghan took this shot. It is one of my very favorite.

Sometimes you need to step over the dogs to get to where you want to go!

I miss you Sabre

Under the arbor and through the gate into the yard. The gate was salvaged from a beautiful brick home that was torn down on West Avenue. The credit union's drive thru was constructed on the site.

Along the garage, old tulips planted by a previous owner a long time ago (we've been here for 19 years), still bloom among the ferns.

My 'main' perennial garden lines the border between our yard and Bonnie and Bill's. I couldn't even begin to remember how many perennials I've tried in this area. For a good 4 years I had the best delphiniums right where you can see the fence. They just died off one year, never to return. I've just let the garden fill itself these past few years.
Wild roses grow along the back fence. No matter how I try to fix that area up, these girls just take over the place.

I do have a 'vegetable' patch, but I just am not a good veggie farmer. My plan is to fill the majority of the spot with rhubarb. I had some rhubarb plants along the fence line that were here when we moved in, but over the past few years the plants got smaller and smaller, and now are gone completely.

I guess it's time to hit the nurseries!