My Yard is a Vison of Beauty (Not)

When you live in the Pacific Northwest, Spring is like a drug, an itch you can't scratch through out 4 or so months of gray and blah. Now don't misunderstand me; I like rain. But that first sunny day in late Winter, early Spring, I feel like a new person.

The air feels clean and the colors are vivid and bright. And the crocuses seem like the most wonderful sparkly jewels I have ever seen.

And that means it is time to get off my butt and start working in the garden again.
I am a fair weather gardener for the most part. I know people that will be out in freezing rain, dutifully attending to their gardens. You know what I think? I think they are crazy! Winter is for curling up with a good book and a glass of Cabernet and hitting the gym, not the sidewalks.

But when the weather starts to pull me outside, I get so excited about our yard all over again. I know that since we are bad about upkeep in the Winter that it only makes it harder in the Spring. That is just the price I pay. But then I actually get to be outside a lot from March to October. Then November starts the slow crawl back onto the couch, under a blanket, and cuddles with a cat.

I was relieved to see the Magnolia is starting to bud. Every year I worry that I killed it somehow.

These look more like Tulips to me, but it still seems too early for them.

And these seed pods (I think from a lily) are so interesting in structure that I want to try and copy them in tin and felt.

The birds have been plowing through the feeder like patrons at an all you can eat buffet. These two are typical of the fatties stopping by for a snack. There were about 7 birds hovering around the feeder when I came out to photograph them. But then my cat Vincent wanted to know what I was doing and scared most of them away and they refused to sit on the feeder again until I had led him away.
After an hour and a half in the garden today just dead heading and pulling weeds we hardly made a dent. But that is the joy of gardening: slow, but immediate progress one weed at a time. We are overhauling our front parking strip this spring. I will be working on new planting strip designs and buying plants in the coming weeks with more posts to follow!