Happy Easter my friends! I hope that all of you who celebrate Christ’s resurrection have a joyous and blessed day. We’re headed to church this morning, and I’m excited lent is over. For everyone else, I hope Easter whispers spring’s message of rebirth, and you hear it in gentle warm breezes.
This morning, at 5:00 a.m., a cold front roared through Oklahoma and Kansas bringing rain, hail and cooler temperatures in my garden. I’ll be wearing a sweater to church this morning.
In Kansas, they got snow. I’m sorry.
For Kansans and everyone else who is battling cold and snow, I want to share some of my Easter garden. I took these pictures yesterday when the wind didn’t blow for the first time in over a week, and the mercury sat at 72. It was a perfect day in the garden. A perfect day for picture taking too.
In the greenhouse, my ‘Republic of Texas’ orange is covered in blooms. I’ve been leaving the greenhouse door open for the pollinators to more easily find it, and find it, they did. Someone in the neighborhood has honeybees–I wish I knew who. (Click on the gallery, above, to make the photos larger.) I would buy some honey from him or her. Local honey is the best. Anyway, Watching the girls as they went about their work was exciting. This orange tree provided the most wonderful fruit over Christmas. I bought several other fruit trees including a dwarf ‘Meyer’ lemon. It has two buds on it too. I can’t wait to smell them. The orange tree smells so sweet. Claire had a friend over, and I called them into the greenhouse to smell the orange and watch the bees at work.
In the garden, I’m starting to see small pollinators at work. When Kari and I cleared the garden, we stacked the hollow stems of the perennials in a pile nearby.Kari only comes one day a week, but we get so much done on that one day. I work in the garden every other day alone. A lot of native pollinators overwinter in those dead sticks, and we try not to disturb them. We’ve been systematically working bed-by-bed weeding and then placing shredded leaves on top as mulch. Earthworms will work that leaf mulch down into the soil making the soil friable. I’ll probably need to mulch three times over the growing season, and I’ll use something different each time: shredded leaves, Back to Nature cottonseed compost and fine pine bark. This is my plan. We’ll see what happens.
The yellow pansies were a complete accident. I used pansies to fill in blank spots and provide some color for the tour last fall. Since the tour was in October, I didn’t have much blooming. Kari suggested yellow as one of the colors, and these were the only ones I found. Although I liked them for the tour, I love them for the spring garden. They are the perfect shade of lemon yellow, and the patterned faces are also perfect. The shot, above, shows one of my favorite spots in the back garden now. I think the yellow pansies blend so well with the gray/green lamb’s ears and yarrow. Blue Phlox divaricata doesn’t hurt either. Woodland phlox paints the entire garden blue and purple. You should grow it. Buy seeds from one of the nurseries that carries native plants.
In the meantime, I’m trying to enjoy each new garden discovery as spring unfolds day-by-day. Baptisias will soon be blooming, but only a few emerged from the ground in the last couple of days. Iris will also follow, but today, the Easter garden is full of bulbs which are my spring favorites. Planting them with the drill auger was very effective. It went faster than I expected, and I’m happy with the results. I pull the tulips as they fade, making room for other plants in the garden. I’m also taking stock of perennials crowding out other plants. I noticed that our mild winter was great for the pansies and violas, but the cannas also loved it, spreading way beyond their spaces. Next week, in between work assignments, I’ll dig the cannas and separate them.
Spring in the garden is full of work, but don’t forget to slow down and enjoy spring’s ephemeral flowers too. Happy Easter my friends.
Such beautiful and amazing colors, certainly brings joy to the day.
You have an amazing spring garden, Dee! Spring and winter are still fighting here in S. Wisconsin, so I’m trying to make the most of the bright, sunny days. Yesterday I took a break to sit on the patio, listen to the songbirds, admire the spring flowers, and count my blessings. Those drifts of Tulips and Narcissus in your photos are gorgeous. Happy Easter season!
Your garden is gorgeous! My mother’s garden looks the same way now. All the tulips and daffodils are blooming now and the air is filled with pleasant aroma. And those pansies and the violas are such a beauty too. Thank you for sharing these magical photos, surely showing them to my mother and her friends. Happy gardening!
Gosh, thank you Clara. I’d love to see your mother’s garden. Yes, please share with your mother and her friends. I bet they are as passionate about gardening as I. I loved reading your comment. I could almost smell your mother’s garden as you described it. Thank you so much for coming by. ~~Dee
Happy Easter! He is risen!
He is truly risen! Happy Easer Andrea!
Beautiful, I love the photo of the purple pansies. Your garage border looks fantastic as well! What a great time to be in the garden and I can almost smell your oranges.
The narcissus might be ‘geranium’.
Happy Easter to you as well.
Frank
Hi Frank! You’re absolutely right about the narcissus. I went back later and looked it up. It is ‘Geranium.” Thank you and Happy Easter!
That header shots of your violas is stunning! We also had a mild winter, and it appears that my snapdragons have overwintered. They got nipped, of course, but it does look like they are growing back. Normally, they seed themselves all over though, so it’s hard to tell for sure.
Thank you Robin. I didn’t plant any snapdragons last fall. I wonder why? I wish I had because there are none to be found this spring. Isn’t that always the way? Glad you’re getting your spring on too. I’ll come by and visit.~~Dee
Happy Easter Dee! Love the spring display…here we have many more blooms than expected with our earlier spring…but not as many as you have! In the 60s here for Easter.
Thank you Donna! I’m so glad you’re having a warm and beautiful spring. Let’s hope you don’t get any freezes. Fingers crossed.
Beautiful!
Happy Easter!
Thank you! You too Linda.
Calm and inviting. A place of beauty!
Thank you Bruce!
Happy Easter! Just clicked on your “cookie policy” button. I was thinking that you’d be telling us that the policy is that we could eat as many as we can make. I guess the other thing is important to mention too:)
Ha Peter! I wish they were home-baked cookies, gluten free of course. Google makes us put that notice on our blogs. Silly isn’t it?
What lovely bulbs you have blooming in your gardens! You’re probably almost a month ahead of us here in Iowa, where the daffs are just starting to flower. But I love your pansies best of all — so cheerful. Thanks for sharing them with us on Easter! -Beth
Thank you so much. We’re a bit ahead of our normal, but lately, the mornings have been quite cold. It’s slowed things down a bit which is good. Hope you get spring soon in Iowa.
I am looking forward to only needing a sweater outside and seeing more in bloom. I have Phlox divaricata but I don’t think it gets as tall as yours. Love your pansies. Mine didn’t make it through the winter, although the violas did.
Kathy, it probably doesn’t. Mine stretches in the warmer days. It is quite tall by the time it goes to seed.
Sorry that the cold winds have blown into your garden, but they haven’t faded its beauty. Happy Easter Dee.
Thanks Gail!
Your garden looks so fresh and pretty with the colorful flowers here and there. We are having a most divine Easter here this year. The warmest I can remember in some time. Plus the sun is out. One of those days that make you glad you are alive. 🙂 Many blessings your way…
Many blessings to you too Lisa. I love those spring days when you’re happy just to be alive. We had one of those on Saturday. Glad your spring is warm this year instead of snowy like last year.~~Dee
Happy Easter Dee. Your bulb display looks lovely. Here in WNY we have very little yet in bloom, but Easter Day was wonderful at 60° after a week of nippy weather. More cold fronts moving our way though. Enjoy the sun!
I’m so glad you had a warm Easter. Ours was chillier than yours. Isn’t that funny? I do love the sun. Thank goodness there’s plenty of that.~~Dee
Your photos are extraordinary. Enjoyed each one and thank you!
Thank you Phyllis so much!