ITS A BEEOOTEEFUL DAY IN THE NEYBORHOOD...

All these pine trees make for poor gardening. But, I will set out a few tomatoes this week end.

I have some nice hosta buds breaking the surface and inquisitively looking around.

It's 7;09 a.m. and 59 degrees F, no wind and partly cloudy. The lady Diane will continue planting her xeriscape front yard will I continue planting my semi-water hungry back yard. The smoke tree planted last year is covered with buds, the peach and ornamental plum are all leafed out, tomatoes are planted (2 sweet 100, 2 early girl and 2 better boy)

Hey! All the old farts are on one thread!

Group hug?

Daffodils (both early and late varieities) have gone by. This past week was the peak for the tulips- they're starting to fade. The forest floor is finally, and shiningly more green than brown (deep green- not that early spring green) and carpeted with bluebells. The apple trees are just beginning to blossom. Lilacs and wisteria are in full bloom. Forget-me-nots in all the verges.
It's the height of Spring here in Somerset UK and another sunny, perfect day-absolutely beautiful.

What the hell is a young woman doing on the old fart thread?

ferns are starting to unfurl in the front yard
lungworts, squills, crocuses are peeking about
poppy leaves are starting to be visible
the dogwood branches are a vibrant red

ahchoo ahchoo

in the backyard, the lilac is budding, and the day lily plants are a few inches high

ahchoo

no hosta or heuchera sightings yet

too early to put in any tender veggies

we'll get more frost in the next 3 - 4 weeks

Yesterday (17c) and today(11c) were absolutely beautiful! Spring is my favorite season and I'm getting all excited just thinking about getting into my garden.
I'm even looking forward to doing the tune up on my lawn tractor

Yesterday was in the mid-60s, hiked around a bit. Just a few early trees are leafing out. Today is also supposed to be gorgeous. The flowers on the crab apple in the yard will probably pop today. The city planted hundreds of Norway Maples and the only good thing about them is that they leaf out really late. This maximizes the area in which we can plant early spring plants.

I was cleaning out one of the beds I made a couple years ago: primrose haven't even come up all the way yet, the lady's mantle is starting to fan out and just under the dirt are the little pinkish fiddleheads of the japanese painted fern.

Still bittersweet around here. Way too much brown.

The magnolia has mostly completely dead, dark brown, crumply leaves that haven't fallen yet, with a smattering of little green deformed leaves. No new un-deformed leaves yet.

Japanese maple seems to be bouncing back, though. The earliest leaves, at the end of branches, are dead and droopy but haven't fallen. Later leaves, closer to the trunk, seem OK.

Tulips and creeping phlox are out in force.

Can't tell what's up with trees like the elm and the cottonwoods. There's brown stuff up there, could be buds, could be dead. Not much green yet. (Cottonwoods always take a long time to leaf out, more hopeful about them than the elm.)

The weather itself is beautiful though. Sunny and warm (high 60's/ low 70's).

I'll do some yard work, but I'm scared. Definitely won't be planting anything yet, probably mostly digging up dandelions + other weeds.

I'ts been unusual cold here (50s) in southern California, and yesterday it rained all day heavily. Not that we don't need it, but please not all at once!
Besides, it never rains in southern California

My flowers between the walkway and the garage are doing quite
nicely though.

I just saw a camel on my front lawn. Does that tell you anything?

only thing red is my hibiscus.

The Summer country--i had thought you were in bleak and windy Cornwall. Do you have wood lots near you? Is it reasonable to call it forest? For me, spring always was heralded by the lilac and the lily of the valley--not that spring required them, just that from the time i was a little boy, they were to me the signal that spring had truly arrived. Of course, i understand that in the northern United States, the lilac does not bloom until late spring or early summer.

Jane, that little garden is great! I love the lavender with the nasturtium!

74 degrees outside!!!

Dag, why are we inside?

I DON'T KNOW! LET'S GO!

BBB
I'm going to be optomistic about the end of frost and plant three Early Girl tomato plants in the big pots I usually grown them in.

My gardener came over Thursday and got rid of all the weeds. The bird seed I put in the back yard for the birds when we got deep snow during the winter produced mustard plants all over the yard and in the tiny slots in the paver blocks. I guess I can't use regular bird seed again. Will have to use sunflower seeds instead, which they like.

BBB

All early stuff is now in. I got a kick reading everyones descriptions. They capture the season's spirit. (Its good not to have the blood rush to our heads like our , you know, waaaay southern friends)

I found some Wala Walla onion sets ande some Vidalia sets. I have a plot in a field near a swampy area and onions do best in just shy of wet soils. Ive got the peas, radishes, arugula, spinach (planted that last fall when we got back from Maine) and some mixed greens.

ANybody need butterfly bushes? Im gonna start torching the damn things , they are almost invasisves around here.

Take a little nap then maybe go fishin.
Life is good.