My first garden post of spring is here!  Mother Nature has been kind and gifted us with several spring showers followed by sun. The garden has been loving it. We are getting even more rain tonight and tomorrow! Bliss. The wisteria is looking magnificent in these photos, but since I've taken them the flower racemes have grown another foot! I'll take more pictures this weekend. The roses are on the way and some of our early bloomer varieties are close to being in full bloom. My husband has been saying this is going to be THE year for roses. A few days ago I emptied the greenhouse and planted nearly every thing that I'd started from seeds. The zinnias and cosmos are in the flower bed under the wisteria, and the vegetable garden has tomatoes, chard, eggplant, peppers, and summer squash. I scattered dill and lettuce seeds in one bed and planted a few rows of scallions and radishes in another. The teepee has bean seeds that are just starting to sprout. The only thing I'm waiting on in the greenhouse is the cucumbers. If they don't sprout I'll buy a few plants at the garden center. 

We have been busy in the garden every day and I find I can spend hours out there as long as I stretch my back once in a while. I put in my ear buds (listening to Pachinko at the moment) and set a timer for 30 minutes to remind me to stop and stretch for 5 minutes or more. It really works wonders. I also bring my knitting outside and sit and knit whenever I feel like it. This is how I often waste a pretty spring day.

I know many of you like to know the seed varieties I've planted and my next garden post will have all that information for you. 

Our oranges are at their peak sweetness right now. Citrus ripens fruit at the same time it blossoms for next year's fruit. The fragrance is so fresh and beautiful.

peony

We make a bean teepee from the prunings of our fruitless magnolia.  The branches are 20 feet long!

We've owned a small electric rototiller for about 20 years and it's a lifesaver! My husband has an extra long cord that can reach just about anywhere in the garden. He rototilled the first 4 feet of the perennial flower bed and it's where I plant the zinnias and cosmos. They are only about 4 inches high when I transplant them from the greenhouse, but they're sturdy enough to be outside.

Climbing First Prize

The flower racemes of this Japanese wisteria will soon grow so long that they will almost drag to the ground!

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