a walk around the springtime yard

ah the greening. spring came a little later than usual this year it seems. 

but the ongoing temperate days are a pleasure. every spring i look around our yard and can't imagine ever giving it up. we are renters. and there is always the question of 

whether we should move back into town.

the white azaleas are quite stunning

these yellow friends keep returning and spreading. i don't mind them. 

i also don't know what they are!

i am a sloppy, spontaneous, quirky gardener. toss a few seeds here, insert a baby plant there, maybe something grows, perhaps something dies, do i remember what it was if it returns? often not! amend the soil? when i get around to it perhaps. below is a plant i put in a couple of years ago. i can't remember what it is. last year it remained a tiny stump. but this year it is flowering. hanging in there!

this is one of several foxgloves i've planted year after year. most have died and not returned. but this one has returned. i do so love foxgloves!

i already mentioned the white azaleas. the original owner of this house was a master gardener and all the ornamental bushes are hers. these look pretty dramatic when they come around.

and to add to the drama, a hummingbird moth! wow!

an exceptionally large bee

and this beauty, hidden behind some leaves.

some pink blossoms in the woods

and more pinks

the lily of the valley is taking over some garden beds in a shady hidden spot along the house, just outside my sewing room. i await the blooms and welcome them!

 this little sprout is here to stay, growing and growing and growing. 

he likes to pick the flowers.

this grand lady returns every year. sometimes just one, sometimes three. 

she is some sort of peony, i think. huge and amazing.

 and next to her, some strawberries. not many. but year after year we get a few more.

the rose bush has been struggling along. but this year it is bushy and it's greenery looks healthy. 

hoping for many lovely blooms.

another butterfly. there were many swooping around yesterday when i took 

a little walk in my yard and felt myself recover even more from this malaise 

i've been plagued with this week.

a columbine that volunteered itself. there are a growing number of them 

in a patch across the yard from it. the buds will open soon.

a friend gave me some poppy pods full of seeds. we scattered them around and here are dozens of them coming up! it may be too late in the season for them? we shall see. . . 

hoping they return next year.

and our first planting this year, the potatoes. they seem to be doing just fine.

i planted watermelons & pumpkins near the potatoes. i'm not sure which these are, 

but they are certainly struggling. hmmm. . . .

i'm looking forward to further experimentation. soon we'll get a bunch of starters from the farmers market. we did not manage to start seeds this year. last year we started dozens of seedlings in egg shells, and ver few survived. i seem to have better luck with heartier plants started by the experts!!!!!

how does your garden grow?