More pretty bloomers

OOPS!! I got this post ready last night and was a little surprised just now to see that it hadn't auto-published like it was supposed to. Maybe because I set it for PM instead of AM like I thought I had, huh? ;( I guess my head's got too much in it this week and I'm not concentrating very well. Aargh. Well, here goes... hope you enjoy the photos!

Currently blooming

Besides the gerbera daisies, here is what I'm enjoying around here these days (click on each picture to enlarge):

Petunias (loving the yellow/purple ones!):

Clustered bellflowers: 

Bachelor Buttons: 

 

Nonstop Begonias:

 

Phlox:

Dianthus: 

Gazanias (my favorites right now): 

First bloom

As I was walking past the house yesterday after getting the mail, I happened to notice a spot of color in front of my sewing room window. A TINY spot of color. Can you see it? You can click on the photo to enlarge it if your eyes are straining.

Or here, I'll help you out a little:

It's the first dianthus to bloom this year. It's actually the first anything I've seen blooming this year. Even the dandelions haven't started yet.

"Yet"??? What am I talking about? It's still March, for heaven's sake! And oh, please.... tell me I'm not going to have to start mowing already in March!!! But look at this lawn:

*Sigh* Even though I think I only mowed once since the end of July last year due to no rain, I'm still remembering the every 4-5 days up until that point. Ack. Not looking forward to starting again.

I think our lawn suffered a lot because of the drought. It has a lot of patches where there's no grass. But I'm sure the weeds will fill it in nicely. Ack again.

As you can see, the broken limbs from the ash tree haven't been removed yet. Grandpa? I know you're reading this! Hint, hint! And obviously I haven't gotten rid of the old asparagus stalks from last year. Or picked up all of the branches/twigs that fell from all the ice on them, although I did haul away the biggest of them.

Spring and the sunshine and warmer temps are nice. I'm just not ready to start the yard work yet. I'd rather sew! In fact, I think I'll go do just that. Can't wait to show you my latest, which is coming along nicely!

"Fall"ness?

This is how it looked around here this morning.

C'mon... I know you love it! Look closer!

Below is my garden. Nothing left out there but carrots. They always taste better after a freeze, which is why I haven't dug them yet.

And the view from my sewing room window. Poor flowers.

The white stuff can still make for pretty pics, though!

Take a look at the wind action along with the white stuff. All day yesterday, last night, and today we've had winds of 30+ mph, sometimes gusting over 50 mph. Our barometric pressure has been at a record low, which I guess is the cause of the strong winds.

Things should start looking up. All of today's white stuff has already melted this afternoon, and though we could get a little more overnight, with those winds continuing, the sun is supposed to come out tomorrow, and it looks like gradual improvement from there.

Today was probably just a taste of things to come... a warning, perhaps, to get ready!

Currently blooming

Clustered Bellflowers:

Dianthus:

I know, I've showed you the dianthus before, but they're so pretty, and this view:

... SO much beats this view out my sewing room window!!!

(Click any photo to enlarge.)

Just pretties

Currently blooming......

Irises:

Dianthus:

Violas (a.k.a. Johnny Jump-Ups):

Million Bells:

And those million bells have already taken a tumble from the deck railing to the ground!! Cats!!! I love these plants but have sure had a time keeping them nice over the last few years. I've had skunks(?) and/or raccoons digging in the soil in the planter so I've had to put it in the garage every night, then last year they were so infested with aphids that I ended up dumping them before the summer was out. (This year I put systemic insecticide in the soil to hopefully prevent that.) And now the cat problem. (I've seen one cat repeatedly walk on the planter to get to the birdbath for a drink. Sure, it could jump up onto the railing in a different place, but...) I can't even put them on the deck railing anymore unless I tie them down, which would be a pain for taking them in every night to protect from the 'coons. Ack. I want them on the railing so I can see them from inside the house. Any suggestions? (No, I will not do anything to the cats! ;) )

And of course we still have a plentiful supply of these lovelies:

At least they've hit their peak and are slowing down some. The last couple lawn mowings have been hard on the eyeballs, though, with all that fuzz getting into them.

I do have some other flowers beginning to bloom. I'll show you later when they're fuller.

Out my sewing room window

I finally got my three amaryllis plants and tiny impatiens out of the basement window and put into the ground outside, and after I did so, I realized what a beautiful view I'd been missing! Here's what I see out my window now.

Lots of dianthus... and the poppies in the background.

Lovely, huh? And without an ounce of effort on my part, except for a little watering.

Raindrops on dianthus

Dianthus

I planted these last year, and they came back beautifully!