Yard Update

Thought I would share some photos to show where things are with the yard and all the flowers and such...

My husband plants a lot of the same plants each year.. plants we love like petunias and verbena..

 but he always enjoys adding something new to the mix. This years newbie is Agapanthus.. Lily of the Nile.  These plants grow sooo tall!  We have to whose blooms are just about to open that are easily 3 feet or more. We have 2 others (pictured below) that are not as tall and have nice open blooms.   I love the soft lavender / lilac color.

We have Asiatic Jasmine in our bed and I love it!  It has spread and filled in some bare spots and is so rich and lush with color. I really do love it!

And I shared earlier about our confederate jasmine. It continues to grow and bloom profusely!  Love it too!

When we planted these beds years ago, my husband's new discovery was Anthony Waterer Spirea.  We planted two and have enjoyed watching them grow and bloom with these bright pinky-purple flowers.

A few years later we planted a third... only to discover its blooms are white and a lighter purple.  We love them both.

As always I have herbs growing and yes, I use them in cooking!  In fact last weekend our son used some of the mint to make Blueberry-Mint-Lemonade.  I, for some reason, failed to snap a photo of the mint or the oregano... but here are the other 3 we have this year..

Isn't this thyme lovely.. so green!

Rosemary... one of my favorites!

Basil... ranks up there with Rosemary!  I use a bunch of both of these,

While out in the yard, I noticed the blue birds going in and out of the house.  Couldn't catch the Mr. but got a nice shot of the Mrs.

The day before these photos were taken we had some rain and wind.  Our River Birches always loose some twigs and such. A nice size limb fell that day. Mia had to investigate, but deemed it safe and went on to better things.  

Be Joy-filled!

Anticipation...

I haven't really looked at the flower beds here for a week or so. I see them daily, but just glimpses as I run in and out the door.  Yesterday I decided to take a stroll around the yard and see how things were doing.

Now these pansies probably don't look that amazing to you... but here is the deal. We bought these for my mom back in the fall.  They got fairly neglected and for all appearances were dead.  She was going to toss them in the trash, but Hubs said "I'll take them."  He has fertilized and pruned and nurtured them and we have enjoyed a lovely late winter - early Spring showing.  These are the last of the blooms I fear, but they still look pretty....

I found this waiting amongs the tall green iris plants....

and there are many others showing hints of purple that no doubt will be popping over in the days ahead.

We have walked through a number of nurseries lately... we like to do that.  On the last trip, I snagged a few herbs to replinish the supply here.  Our mint huge and going strong... but the rosemary and basil did not fare well over the winter and I wanted to add some thyme to the mix. These will be potted up soon.

And lastly.... I am looking forward to seeing all the little white tips of this Jasime open and pouring out fragrance for us to enjoy. My husband's office purchased this for him a few years ago when his father died.  It has almost sucumbed to a couple of cold winters, but it is a tough ole bird (a bit like my father-in-law) and is ready to bloom!

I love the anticipation of what is to come!