big garden weekend

It's 80 degrees and I'm behind schedule. I have all these seeds that were supposed to be planted at "last frost" and that was officially April 13. Now I hope they come up sometime before August. Sigh. And now there's not much to see, because it all went into the ground so it's all patches of dirt. I really need to learn to start my seedlings early or not at all -- sure it's more expensive to get annuals from the nursery, but at least then there are flowers when you want them. Anyway, here's what went in.

- ranunculus in the new black and white planter. Put more in the concrete block 'retaining wall' by the patio, and also in the planter now in the front. And alyssum seed also in the retaining wall blocks.

- Planted “butterfly mix” in the raised bed by the raspberries. Didn't spread much, so only partial.

- Red Sunflowers in cement block by the JackRabbit hydrangea, also back behind the allium. That planter fell over while I was doing this and fell apart. Oops. You can see it here, behind the flowering quince, which is flowering nicely.

- Mexican torchflower behind the jackrabbit hydrangea, I think. I've already lost count! I also planted hollyhocks, and have no idea where I put those. In the hollyhock "spot" I'm sure, but I have to have also put them elsewhere.

- Calla lilies in the new green planter.

- Xeriscape mix in the long aluminum planter, and two of the square planters, also in the planters already hanging off the fence.

- Cosmos (both types) in the square planters. Also with calla lilies?

- Replaced aluminum planter in front with one that has alyssum, dianthus, and ranunculus. Need to evaluate the other one. A couple bulbs came up only a couple inches. Soil seems soggy. It's not a happy planter.

- I'm soaking Nasturtium seeds that will also get planted in places where viney things will cover the fence. I think I may have gone a bit overboard on making sure there was fence cover this year. Oh well.

Anyway, I've already lost track of where the seeds are. I need to label some popsicle sticks b/c I also started some in the little containers so that I'll know what's what when it starts coming up. As if.

Meanwhile, here's what it looked like with stuff starting to come up. Notice the pink tulips. RIP. The squirrels beheaded them later the same day.

Breaking News!

Daffodil! Ok, it's not a very good picture. But there it is. With more imminently on the way!

new bedroom -- and an extra perk

It's only been 4 1/2 years. 4 1/2 years of "temporary bedroom" as we renovated. No more. Our real bedroom is done, finally!

Ok, there are things missing -- like the wall sconces, which are still on order. But look. Paint! Baseboards! Wall plate covers! Fancy new bedding! The panelling is white oak, and the floors are white-stained oak too. The walls are "harbor haze".

Here's the view of Steve's side -- you can see the ginormous closet that Steve built. Someday it will have doors. I'm ok with that. We've got other things to do. Like decorate! I get to decorate!This is what I look at when I open my eyes in the morning. And have I mentioned how much quieter it is than the front of the house? There's some tidying to do back there. But you'll note -- still no daffodils. I know I planted daff bulbs. They must be that rare May-blooming variety (is there such thing?). But stuff is greening. By the time I get back from beantown hopefully there will be a flower or two to post -- the flowering quince looks on the verge.

And here's the "perk" of the weekend. We had a frenzy of activity trying to get things cleaned up, and thanks to Ray, the hallway is drywalled -- walls and ceiling! I'm almost happier about that than the great bedrom move. Not that there isn't tons of work to do and it's not still disgusting, but it is so much cleaner. So much brighter. And even though all the crap has just been moved into our old bedroom/baby's room, at least it's out of the way.

I got nothin'

It's frustrating. I walk around the neighborhood, and other people have blooming daffodils. I have no blooming daffodils. I have no blooming anything. Ok, I exaggerate, there's a crocus in the back that's blooming. And the hellibore "christmas rose", which is actually very nice and is doing surprisingly well, especially since I do nothing for it and I think Enzo pees on it all the time. Probably the stray cats too.

Yes, things have leaves -- the hydrangeas, the flowering quince. And the tulip bulbs are half out of the ground. But there's nothing that looks even remotely imminent.

I KNOW I planted early blooming bulbs. I think daffodils even. Narcissus definitely. Where the heck are they? It makes me mad.

Note to self. Next year, the earliest early early bulbs possible. Who cares if they're something kind of dumb like crocuses (crocii?). By this time, you NEED them.

I don't even have pictures, since Steve took the camera to work and there it seems to be stuck.