Spring has sprung

This is not a catalog shot. Several packs of these little beauties followed me home today and I spend the afternoon putting purple and white violas, purple violas, orange and purple pansies and purple pansies along the front of my house.

I also bought some oak leaf dusty miller and have them spaced out between the pansies. I've been prepping an area towards the east side for moving some of my prized bearded irises -- soft lavender purple with yellow beards that smell almost like grapes.

I started many years ago with 6 rhizomes, then I had 18 and the next thing I know I have hundreds. I've given some to friends and given some back to my mother, who gave them to me originally. I wish I she'd given me a few of the tiger lilies too.

One of the things I'm going to try to do is plan the landscaping a little bit before the plants go in rather than purchase plants and then have to hurry and find them a home. I am hoping that plan will get more plants into the ground.

It's too bad that I planted all those daffodils last fall at my other house. I hope they are blooming next time that I am up there. I will definitely have to get some daffodils here! And some crocus.

Then I will be waiting for later in the spring to begin lifting and splitting Hostas so that I can bring some Gold Drops, some Patriot and some large basic green ones. Then in early summer I'll have Ostrich ferns and Lilies of the Valley to move. I might even see if I can wean some babies from my vintage lilac.

And, then there are hollyhocks, coneflowers and sunflowers, and I've not even put in the vegetables. Yup, I love to garden. Flowers mixed with vegetables or vegetables mixed with flowers. One of the things on my bucket list this time around besides rhubarb is an herb garden.

Now, on the other hand, I have to be very careful what I plant where. Why? Because Stevie likes to MOW! So all plants coming in will have to be carefully discussed because otherwise they may end up very expensive mulch. Which is why I'm working with a plan.

The very first plant in the ground at this new house ... one rose. I bought a gold shrub rose to replace a winter damaged shrub of some kind. It looked so sad half dead. So in it's place is the first rose. I've got a second location planned for a rose where another mostly dead shrub has already been removed.

And, then the next planned section is a small spot to the northeast of the house where we have a small section of fence. While it's beautifully sunny on the east side, which is where Irises are going to go, but woefully dark on the northerly side, which should be perfect for hostas.

Then on a southerly facing side, I have plans to start a new rhubarb patch. I'm lucky that I'll have rhubarb from another house this spring, so I won't have to wait for the new plants to get settled in first.

Then along with roses, irises, hostas, lilies, hollyhocks and sunflowers that bucket list includes a pergola, grapes and clematis to grow on it, a fire ring, loads upon loads of peonies and then kitchen herbs. Then lilac, hydrangea and spirea shrubs and possibly columbines, dianthus and bleeding hearts. Then, maybe I can find a suitably moist location for some variegated irises.

Don't these just say "take me home!"??

I could go on for hours about what plants I want and how I hope that my hubby doesn't mow them over, but I think I'll just follow the plan and try to keep the plants from running the poor boy over.

Laura