Thousands and thousands of daffodils

Ahhh, the jonquils are peaking! Most of
the early bloomers are fading but the
mid-bloomers are still going strong and the late ones are starting.


This is Seven Sisters and has a heavenly fragrance. Just one stem in a vase will scent the room.

This is Sunny Side Up, one in the "butterfly" series. In the back is Siren.
I plant new varieties every year and they always come back but I don't think they multiply like the older more established bulbs. Mount Hood, King Alfred, and Ice Follies go to town when it comes to naturalizing. That doesn't stop me, though. I have to add new ones every year, it's a sickness, I need help, rehab. However until someone locks me up I will continue to order just a few more!

A Pink Petal Carpet

The saucer magnolias are dropping their blooms as their leaves begin to emerge. Some find them a bit "messy", I find my yard carpeted in pink lovely. It looks magical to me, an illustration in an old-fashioned story book. When I look at the trees in bloom I hear Vivaldi, when I see the yard carpeted in pink I envision Alice in Wonderland.

My Mother

My mother is my taproot. She keeps me grounded. She has always been the epitome of a Southern Lady and I have always been proud to call her my Mother. At 95 years of age she's quite amazing. Yes, she has dementia [short-term memory loss] and yes, she is getting a little frail. But her eyes still sparkle and her wit is sharp and her love is ever encompassing. I treasure each day I have with her and strive to be just a bit like her but feel I have failed miserably. However, I will keep trying!

Giddy-up

This is the only horse I know how to ride. Sad but true. My daddy loved horses and we had several. They were beautiful but Mother was always a little wary of them and I inherited that! Before Mother and Daddy married he actually delivered mail on a little black horse named Dolly that he loved. Mother thought him quite dashing. But a saddled-up tree is more my speed and it's about time for a new saddle!

My white Red bud tree

Yes, that really is a white red bud. I ordered it from a catalog several years ago and it was tiny. It has the same heart shaped leaves as the red bud and blooms up and down the branches the same also. It's so fresh and clean, I just love it. It's planted close to the fairy woodland garden.

A Canopy of Pink

The saucer magnolias are in full bloom. A late cold snap gets them about every other year so they are even more treasured when they get to bloom in all their glory. These are in my front yard and the ground will be carpeted with their pink petals as the leaves start emerging. I used to cut the branches from these to decorate the shop--the catkins stay on nicely and the branches are knobby and interesting. I always hear Vivaldi in my head when I see them in bloom. They peak out with the Bradford pears and the forsythia and the jonquils. The promise of Spring.

An Advocate of Wildlife

This little woodland creature is eating black oil birdseed on the ledge built right outside my kitchen window. He often has visitors--chipmunks and a plethora of birds. It's about time for the goldfinches to arrive, the cardinals have been prevalent all winter and of course wrens, sparrows, and snowbirds. I see many other varieties from this window however all do not sit on the shelf. The bluebirds don't nor the cedar waxwings. Some are just not as social as others! I, myself, am a wildlife advocate. Don't speak to me of hunting, don't brag to me, don't ask me to hunt on this property. You get your trophy, I get mine. Your "you knows" will be hanging over my door. I am closed minded about it and want to have no part of it. I will keep this property a sanctuary for doves, squirrels, and deer. I won't even keep a cat for fear of it getting my birds and chipmunks. I will find them a home but they can't live here, I can't deal with their predatory ways. It's just the way I am. At this point in life I don't see me changing! I even had speed bumps put on my road so my chipmunks wouldn't get hit! You may think me silly but you know what? I don't care. My mother always said that I marched to the beat of a different drummer like Thoreau and he was and is one of my favorite writers.