Just a few more shots of the progression of spring color...

Just a little blurry shot of some of the front beds and their color..

The ornamental peaches 'Peppermint' are blooming. I planted three of them last summer. So they're still small, but they have lots of blooms. The flowers are double and are mixed white, white/reddish pink stripes and red. Pretty! Also got the first flower on the 'Ranger' fruiting peach I espaliered on the back fence.

As it warms up, the garden is really starting to pop (as are the weeds....)
I usually plant mid- to late- blooming daffodils, so they are just now starting to come into bloom. 'Thalia' my favorite white triandrus narcissus has just put out its first two blooms. They are also fragrant. 'Tete a Tete' is a great little fragrant jonquil. I love working edibles into the ornamental garden for the cool season. Curled parsley, bronze fennel and Swiss chard are great for this - and you get to harvest. Summer snowflake, Leucojum aestivum, is in full bloom. Anemone 'Mr. Fokker' is blooming in a few places in the garden as well.

I'm a sucker for Iceland Poppies. But you know, they so pull their weight in the spring garden. And you get the most lovely photos. Here in Texas, plant them in the fall and they'll bloom gangbusters for you in spring. Just a few new photos from today.

Ok, let the veggie garden expansion project begin. Yesterday we build three new 6'x12"x12' new raised cedar beds for the veggie garden. I got one of them anchored in the ground, weed barrier in and filled with soil. Still have to decide exactly how I want to situate the other two and anchor them in. More soil to be delivered for those beds next week. Cleaned out the old beds and got a few transplants of tomatoes, peppers and herbs in. Started seeds of the tomato, eggplant, lettuce, summer squash and peppers I'm testing for the mag. In addition to the already built new beds, I'll still need to build a few smaller ones to balance out the garden, plus add some pretty containers. I have an above ground irrigation system I built for the garden, so I'll have to add a couple of zones and run it to the new beds as well. Not an immediate need, but I'll have to get that done before it gets too warm. Then finish off the pathways around all the new beds as well, which is a time consuming project in itself. whew... (oh, and ignore all those weeds in the yard...they aren't really there. really. just a figment of your imagination...) Oh, by the way, I use a combination of organic compost, humus and high quality topsoil for my soil mix for the beds.

So spring happened...and then snow happened....and then tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and 70 degrees...ya gotta love Tejas....

Just a few little updates on some of the babies on their way...The first of 'Blue Poppy' Anemone's made it's appearance a few days ago. They start off slow, but once a number of them are in bloom it's quite the show. Summer Snowflake (Leucojum aestivum) have just begun to produce their first flowers. We don't do well with Lily of the Valley down here in the South, but these make a great visual alternative. You don't get the fragrance, but the Leucojum provide a similar flower and are a super tough naturalizer for us here in Texas. Awww, aren't those just the cutest little violas? They're just so happy. I want to pinch their little cheeks! Lots of Narcissus (daffodills) popping up in the lawn. There wasn't much else in the landscape when we bought this 1941 cottage, but there were a number of this daffodil residing in the yard. It's an old fashioned species of some sort I've yet to spend the time to identify. But because in the 3 or so years we've been in the house we haven't mowed over the foliage in the spring, the bulbs have finally regained vigor and are really blooming nicely for the first time since we moved in. Yay daffodils! The Swiss chard I use for foliage accent in the beds really starts to shine late winter/early spring. The bright red mid-veins are so pretty. The great thing about gardening organically is that I also harvest the chard for cooking. Yum. Iceland poppies 'Champagne Bubbles' are producing buds en masse and will so be the darlings of the garden. Shown here budding up with companions curly parsley and bronze-leafed fennel. More to come...