fern fronds

Spring is such a special season..it's makes anything seem possible.  I am always excited to see new plants surviving the winter, and established ones growing larger and stronger.

It occured to me that gardens are like friends.
They take a while to grow and become established. Harsh environments that challenge them, make them all the more cherished when they survive and you see the real beauty they have to offer.  They take patience and give great joy.

Learn from the gardener, nurture yourself and accept help when it is neccessary

Donna's Beautiful Garden: A new year beginning, and soon the garden and seed...

Donna's Beautiful Garden: A new year beginning, and soon the garden and seed...: A new year beginning, and soon the garden and seed catalogs will arrive in the mail. How I love to sit next to a fire and look through...

A new year beginning, and soon the garden and seed catalogs will arrive in the mail.  


How I love to sit next to a fire and look through them and dogear the pages, planning  for spring planting!


It's always so much fun to see the new introductions of plants that I have loved in the past that have been stricken by bad weather or pests.


And then there is the fact that the garden is always changing.
Last year we took down 2 large oak trees as did some of our neighbors.  That has added alot more sunshine in a space that I always thought of as a woodland  garden.  Some of my hostas actually got burned, so I know I will be moving them and replacing them with something that can handle the sun.


That is the lovely challenge.  Seeing a need for change and addressing it.   The same with life, it seems.  The more things change, the more they stay the same...is that an oxymoron?


My very favorite catalog is White Flower Farm, and their plants are terrific.  I have never had one fail.  Can't wait for it to show up in my box sometime soon!

Time to get busy for a beautiful Spring!

Seems like an odd time of the year to be thinking of spring flowers, but this is actually the perfect time to tend to things.

This is the time of the year to plan for a lush lawn in the coming season.  Aerating and adding fertilizer will be a big help for next year.  The plugs you remove now will break down and the lawn will get deeper roots and a better start with the winter fertilizer.  Here in the south, we add lime to the lawn about 2 weeks before the fertilizer.  It is also so important to get all of the leaves up so the grass does not smother.

This is also the time that I tend to my schrubs.  I use Hollytone on all of my acid loving schrubs in March and September. 

When the leaves are off the trees, look at the structure and decide where to prune.
I find there are several reasons I might want to do some pruning.  Possibly I want to lift the limbs, cut some out of the center for better air flow and more interesting structure,
or for larger blooms and health of the tree.

And of course, there are the bulbs to plant...daffodils, tulips, crocus.  These early bloomers, along with the forsythia and heleboros are such welcome harbingers of spring!