Spring has Sprung

Winter - Sprinter - Summer - Spring. The last month has brought a variety of weather and it seemed like spring would never come, especially when we went from sprintery weather (when spring and winter can't stop fighting over whose turn it is) into way-too-warm-for-this-time-of-year temps in the 70s and 80s. Then Mother Nature (mostly) righted herself and the weather has been more spring-like - we even had a frost last week. And of course I neglected to cover the veggies that had started to come up. . . though I don't think I lost too many (and that, my friends, is why you always plant more seeds than plants you'll end up keeping!).

Everything needs a good weeding and probably could use some mulching, too. Not to mention the backyard and side yards need a bit of a haircut. And it's only mid-May - things should be filling out nicely over the summer.

Without further ado, a little tour of the grounds here at the Mint Manor at Eastman Terrace . . .

The front house beds; I'm planning to make the part in front of the stoop into more of a rock garden. There isn't much coming up here aside from the irises and some sedum.

I'd like to spread this bed further into the yard and give everything some elbow room.

The hosta bed near the lilac. Eventually I'd like hostas all along this row of trees and shrubs, which shouldn't be too hard to do this summer.

Irises, day lilies, and a couple of ladies mantle near the driveway. I'd like to make this bed longer, and when the dead spruce comes down (this summer?) I might expand it around the stump.

Front garden. This was a mess of weeds and grass hiding some keepers when I moved in. It's a bit of a hodgepodge, but is slowly coming together. I

The spirea bed. Now home to a peony that came from my granddad's house, as well as a daylily/hosta combo and a small rhodi. I might join this bed with one of the others, or keep it as is.

The very young raspberry patch. It is across the fence from my neighbor's raspberry patch, so I'm hoping it gets some inspiration to grow. . .

The phlox bed that was here when I moved in, plus an extension of other random things. Need to work on the extension.

This started as a trio of nine-bark, spirea and boxwood the first fall, all thanks to mom, and now includes some ladies mantle and an orphan something.

Hostas along the back screened porch.

The hill bed I put in last spring. The backyard is a bit wild, and steep enough that the mowing kind of sucks. So I put in a bed just below the flat part of the yard. It started out with day lilies and irises and a bunch of random things from a woman I work with, and is a bit crowded. I did expand it down the hill towards the swamp and east towards the tamarack later in the summer, so I've been able to start moving things around to give them elbow room. This spring I scored six or so old railroad ties of various lengths that I am using as a back boarder. They don't stretch along the whole back side, but along the steepest part.

This is the newer end of the back bed. These guys have a little more elbow room - I actually spaced them!

And the veggie bed! More to come on this one, but I laid burlap to the west and south of the two main beds for better access, added a small squash/zucchini bed, and a box for herbs (it was living under the back deck!). The whole space is fenced in with sheep fencing to keep the well-intentioned canines and felines at bay.