Seasons #1 - Transitions
Spring transitions into summer in May here, sometimes early May and sometimes later in May, and it is just a delightful season. Spring blooming flowers are still in evidence, depending on variety. And early summer flowers are just beginning–for the best of both seasons. Among the spring flowers, I have a special fondness for pansies and especially violas. These cheerful little plants can bloom even in the winter, and violas will reseed and come back again, if you let them.
The first in this series of three photos shows my fairy garden when the viola blooms were at their peak. This is such a cheerful and welcoming way to greet our guests. Just across the driveway from my fairy garden is our granddaughter’s fairy garden, also looking its spring best. I usually plant dianthus through out the landscape in the late fall for spring bloom. I admit dianthus is a little tall for this small garden, but it adds so much “pretty.”
This series of three photos offers a glimpse into our backyard patio garden. We brought the three foot tall clay pot back from a vacation trip about 10 years ago and have had it outside since then. Since it is too heavy to bring in, we leave it out and hope for the best. It functions as a focal point at the top of the side garden path; very pretty in the spring with the clematis in full bloom. The middle photo shows a closer look at the patio we installed last fall. We have had a fire pit here for several years, but with no paved area it was a muddy swamp when it rained. I set the pavers on paver sand, and filled between them with pea gravel. We like how it turned out, but it isn’t quite big enough. I plan on adding two more rows of pavers later this year. In one of my later posts, I plan on showing more of the how-to of this project. The last photo here is of the area closest to our back porch. Peonies, clematis, iris and a variety of grass all make this area special.
This is a little glimpse of our side yard garden path. This and the back yard garden path are my special “babies”. The new green foliage, the shocking pink dianthus and the bright yellow and red ice plants make for an irresistible invitation to wander up the garden path.
Final thought:
Spring and early summer are such a joyous time in the life of a garden—and a gardener! It sometimes seems as if we are filled to bursting with joy. All seasons have their own special joy but spring and early summer are a time of new beginnings—a time of knowing we are being given a chance to start over. Hope, rooted in faith—this time we will get it right!