Dandelions!

The dandelions bloomed today! I was excited to see one out the window this morning, and then realized there were a bunch. There were none blooming yesterday. Mike read that dandelions are a good marker of morel season; it's time to look 1-2 weeks after the first dandelions show up in the middle of the yard. So the countdown begins!

This week it rained and rained, which felt like weather regression while we all thought "May flowers... May flowers..." in our minds. Well, it worked. The grass has greened up wonderfully, and it is nice and long, so Mike is mowing for the first time this year. The rain also brought us a couple beautiful rainbows:

there was another rainbow just above it; later in the evening there was another single rainbow

look at how the rainbow travels in front of the trees

The crocuses were very pretty, and are done just about now. The daffodils are now starting to bloom.

The current state of the garden-- may seem boring, but is really helpful for me to keep track of what's growing when:

irises in the back, daffodils in the front

delphinium and oriental lily

perennials starting

tulips and peonies

still working on the curb appeal

Overall garden

 It's still too cool at night to plant many of the annuals, but garden centers have a full inventory available now. The more frost sensitive ones are being sold from greenhouses, and I did get a few that were on early season sale- little sweet potato vines and bacopas that don't look like much, but for a couple dollars are a great deal, and they'll grow fast; they just have to come inside at night.

I also picked up a few perennials: an anemone that will probably hate this hot location in the yard, some chinese delphiniums, dianthus, Becky shasta daisy. I have a few other things on my wishlist to fill out the bed, and still need a more clear cut plan for the stretch of dirt just along the foundation. There's also a lot of plant shuffling that needs to be done around the house, removal of some rocks and landscape fabric to be replaced with mulch, and other big chores. Someday, they'll all get done, even if I only have time to move 1-2 plants per week!

The outdoor to-do list of early Spring is overwhelming, but it's a blessing after the long winter, and I hope you're enjoying your outdoors, too!