Early in March, there is a short time when the white garden has a few pink blooms.
Three of the four main trees in the garden design bloom with pale pink blooms (the two flowering plums and the Katy apricot) and the fourth, the Early Elberta peach, blooms with deep pink blooms.
The first of the daffodils are blooming, and these have yellow centers. These are Narcissus Geranium from Van Engelen. In our hot climate, early-blooming daffodils marked to zones 8 and 9 will grow without having to be lifted and pre-chilled each year. Most daffodils like it colder (zone 7) and need more chilling hours to bloom, but the smaller cupped ones do well here. It should be noted that this garden is on the north side of the house, so it is in shade all winter and is fairly cold compared to the rest of the garden.
Leucojum aestivum are in bloom now as well. These are not an early snowdrop, but actually a summer-blooming version for colder areas (May/June for colder regions) that blooms here now. In general, most bulbs are ready two months earlier here than the catalogs say for colder regions.
I grow cyclamen in pots during the winter. I love that these will bloom in the shade. This garden receives quite a lot of shade, which can be a real challenge.
My star jasmine are green year-round.
In a few weeks, the trees will be leafing out and the next bulbs will begin to bloom!
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Its absolutely beautiful. And thank you for shsring these photos on our cold blustery day.
Such pretty flowers! I wish I had your green thumb when it comes to growing them!!
This past week, Meijers had their buy 10 (mix or match) for $10 and get #11 free (which makes the cost 91 cents/item)! They finally had Prego spaghetti sauce on that sale! That’s our favorite brand and I haven’t bought any since the last 10 for $10 sale which was several months ago. In the meantime, the lowest sale price has been $1.69 each! And regular price is over $2.19+ 🙄
I made sure I told my kids and also posted it on FB for my friends. They also had strawberries for $1.25/pound. The price will go lower but I bought a flat for us to enjoy eating fresh. My daughters got 2 flats each and froze theirs because their kiddos love smoothies and they can even toss spinach in without being noticed! Pork shoulder butt was also on sale for 99 cents/pound so I bought one for $8. I put it into the crockpot with some maple dry rub and let it cook for 12 hours. Drained, took meat off the bone and put it into my stand mixer to shred after I added BBQ sauce and ketchup. So yummy! I kept a big Rubbermaid container in fridge and froze 2 packed gallon ziplocs. We have already enjoyed 2 meals from the Rubbermaid container.
My best friend called me and told me that the Krogers where she works had clearanced Arrowhead Mills organic unbleached flour – 5 pound bags, regular $4.59 down to 50 cents/bag! They only had 6 bags left when I got there so I let our 2 daughters share them all.
We met our neighbor across the street and had a nice visit. He had seen us installing our new windows and wondered if we were thinking of selling. He restores and flips houses in our neighborhood. We told him that we intended to stay and he asked where we bought our windows. We told him and he correctly told us what he estimated our cost per window was based on that. He was spot on! Then he told us about his window supplier and offered the phone number and info. Hubs did a one to one comparison of all the specs between our windows and theirs and found that we could get the identical custom size with identical features for half the cost! Plus they are ready within a week of ordering! And you don’t pay until they come. So 3 large windows that would have cost us $1350 (before tax)are costing us $604 (including tax)! We are thrilled! Thursday they will be ready for pick up!! Only 16 more after these!! But what a savings!! 🥰🥰🥰
Quilt #125 started and finished- all scraps in the quilt top. Batting is 4 batting remnants sewn together and backing is a SA 100% cotton sheet, so no OOP cost and another gift to add to my gift cupboard! https://pin.it/7vHqwxp and https://pin.it/610ljgF.
I woke up in a panic this morning (Monday), sure that it was Tuesday (babysitting day) and that I had overslept! The clock said 4:30. I got mixed up and thought that it was “really” 5:30 in non-DST!
So I stayed up and unloaded dishwasher and baked some biscuits, using a tube of refrigerated biscuits and eggs from our chickens. I had just thin sliced some ham the night before so I used my PC biscuit cutter to trim the ham into the right size circle to fit the biscuit. Never fear, the ham trimmings will be chopped up and made into ham salad sandwich spread! https://pin.it/38nfo3D and https://pin.it/5xHsEvp.
I got an email from the Hatchery that we’ve bought chickens from saying that they had a limited number of started pullets that were available to order for pick up this Saturday. The price was $14 each and I called 2 of my friends who told me previously that they needed to buy some new ones too. When I went to place the order (I had told my friends that Hubs and I could pick them all up since it’s a 90 minute drive), the sales person on the phone said that there is a price break if you order 13 or more! We had 9 ordered between us! So I used social media with my friends to see if we could get 4 more ordered. One friend that I hadn’t thought of said that they had just been ready to order 6 hens! We added theirs to our order and now the price of hens that will start laying in about 4 weeks has dropped from $14 each down to $10 each including their vaccinations and health certificate! So our date (Hubs & me) this Saturday morning will be a leisurely drive to pick up 15 chickens! Because those are the types of dates we have!! And there will be lots of laughter along the way!!
Btw- this same Meyer Hatchery, here in Ohio, sent me a link to work from home (remote) job opportunities they currently are hiring for. They pay $12/hour (30-40 hours a week during busy season, then 20+ after). Residents of NY, CA, PA or WI are not included. But they are definitely a legitimate business and this is a real job opportunity that they are offering. Here’s the link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OaEjZEvL0LN0l2KUtw7bcxj02IZYGIMuXfT-juMNtHg/mobilebasic
Well, that’s all that’s been happening here! Hubs cataract surgery went well. This week is 2nd Covid shot coming up, windows coming in and chicken pick-up and babysitting grandson 3 days. So pretty calm! 🤪🤪🤪
Stay well, Brandy and all and keep inspiring me with new ideas!
Gardenpat in Ohio
HandmadeinOldeTowne.com
How beautiful! I am very envious as it was absolutely FREEZING here this morning! The snow is mostly gone and we are getting more days with at least a few hours above freezing but it will be another few weeks before we see much in the way of flowers. In the meantime I will enjoy your wonderful photography!
This post is most appreciated. How beautiful your garden is; so many elements to delight the observer. Thank you.
How lovely to see this! Snowdrops are some of my favorites.
I have been watching for our crocuses to bloom after our very cold February. Generally, I could count on them to be up by the end of spring break week at the college, yet this year, they are late. I finally spotted one single bloom and am hoping for more after more warmth and rain this week.
Your garden is absolutely beautiful, Brandy! Thank you for sharing!
I love the design in your white garden. I think it’s hard to stick to a restricted colour scheme but if you can it usually makes the garden really stylish. Your photos, particularly of the blossom, are uplifting.
Oh, Brandy, your flowers do my heart so much good!
We’re still frozen and back to snow-covered as well this week. I was so ready for spring! Thank you so much for sharing.
One question: How do your million bells last? I have never had luck with mine – they always burn to a crisp in July, when it’s about 80 degrees and sunny. I’m pretty sure I’m doing something wrong.
Lea
They are short-lived here. I think 80 degrees is their max. I’ll enjoy them for a couple of months and then they’ll be done.
This is all so beautiful. I remember when you put in this garden — look how it has flourished! One day you will be posting pictures of the back yard like this.
I am very much looking forward to that day!
You have done a wonderful job creating a fantastic garden. Thank you for sharing and inspiring me. It has rained here all day long and seeing your flowers has made my day.
Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry
I am so glad to read that!
Oh my, so beautiful! And so well designed! I’m pursuing my dream of doing a flower farm this year (and for the foreseeable next several years), but I must say, seeing this makes me excited for the day when I design a garden just to relax in!
Brandy,
Thank you for sharing!!!! You have a beautiful garden.
This spot that we are in has been, by far, the most challenging I have ever hardened in. Altitude above 7,000′. A true zone 3b, dry and cold with far too little sunlight. I do better each year.
I’m trying Dalia bulbs this year for some real color!
I really like your star jasmine on the wall. I love the design you created there. The fact that it stays green year round means it looks great in that area year round which is a huge accomplishment. I seem to be doing more container gardening than I have in the past and though some say it is easier, I think it is taking more time than I realized it would. I don’t intend to add any more containers at this point in time. I love your gardening post and look forward to seeing your finished garden re-do.
Thanks for sharing with us!!
So very beautiful! I am hoping to find some Snowdrops to add to my back yard. I read recently that they are deer resistant—I hope so, because deer live in my back yard, literally!!! Right now I have daffodils I planted in our small woods. Their smiling faces cheer me as I look through my kitchen window!