Spring Garden



Late spring in our back garden

 We're in the middle of spring here in Oregon and we've finally had a few warm days to get out into the garden!  So wet and rainy has it been that we still haven't managed to till the vegetable patch or the circle garden.  Fortunately, the perennial bed that I am convinced will never come back from year to year has filled in with soon-to-bloom pink peonies, golden lady's mantle and bright, blue delphiniums.  I filled a large urn with early geraniums and trailing lobelia at Easter and placed it in a blank spot in the bed.  I liked it so well that I've left it there.  Today, we planted four, new climbing roses (regular price - $20, but procrastination allowed me to pick them up for a mere $5 at our local garden center!) and started the zinnia seeds along the side of the house.

Speaking of zinnias, I used to drive by a house that planted and entire corner of their front yard with brightly colored zinnias every year.  In the late summer it was a sea of red, orange, yellow, pink and white - absolutely dazzling.  Zinnias seem like a particularly old fashioned flower to me - something that must have grown in every country garden along with hollyhocks, cosmos and petunias.  It brings to mind old, white farmhouses, green fields and blue skies, and a friendly grandmother baking pies in the kitchen.

Take a minute to go out into the garden today.  Ignore those areas that desperately need attention, and look for that one perfect corner or, if your garden was like ours was a month or two ago, that one perfect plant.  Enjoy!