Wednesday, May 14, 2008

May flowers

Spring has sprung!

There is still plenty of work to do in the flower beds, but little pieces of beautiful are popping up.

I bought this house in January, 2004 and had no idea of what laid beneath the snow. That first spring was full of surprises that we still marvel at.

Before me, this house was owned by a pastor and his wife and their 8 adoptive and foster kids. They were going to move to a ministry in another state and offered their house to me knowing that I was a single mom, renting a home and operating a law practice out of my living room. The price was one that we were both comfortable with and they moved out and we moved in in a mind boggling short time frame.

The front yard had pretty flower beds with plants that seem coordinated to bloom one after another through the whole season. The back yard is full of raspberry bushes that yield luscious red raspberries for July.

We spent last weekend cleaning out the raspberry patch and were sad to see so many plants broken from the deep snow that has covered them for five months.

This morning a gray catbird came to our kitchen window suet feeder and a dove, two common grackles and two bluejays discovered the feeders in the yard. In other years a dove has nested in our barn, flying in and out through a broken window. I keep meaning to fix the window but once she starts flying in and out of it, it's too late.

9 comments:

Ruth said...

You garden is very interesting. I prune my raspberry canes to 18 inches every spring to encourage more blooming and fruit. Perhaps your raspberries are not badly damaged.

Beth said...

Ruth, I think I'll go cut them back to 18 inches, maybe that will help them. Thanks for the idea.

Jayne said...

Don't you love surprises like that? To buy the house in the winter and then find that all sorts of wonderful things were under the snow!

Pappy said...

That's my philosopy Beth. Cut them back. If they survive, you're a genius. If they don't you're off to the nursery to buy a replacement. Barb sweats my pruning jags every year.:)

Anonymous said...

Do you ever feel that the wildlife owns the house and you're just a visitor? :) Birds and little creatures can have that effect sometimes.
Mmm...raspberries. Sounds good to have in your garden. And how nice, too, to know the history of your house.

Beth said...

Jayne, yes it was a pleasant surprise--I'm sure some homebuyers have surprises of another nature under the snow.

Texican, prune them is the plan thanks to you and Ruth. I just hired the neighbor's 12 year old to do it this weekend while I'm in DC.

The Elementary, yes, the raspberries are yummmy and the history of the house makes me happy--lots of love was here before we even added ours to it.

The Buck Shoots Here said...

Great to see you today, even if the cause wasn't the best. Have a great trip to DC-- can't wait to hear how The Speaker does!!!

:)

Beth said...

Thanks Rach!

Anonymous said...

Spring is here in MI too, at last. Spent some time pulling weeds today and have the neck ache to prove it:)