I just love those Dutch Iris!

Drat, you always have a war with voles. Bummer.

But really the garden looks so good!

Rita,
You wouldn't believe how many hours I have spent in the garden this spring. And I have a long way to go yet. but I've gotten a lot done.

The path re-work is a bear. I'm getting there though, but I will have to put down a lot of mulch. I ordered a new Don Juan from Antique rose Emporium to replace one of a pair where the stinking voles had eaten the roots. I read on the Robin that spraying castor oil will make them leave. I am going to try it.

kay

You really do seem to have been working even extra hard this spring.

Me I haven't had a haRD TIME AT ALL THIS SPRING. i DID SO MUCH LAST FALL AND THEN EARLY mARCH TO mID mARCH i GOT A LOT OF PRUNNING AND SPRING CLEANUP DONE.

Opps, sorry, caps got on by mistake!

Its really looking good Kay,I do not see any weeds no where, but I sure have them,These weeds are so thick it looks like a green carpet all around the daylilies.I do have 2 beds cleaned and almost done with the 3rd one. I had to just quit for a few days. just couldn't go no more,hoping to get started sgain tomorrow or over the weekend to get some more of it done.
I got 3 more inches of rain last night with the storm, so the ground should be soft right now and easier to pull the weeds out, course,I have to sit on a little stool or a little garden scooter I have and if the ground is very wet, they tend to sink down in the ground, so have to keep moving it.

jean

Things are really looking good, Kay. I swear I see some bloom stalks on some of those tall bearded iris. I have nothin' here on my bearded iris, not even the SDBs. Last year everything was SO early, probably on normal schedule this year, but it FEELS late. I love foxgloves. Normally they don't reseed too well for me, just enough for 1 or 2 plants. This year the seeds must have fallen directly under the plants, there are masses of seedlings crowded together. I think I will move some around the garden a bit.
Love the Dutch iris & columbines!

You sure have been super busy but it always pays off in the end. Your Dutch Iris are stunning such a gorgeous blue. What's the name of the cat in the background of your first picture ?
Linda

All right, Rita. I knew you had done your work last fall, but I not only didn't do it in the fall, I did little in the summer. Everything was a total mess, but it is pretty well in order except for a lot of mulching yet.

Jean, I am about to have a bevy of iris and the very beginning of daylily blooms. Look again, Jean. That first picture, the bed on the left is covered with weeds AGAIN!

Nancy, you are right, I have a lot of iris spikes. A couple are trying to bloom in the foliage. Not good. This is normal for me to start having blooms in the middle part of April. The foxgloves are plants, although I have some seedlings in the greenhouse. I bought some pink ones from Garden crossings two years ago, and they haven't died back either winter. Still look ready to bloom. I do love the look of foxgloves. I hope these will do well. You should move some of the babies where you want them to grow.

Linda, I had to work since I had let it get so far behind. The cat in the picture is not mine, but he has adopted my yard...and my roof of all things! He climbs up on the roof and jumps down onto the air conditioner (huge noise every time). He skulks around the yard, but won't let you get near him. My yard is popular with a lot of cats in the neighborhood, I really don't know why exactly. We have three cats of our own inside, two outside and one who lives outside but sleeps in the house.

kay

Love the pics Kay. I really enjoy seeing all that color and I've scrolled up and down the thread a couple of times to see all of them over and over again. LOL.

Julia

All your hard work is paying off as it all looks wonderful.
I'm very envious that you are so spring-like there! It has been snowing and sleeting here all day and hasn't gotten out of the 30's....going down in the 20's tonight.
So needless to say I will have to be content with looking at your photos and the others posting for awhile yet. I don't have anything green or blooming. I'm not seeing the weeds you mention but maybe that's because they're GREEN and anything green right now would look good to me....lol.
Celeste

Do you know the name of the Dutch iris? I can empathize with your spring chores, as I am overwhelmed now since March was so cold that nothing got done. What are the red flowers growing under the Japanese maple?

Thanks, Julia. The intermittent nature of spring this year has taken a toll on some of the dutch iris, and my beautiful (usually) bridal wreath spirea had a freeze too many times after warm weather, and of my three bushes, only one has a very few scattered blooms. no more than 30 instead of being arching fountains of blooms. Last week we were mid 80s! Now back to normal nice 60s -70s.

Thanks, Celeste. Remember, you will be having lovely spring weather when I am sweltering, so it evens out.

Mantis, I will research it for you and let you know the name of the iris since I don't know it "off the top of my head." The red flowers are an azalea just about 1/2 to 2/3s of the way open.

It's my own fault, Mantis since I didn't keep everything properly last summer, and was too lazy in the fall. Catch up is pretty tough.

kay