This week in the garden - #64

I continue to be amazed and delighted at the unusually pleasant spring we have had so far. It continued this week, even though today it did heat up into the high 80s F. But even then there was a nice breeze blowing, so that working in the yard was still bearable.

Goodness knows, there is plenty of work to be done in the garden. I've spent the week weeding and pruning and deadheading and tying up. Looking across the garden late this afternoon, I was able to see that I had made progress, even though so much more needs to be done. Truly, a gardener's work is never done.

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In the vegetable garden, I have tiny fruits on my zucchinis and some of the tomatoes are beginning to turn color. And in the bluebird box there, the parent bluebirds are busily feeding and caring for their five young ones. In a bit more than another week, they'll be ready to fly

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I showed you some of my blooms on Bloom Day this week, but there is so much more.

 Another day, another new datura blossom - this one a double purple and white. These double blooms never seem to open quite as fully as the single ones. Something liked the taste of this one and nibbled all around the outer petal.

 

I really like the soft color of the 'Litchfield Angel' rose with its merest blush of pink.

 The 'Litchfield' color is echoed in these gerberas.

 I'm taking bets as to how much longer these violas will last. They have bloomed all winter and now all the way into the middle of May.

 In a pot next to the fountain, the firecracker plant is beginning its bloom.

Last winter we moved the large almond verbena shrub. It had outgrown the spot where it lived. I cut the plant back by about half and pruned the roots as well. My husband spent about half a day digging it up and then we managed to wrestle into the cart and move it to its new location. The normally vigorous and fast-growing plant went into deep shock and pouted for many weeks after the move, but I kept pampering and petting it and finally, it began to grow again. It hasn't regained its former size, but, today it offered up its very first blooms of the year. I think maybe it has forgiven me.

 I always have "volunteer" sunflowers around the garden. This one near the compost bins is the very first to bloom.

On a sunny day in spring, what better spot for a green anole to laze around than on a corn plant (Dracaena fragrans) leaf? Not only is it comfortable, it offers him perfect camouflage.

I hope you found a spot to laze around in your garden just a bit this week. It's always important to take time to enjoy what we have wrought. Happy gardening!