a garden is continually changing...

I have a laundry list of things to do this spring, before it becomes too late.  I want to move all the Daffodil's to one area at the front of the property so that it makes more of a statement every spring.

I seem to have some Lungwort plants that could be moved to an area where they will thrive - along with that I have some Pachysandra that I've moved several times and I still don't have the right spot for them.

I want to trim the flowering bushes; Forsythia and Star Magnolia, before they start to build up their buds for the following year.

I need to trim my rose bushes...they are growing like crazy!

We went to Home Depot over the weekend to pick up some mulch, but instead we used our gift card to buy 24 Boxwoods for at the end of the driveway.  I still need plenty more and they are currently on sale for $4 a piece - almost $3 in savings from its normal price.

We went to Kroger to pick up some more gift cards for Home Depot, so we will buy the mulch later this week.  I need to get all the other things accomplished before we put down the mulch.

Every year we put down some mulch since it doesn't seem to last all that long.  This year we are trying to get the place looking presentable because my cousin from Belgium is coming for her first visit at the beginning of June and then we are hosting a "pre-nup party" at our place for our niece Erin and her fiance Chris.  They live out east and it won't be easy for all the Michigan family to attend their wedding in July in Plymouth Massachusetts.

Why did we buy gift cards for Home Depot at Kroger?  If you buy gift cards at Kroger, you get points toward Kroger Fuel.  Right now we are saving $1 per gallon on nearly every fill up by having purchased gift cards over the past month.  During the month of March, you were earning double the points for each gift card purchased.  Every little bit helps.  And, we're kind of double dipping.  We purchase the gift cards using our Speedway MasterCard and earn 10 points per $1 spent.  Once you get to 190,000 points, you get a $200 Fuel Card from Speedway.  We use our MC for all of our purchases and so we earn a $200 gift card on average every 4-5 months.

the demise of the forsythia...

A friend of mine suggested that I post the demise of the forsythia, so I am obliging him.

...yeah, they don't last long...

force-ythia; last photo...

force-ythia; photo 6 & 7...

The last couple of days, things have been happening pretty quickly.  The flowers on the branches are not completely open, but by the end of the day they will be.

photo 6; friday evening

photo 7; saturday morning

force-ythia; photo 5

This photo was taken pretty late - like around 7pm or so.  I use a point-n-shoot and so it was pretty difficult to take a photo with anything in focus.  I turned on every light possible and it's still so dark, but with all of that being said, you can still see clearly that there is some budding going on.

force-ythia; photo 4...

force-ythia; photo 3...

...a little more...

I have tried to take a photo at the same time for the last three days (around 12:30pm). The rest of this week, the photos will be taken after we get home from work.

force-ythia; photo 2...

force-ythia...

I'm forcing a few forsythia branches again this year.  My plan was to take a pic of the same bud every day, but I've already missed the first day...so here is what it is on the 2nd day in the house.

Stay tuned...

this time last year...

I was checking out the blog for around this time last year to see what was going on.

According to my post on February 11, 2009, we were already seeing tulips poking out of the soil.  Crazy.

It's not like that at the moment - there's too much snow piled up, so if the tulips are growing I'd never know.

Last week I brought in some Forsythia and Azalea branches for forcing.  We have several Forsythia bushes along the front of the house, parallel to the road and there are two in the backyard (actually, I guess that would be our new neighbors yard now...) - and we have an Azalea on either side of the house.

Yesterday evening after work, I noticed that some of the yellow flowers are already blooming.  I love that!  It makes me feel like spring and good weather are right around the corner.

it's hard to keep up...

firespray (praestans tub. var.)

white star magnolia

forsythia

azalea

magnolia

bleeding heart

missed opportunity...

It snowed again...big time. This is the snowiest winter I've seen in a very long time. Was going to cut some new forsythia branches either Saturday or Sunday, but it snowed and I not only don't like to walk in the tall, wet snow these days, but I don't like to leave footprints in fresh snow...for aesthetics.

The azalea branch is starting to bloom. I'm sure when I get home tonight, I will have at least one flower on the branch.

The little dwarf irises that I received from Ilene Lock last week, I left on my desk over the weekend and all the pretty flowers that bloomed last week are all dried up! Oh well...I'm pretty sure more will be blooming.

let the flowering begin...

The forsythia that I brought in a week ago Sunday has started blooming; meaning that the flowers are unraveling from their casings. Just a flower or two at the moment, but within a day or two, I’m sure the whole branch will be yellow.

The Azalea hasn’t shown much “growth” yet, but give it another week and I’m sure the blooms will begin.

The tulips and daffodils that I planted a couple of weeks back are also growing. The tulips are already over three inches tall and over the weekend I’ve noticed the tip of one daffodil. I’m not sure the other daffodil will bloom since I noticed when I planted it, the bulb was very light and dry, so it’s possible that it will not grow, since it may have died over the winter.

I find it interesting that the tulips are growing quicker than the daffodils since the latter is supposed to be one of the first to bloom in the spring; along with crocuses.