Out with the old....

We hired a contractor to tear down our old storage shed and build a new one on site.
Here's a view of the old shed from my studio window.


Then the new one from the same vantage point.

We now have a space my DH can walk into without ducking to store telescopes and camping gear.


And next spring, with all this glass, I can have a space to move plants to before hardening them off into the garden. More room to start my spring plants from seed.
And a cute little garden backdrop as well.

Perennial Friends

It is always such a delight to discover my treasured perennials returning to life in the spring garden. Those reliable herbs and flowers that give definition to the flower beds as soon as the soil begins to warm.

It is a special joy to me to find this beauty blooming with such vigorous growth- she was a gift from a very dear friend. She came to my garden from her garden, it came to her garden from her mother's garden, to her mother's garden from her mother's garden...

(Thank you, Wanda!)

Spring Seedlings

After purchasing so many plants that did poorly in the garden, or just were not what they were supposed to be- I have gone back to growing all our plants from seed.

Behind Buddha you see 2 flats, each holds 36 cells. I have 8 flats started. (288 seedlings.)

These tomatoes and peppers are looking good and ready to re-pot.

It's alot of work but very worthwhile in the end. and I always have too many. It's fun to have some to give away.

A Butterfly Summer

The garden has been constantly visited by Yellow Swallowtails, Blue Swallowtails and Monarchs. All sipping from the Butterfly Bushes around the yard and laying eggs.

But these two are not common for us here, and both came on the same day. Luckily Ray had his camera ready!

The Red Spotted Purple was not the least bit shy, stopping for a drink of water before resting on the Milkweed. The milkweed leaves are full of holes as the baby Monarch caterpillars have hatched and have begun to feast.

The Empress Antonia was here and gone, stopping long enough for a quick photo on top of the storage shed.

In Bloom

All our Butterfly Bushes are blooming, starting with these purple ones in the center of the garden, all around the sparrow house. (housing it's second batch of babies this season.)

This guy here is a regular visiter.