Monday, April 05, 2010

Mom's Garden

My mother is quite the gardener. It's a skill I didn't know she had until I was a mother myself. I expressed surprise at this "new" hobby of hers and the immediate success she had with it. She laughed and told me she'd been gardening her whole life. When I asked why I didn't remember her doing so she told me as s single mom with young kids it was one of the things she simply didn't have time for. Every time I visit her now I like to stroll around her gardens. It makes me glad that after the hardship of raising my brother and me alone she can take the time to bask in this once forgotten pleasure. On Easter we got to visit her and I had a nice stroll around her yard with her so I'll share some of what I found.

Her bleeding hearts have started to bud. I get a kick out of seeing them in her garden because she got the idea to plant them from me. I had the black thumb of death but this is one plant I have been able to grow successfully and Mom first encountered them in my yard. These buds are only about the size of my fingernail.



The last crocus of the season.

Magnolia buds.


Magnolia blossom. Mom has really enjoyed these this year because for so many years in the past just after the buds begin to open they've been hit with a cold snap that kills them all and turns them black.


Grecian wind flowers. these seem to be spreading like wildfire.


I think this is a weeping cherry tree.


Although the shot of the daffodil isn't all that impressive I was sort of pleased with capturing the spider, which was about the size of a pinhead. I left this file full-sized in case you want to click it to get the full view.


Wood hyacinth.


This pussy willow actually lives in my yard, not Mom's but I can take no credit since I didn't plant it and don't tend to it. It seems to thrive under my particular brand of negligence though.

16 comments:

Sarah Knight said...

lovely shots : )

We have a pussy willow as well, and it just bloomed, so I went out & photographed it like mad!

The magnolia is currently budding, but hasn't bloomed yet. Usually when it does it's sunny for like 2 days and then there's a frost. It's a very short sight, but a beautiful one.

furiousBall said...

i love bleeding hearts, my mother has a few in her yard as well

secret agent woman said...

I've always like bleeding hearts. Maybe because I am one.

Jazz said...

The black thumb of death. I love that.

Craver Vii said...

God bless your mom for the sacrifices she made for her children.

There is a rich abundance and variety here. That tiny spider was captured in perfect detail... nice!!! I especially like the contrast of the spiked pussy willow against a cobalt sky.

Cricket said...

Lovely pics. Here's what I don't get: You're down in PA, Hilary's up in Canada, both of you seem to have flowers. I'm right in the middle and barely have a shoot. How does this happen?

S said...

Really beautiful!
I have a brown thumb, but as you know, I got lots o apples and black berries, thats about it...cant even grow a spider...

:P

Anonymous said...

Lovely pics, Lime. I finally got around to planting the plugs JP bought me two weeks ago, though it is sunny there is still a chill to the wind. Anyway...the I was head down planting away when I saw a spot of blue where there is usually nothing. Going over to examine I found these lovely blue flowers that I have certainly never planted...must have blown on the wind from heavens knows where. Then I read your post and find the identicle flowers called Grecian Wind flowers...how apt is that name, and what a serendipidous coincidence.

G-Man said...

A flower garden by proxy..hehehehe

Craig said...

Spring has sprung
The grass is riz
I wonder where
The flowers is. . .

Oh, wait. . . they're all in your mom's garden. . .

Very nice that your mom can have time to take her pleasure in gardening again.

Suldog said...

Very pretty stuff. I've never seen bleeding hearts before. They're sort of spooky!

Phaedrous said...

Ooooo, pretty.

Logophile said...

Thanks for the tour!
I am not a gardener either but I do enjoy the pretty fleurs.

Moosekahl said...

Makes me wish the last of the snow was gone to get things going here. I love bleeding hearts. The park around Enger Tower in Duluth MN is full of them in the reds and in whites. I love capturing close ups of the little virgin mary bleeding hearts. Always special.

Hilary said...

Such beautiful photos. You certainly have way more flowers than I'm seeing around here (Cricket, I have one solitary crocus!). Your Mother has a magic touch.

Jocelyn said...

I'm soooo crazy for bleeding heart!

You'll be interested to know--perhaps--that the first inch of the first tulip has just broken through our dirt here in Duluth.