Gardens Now

The front bed is done!  And there was much rejoicing!   I'm loving all my gardens right now, as we work our way into June, the most beautiful month of the year on the Palouse.

Almost done...

Finally finished the rock garden around the lavender!

Gnome House!

Mon jardin potager!

Carrots, rhubarb, garlic, and lettuce!

Through the garden gate...

Kitty in the flowers!

Honeysuckle!

So many flowers!

Done, finally!!

 

Extreme Garden Makeover

The garden bed directly in front of the house on the east side was a disaster.  And I don't mean it in the epic, tragic, storybook version like the Titanic.  I mean in the mess and destruction, Hurricane Katrina since, minus death and injury.  We couldn't stand the site of it, and also kept thinking "it's going to take a ton of work to fix that sucker."

We were right.

Last weekend, we dug up (and not easily, I might add, since we'd had a very dry May up to that point) all the old stuff and hauled dirt and roots and plant bits to the dump.  This weekend, we had three tons (that right, tons) of topsoil delivered, which we moved into place with a walk-behind skid steer.  At $21 an hour, my husband reasoned it was cheaper than physical therapy.  We mixed in compost and raked and raked.  Then, we put in a border to prevent grass from growing back and laid a weed barrier.  We concluded the day at Fiddler's Ridge Garden and Nature Center (apparently they are old school and don't have website for me to link to).  My husband hates gardening and yard work, so the highlight of the day was watching him walk around and look at one plant after another, finally exclaiming, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but this is kind of fun!" 

I'm sorry but I don't have a good "before" picture.  I forgot to take one last week, and the garden has been so ugly that I hadn't taken a picture of it since 2008.  I looked.  

Sort of before, which is to say, after the really hard work was done.

After the new topsoil was in place.

Plants sitting out.

The stump still needs to be dug out.

On the way home from church today, we took the old Moscow-Pullman highway, which we love to do on fine mornings.  My son exclaimed "Mama it's so beautiful" when we stopped to take pictures.

My son too this picture of the sky!

And these of the wheat fields!

     

Mother's Day

We had a really lovely Mother's Day.  An absolutely unplanned afternoon, spent exploring in the back yard near the creek.  My son was all prepped for it this year, as he had been doing crafts all week at preschool.  He told me "you should give your Mother hugs and kisses all year, not just on Mother's Day," but also "on Mother's Day, I want to buggle a lot!"  After dinner, we had the pleasure of watching him play "firefighter" with the hose.

It cooled down again to a comfortable Moscow spring.  Rain.  Wind.  Flowers.  Just the way I like it.  In May and June, I am convinced I live in the most beautiful place on the planet.
 

 

April Showers Bring...

Unbelievable weather we are having here.  Nearly 80 and only early May.  I try to just enjoy it and not worry that it means we will have a hot, dry summer.  

Here's the enjoyment part:

Oh--and we've discovered a new joy in our household:  bike commuting with our son to school/work.  So much fun, and today it was quite the social excursion, on National Bike to School Day!

Australia pt I

Fig or Banyan tree, across from the Opera House

 Here are a few pictures from a land down under!

Our B&B in Sydney

Sydney Harbor at Sunset

A cormorant in Sydney Harbor

I Heart Art Museum Sandwiches!

Rainbow Lorakeets, not pets

The Nobbies on Phillips Island