Early Spring Planting

Now that the snow has finally melted, the local nurseries are opening .  Somehow they send out plant-pheromones that force me to jump in the car and heed their call.

It's fun to dream about warmer weather and planting, but for now it's enough just to enjoy these:

I should have put a nickel next to these for size comparison - these little plugs aren't much bigger than that.

Almost every pot sported a warning about frost danger, so these succulents are indoors only for now.

Love this potting bench:

And these beautiful pots underneath it, although my latent OCD would force me to obey the planting description.   Herbs in the salad garden pot would be like wearing the underpants labelled Tuesday on a Friday - no can do.

Bumble bee pots - I may have to go back for one.

I did bring this blue beauty home with me.  Wouldn't one of those  green bumble -bee pots go nicely with it?

Since it is too early to put out anything but the most hardy of annuals (here in the frozen tundra of New Hampshire we most likely will have more frosty nights), this is the season of pansies.   Confession - I never was all that crazy about them, mainly because they don't do well once it gets hot.   It finally dawned on me that pansies are really just place fillers until we can plant something better.  I know there are some pansy-lovers out there who might disagree, but now I can plant some for instant color just when we need it and yank them out when something better  comes along.

Pots filled with yellow and purple pansies, alyssum, and creeping rosemary - instant spring.

OK, so pansies do have cute little faces.

Love the rosemary shadow!

While I love my blue planter, it pales in comparison to these fancy-schmancy Anduze planters from Provence.   Check out this blog post  from Have Some Decorum , but be prepared for some serious sticker-shock.  Ellie has two for sale for $2600 each.   They are lovely:

Check out serious planter eye- candy on her post:

Love  the provenance seal  and the green chippy paint on this one .

Hope you get to have some nursery love this weekend, too.

It's (Finally) Spring!

This week I've been able to do things that I haven't done for months:
 
   1.  Open the front door
   2.  Walk outside without wearing a coat and boots
   3.  See green things pushing out of the ground
   4.  Hear peepers
   5.  Hear birds singing

Halle- frickin'- lujah !! It is spring in New England!

Just to recap, this is the view from our kitchen door a mere six weeks ago:

But, we have moved on.  Most of the snow has melted, although there is still this patch out back.

For those of you who live where it already looks like this ( taken in New Orleans a couple of weeks ago),

you may not understand why this is making me deliriously happy.

I've been raking away the winter debris and uncovering  green shoots.   I have a strategy for raking - I start with the places I can see from inside the house - outside the kitchen windows, the view from my chair and the bedroom windows.    That way when I look out I see cleared beds and green stuff - yippee!

Little sedum rosettes.

And baby stars of Lady's Mantle.

Perennial Bachelor Buttons.

There is more raking to be done, lots more, and it sure beats shoveling snow..

Spring is Finally Here - A Journal Page to Prove It

It's finally starting to act like spring here in the frozen tundra that is New England.  We had the longest winter on record (it's true; I heard it on TV.)   Spring means growing and green and plants and warm weather.  

We're still waiting for sustained warmish weather, but we're getting there on the other two.   I love to rake in the spring when I can uncover things like this:

 Bleeding hearts

Love these little sedum rosettes

Grape hyacinths

Day lilies hugging a big granite rock

I started my new journal with a spring theme.  This page was inspired by Elaine Schmidt's talented work.   I love using text in my art and  how it shows through watercolors.  

This new journal will be challenging as the pages are much larger than the book I used previously.  It has the benefit of sturdy pages and the spiral binding means the book lies flat when opened.   

I used a blue watercolor wash for the background and them glued on the text strips.

In keeping with my challenge to put more markings on the page with my own hand, I drew the daisy and painted the petals with watercolor.   I cut the heart shape from some hand-stamped and colored paper.  The blue one is chipboard, colored with Distress Inks.  I am obviously in a white-dot phase.  I love how the dots add some pop.

I'm not sure where I got this stamp, but I love it.  I glued it onto a piece of the  acetate that comes with cling stamps. It seems a shame to toss that sheet with all the stamp images on it.   I did a rough rendition of the caught-in-crystal technique on the acetate sheet and chopped it up for accents. 

And yes, spring is a beautiful feeling.

Nest in a Mug

I found this mug at a vintage shop and loved the spring colors.  I knew it would make the perfect spot for a little nest.

It's actually a shaving mug; the shelf with holes is where the soap sits.   

I made a spot for the nest with some strips of burlap, paper ribbon and strips of dictionary text.   Then added a little nest, some feathers and the faux robbin eggs.

Pretty sure I'll be drinking out of this mug after the eggs hatch.

Spring Things

Our backyard is pretty wet (OK, parts of it are downright swampy). While that does have its drawbacks (like being the ideal spot for hordes of mosquitoes), in spring it is home to peepers. There's nothing better than sitting in the hot tub and listening to the cacophony of peepers. Two amazing things about peepers- first, not sure how such a tiny frog can make SO much noise! And then, just as they reach a crescendo they all stop at the very same time - no straggling peeps, no slowly diminishing sound - no, it's full-on racket and then - SILENCE. They must have one serious conductor!

What a fantastic weekend! Not only is it spring, today it felt like summer - mid 70s, sunny, just delightful! People who live in New England become giddy when the weather begins to change from cold, dark and dreary to something more conducive to life and happiness! In fact, we are just so darn grateful it's downright pitiful! The first warm days of spring - off goes the heavy winter coat and out come the flip-flops - too bad if your toes are cold, it's spring and the start of a very small window of opportunity to wear all those flip-flops and sandals. Yesterday I saw a woman in capris, flip flops and a down vest - an outfit that only makes sense to New Englanders. I have lived in the South where wonderful weather is the norm, and I didn't appreciate it the way I do when spring comes to the frozen tundra!

I wandered around the yard looking for signs of life . Think that's what makes spring so special; after long months of winter with its snow and ice, there is the miracle of plants poking up out of the leaves for another go round. And what better to announce spring than a crocus!

Another early starter - the sedum, so bright green in spring. Doesn't it look like little rosebuds at this stage?

I love lamb's ears - every bit as soft as the real things - so fuzzy and new. Our family never got the whole traditional Easter celebration thing going, so I really think of Easter as more the end of winter doldrums and the start of a very brief and oh so much better season of sun, growing, and of course, flip flops.