Waiting For April

 Our local grocery store had Boston ferns for sale on their front sidewalk yesterday.  

I had three ferns on our screened porch last year, and they, with some good care, stayed green for months!

Loved that!!

I won't be buying any just yet, since there is the good chance we may still have some over nite temperatures that fall into the 30's over the next few weeks.

Ferns are sold all summer, so there is no chance of me missing out on getting a few for the porch.

They add a bit of pzazz if you ask me.

I tried having Boston Ferns when we lived in the Southwest, but THAT heat simply didn't allow me, no matter how hard I tried, to be successful at keeping them alive.

It's desert country.  It's cactus country. It's ugly country for plants.

Just ugly.

BUT,

we should have an abundance of blooms coming in April.

These blooms were photographed in our planter bed mid April of last year, and I  look forward to their beauty once again.

Mysterious Springtime

 

The yellows came early this year, my favorite forsythia bush.

 And the daffodils too!

*notice little Miss Izzy behind the tree*

 

 *and there she is again*

 And then came VERY cold weather with a frost that caused my daffodils to fall to the ground, and I thought they would die for certain,

 but that hasn't been the case at all.

They continued to look like sunshine, but in a horizontal position unfortunately.

 So my husband watched them for a number of days, thinking that they were goners.

 And now he has tied them up into an upright position again, and they continue to shine.

That's the mystery of springtime.

A Color To Brighten The Mood

 With winter temperatures returning to our area over the past few days and nights, the daffodils in the yard are coming to the end of their season.  I had cut a few and placed them in a vase, and to be honest... they faired qiute well indoors!

BUT

it was time to let them go today as their heads drooped with a last gasp.

So I went to the yard and cut a few more, since it won't be long and they will give it up also.

You can see that these don't look quite as crisp as they should, due to winter temperatures having returned to our area.

They've done their job for the year and put a broad smile on my face with each glance I have taken from my office window.

 There is absolutely no better color in the yard or in the home to bring a person's mood from bland to grand.

 It's why I chose to paint my office walls the lightest yellow I could.

Not a day goes by that I regret that decision.

Hope you are having a perfect Sunday!

One Perk Of Living Here

 Another round of cold temperatures will be striking again tonight, so for dinner we picked the lettuce that is growing in the bowl on the deck and then moved the bowl into the covered porch.

 This afternoon we spent time in the warmth of the sunshine on the front porch.  It was 75 degrees and to be honest.... we got hot!  The pups lolled around in the green grass of the front yard,

 and the daffodils were in full bloom.

 Well, who can resist cutting a few and bringing some of that yellow sunshine indoors for heaven sakes.

 Although the ones left outside will do fine in the cold temperatures tonight, or I would have cut more, 

they will however look a wee bit limp tomorrow.  Such hardy blooms they are!

 When we lived in the city in the southwestern U.S., I didn't have flowers that I could bring indoors to enjoy... we had three rose bushes, but they always struggled to look healthy.

One of the perks of living in Virginia.....

flowers for the soul in springtime.

How To Use An Old Sun Umbrella

 Last year we waited too long to purchase our spring flowers for the deck and our outdoor pots on the patio and front porch, so there were no pansies left by the time I decided to get to the garden center to make my purchase.  So this year we purchased early, full well knowing that there may still be some cold nights that they needed to be covered or brought inside.

My husband wheeled the large pots from the back patio into his lower garage and they are sharing some time with the JD lawnmower and all the rakes, hoes and outdoor tools that also live there.

The tools don't mind sharing.

Last night it did indeed get cold, down into the lower 30's although it did not freeze, but you can never be too careful in caring for your flowers since they are not a cheap investment and you want them to live for your enjoyment as long as possible.

We purchased this patio set as well as the umbrella way back in 1998 when we lived in Arizona, and the umbrella looks horrible with striped areas due to fading from the intense sunlight in the Southwest, but my husband hangs onto things that he thinks may at some point be useful.

Last night that usefulness came in handy.

 He decided to place the umbrella on the table in the screened-in porch, carry the potted flowers from the deck inside,

and set them onto the table.

 then he lowered the umbrella so that it served as a lid and let it protect the flowers for the night.

 This morning the pansies and the lettuce are all safe and sound,

 but they will remain there on the table since tonight has the possibility of more cold temperatures.

 How about you?

Are your springtime flowers potted yet and did you need to protect them last night?

Do you use towels, blankets, or some other method of protection for them?

A Pansy Song

 We planted pansies yesterday,

because it's pansy season.

 They are one of my favorite flowers, possibly because they, along with daffodils, are the first to greet us as we enter the spring season after a cold spell of winter.

 They look up and sing to the sun.

And who can resist a flower that has a face on it?

Not I.

Sing pansy... sing!

I'll be back with more pansy photos sure to put a smile on your face today.

AND

Happy Birthday to my eldest granddaughter, Madeline.  She is fourteen today!!

Always Something To Love

 These are the colors of Monday as they greeted me yesterday morning.

So what's not to love about Monday?

There's always something to love.