March 5, 2012

A Few Favorites for Spring


Early to bed, early to rise,
work like hell: fertilize
                                                                           Emily Whaley


All sweet peeps know the way to a gardener's heart.  This awesome soil knife was gifted to me by my step-mother and I've given it a serious workout these past few weeks.  The serrated edge has easily cut through dense, pot-bound water lilies and dwarf papyrus.  The handy measurement lines make bulb planting a cinch and the orange handle is easily found when misplaced.  It has quickly become my favorite 'go to' tool.  Thanks to Julie at Wife, Mother, Gardener for introducing me to this wonderful tool!


Speaking of sweet gifts, a fellow Master Gardener potted up a cutting of autumn joy sedum from her garden for me last fall.  The newly sprouted leaves are lush and such a pretty shade of green.  They give me something to look forward to as I've always wanted to grow this plant and enjoy its fall display of color.  I just love pass-along plants from friends; they make a garden extra special.

This week has brought forth an explosion of blooms and foliage.  It's amazing how quickly plants respond to a little bit of rain, warmth and sunshine. 


My favorites this week are the teeny-tiny, delicate little blooms that dance on the breezes of spring.  This little prairie fleabane is thriving and offering up a burst of sunshine in a dainty flower.


Another sweet flower stealing my heart is blue-eyed grass.  It was planted next to the fleabane last spring after seeing it on a garden tour last March.  This plant makes a great border addition and survived the heat and drought of last summer easily.

There is so much to be done before the heat and bugs return...hence the quote at the beginning of the post!

With rain forecast later this week, this quote caught my eye and brought a smile...

Thank heavens, the sun has gone in, and I don't have
 to go out and enjoy it.
                                                                               Logan Pearsall Smith


25 comments:

  1. I love the little flowers -- all of them, actually --

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love the knife! My mom uses an old oyster shucking knife that is similar to this (in the garden, not on oysters anymore).

    ReplyDelete
  3. These are some
    Really beautiful pics iconic of the garden.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Same over here, a few days of warmth and everything is promising summer is around the corner. Though I'm sure we'll have a few more sharp frosts to negotiate first. Love that knife!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for the knife tip. My favorite garden chant (usually heard around here in the summer) is: "We water our grass to make it grow and when it does we have to mow." Not sure who originally said it, but I say it often.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've been thinking about getting a soil knife for a few years -- maybe this is finally the year?

    I love the blue-eyed grass photo!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Love both quotes! They made me laugh ;-)
    That last picture almost looks unreal!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Funny quotes! As much as I love to work in my garden, a rainy weekend in the house, sounds pretty good.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great quotes, so meaningful this time of year!

    That knife does look like a good one, will have to look for it.

    Beautiful photos, I love the tiny flowers that pop up in the early spring.

    ReplyDelete
  10. even tho i don't garden, you made me laugh with that opening quote. love to see the little bursts of spring - whether wildflower or bed planted. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. That first quote is so, so true. Lots of work in the garden. It has to be true love, for us to put up with it.

    Right now, the biggest crop around here is WEEDS! We were gone for a few days, and they took over.

    Great shots of your blooms. I love the little Blue Eyed Grass bloom.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Your little Blue eyed Grass is stealing my heart too, beautiful images:~)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Glad you are enjoying the knife, Cat!

    We are still enjoying cold weather and snow up here in PA... but as I am not feeling up to gardening at the moment, I am ok with it.

    Hope you are enjoying a rainy rest~
    Julie

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a wonderful gift your step mother gave you. Nice when family knows just what you want! I like the depth markings on that knife. I can see how that would come in quite handy.

    ReplyDelete
  15. That first quote is exactly how I feel - at least how I feel I should be working! I have one of those type of knives - I love it! Love that little blue-eyed grass, too! So sweet!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Santa brought me a similar knife I can't wait to start using...love the new blooms...

    ReplyDelete
  17. What an awesome tool! I love tools that serve multiple purposes and work! Your spring garden is popping up some beauties!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Ha! Great qutoes, both of them. I especially relate to the second one. Sometimes I feel guilty if I'm not out enjoying the sunshine or doing garden chores, so it suits me fine when the sun goes down. intersting tool, I'll keep it in mind if I ever plant bulbs again, or if I ever get enough land to actually plant in the ground instead of containers. Happy Gardening! Your hard work will pay off!

    ReplyDelete
  19. soil knife. now at the top of my wish list. i've been known to sneak our bread knife into the garden for chores that need serration. great tip!!

    ReplyDelete
  20. LOL, Janine! That's funny...I'm known to use kitchen knives for all kinds of inappropriate uses...I'm sure my husband was really happy to see this tool under the tree!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I love getting a taste of your spring during our mud season. That blue eyed grass is my favorite.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Looks like a great tool--I imagine that would be helpful for planting bulbs. Is a a really sturdy knife? Great photos as always, Cat!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Just love to see those new blooms start coming on. I need one of those knives. I hear everyone saying how wonderful they are around in the garden. So many little tree roots here so it would be handy to have around. The Blue Eyed Grass is so pretty Cat. I had a volunteer come up in my woodland bed last year so I moved it into my shade garden. I love seeing those little blue blooms on the end of the grass. Have a wonderful week.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Great quotes, lovely photos (as always!). Always a treat to come by for a visit! :)

    ReplyDelete