View from the living room

This morning, when I opened the living room curtains, lo and behold, the 'Winter King' hawthorn had bloomed in the night. It's not quite at its peak, but rain is forecast for the next several days, so I decided to snap a pic while I could.

Unfortunately, these blossoms, while pretty, are also pretty stinky. Think carrion. That doesn't seem to deter the pollinators. In fact, maybe it attracts them?

I have to admit, I am pleased with how the front yard looks, especially the purple and yellow combo.

Depending on where one stands, the purple accentuates the rest. You'd think I'd planned it. And while they don't show in these pics, there are volunteer columbine almost everywhere.

For the record, today I managed to get more plants into the ground. Twelve butterfly weed went into the milkweed patch, around the edges, where hopefully they will get enough light. I could not figure out why I had extra marigolds until I remembered some were for the zucchini bed, so those are now in. I also transferred the pole beans to the bean bed, leaving the sprouts in their paper cups but ripping the bottom off; my food production is down to asparagus, rhubarb, beans, and zucchini. Despite my attempts to keep my homegrown transplants straight, I mixed up the cosmos and the dyers coreopsis. They each went into a bed today; I'll figure out which is which later.

I am SO glad I invested in a riding mower. Besides helping with the mulch, it makes mowing a LOT less of a chore. That's a real help this time of year, when I am mowing about every four days. It's funny - I don't fertilize my lawn, but it looks greener than the professionally treated lawns on either side of me, primarily because I mow high instead of scalping the grass.

Are you keeping up with yardening this spring?