Buds and Anticipation

Sunday Stroll

So many leaves have popped since the last time I had a chance to post a Sunday Stroll, so this is a long one!  While I’ve got a few flowers, there are many more buds yet to open and I’m impatiently awaiting the show they’ll put on in June.

The bleeding hearts are taking over the partially shaded back garden, even after I pruned them back and picked a bunch of the flowers yesterday.  Believe it or not, this is only their second year in bloom.

Buds on the blue lace-cap hydrangea in the back garden.  This will be the first of my many hydrangeas to bloom.

The peony in the front flower garden has a bunch of buds, and I can’t wait to see those big pink blooms.

Our one and only apple blossom.  I’m surprised that the Jonathan tree got a blossom so soon after we planted it, but I’m happy to report that all six trees are alive.  I don’t expect an apple this year because there’s no other flower to pollinate it.  Unless, of course, a bee makes her way from my parent’s orchard a few minutes away. 

The mixed baby lettuce is doing well.

The spinach that overwintered is ready to pick.

The peas have started to climb up their wire supports.

One of the heritage red raspberries in our brand new berry patch.

Some wildflowers in the neighboring hayfield.

Our two sugar maples that we planted last fall survived the winter and are full of bright green leaves.

To see who else is strolling today, visit the Quiet Country House.

Bleeding Hearts in a Mason Jar

The bleeding hearts are taking over my back garden.  I love their pretty white blooms, and I’ve considered planting their hot pink counterparts, too.  But they’re problematic because they’re starting to crowd their neighboring hydrangeas, a white one and a pink one.  So, I grabbed the clippers and a mason jar and headed out to trim them back.

After I arranged them, I realized that I didn’t know if they’d hold up in a vase.  I asked my mother-in-law and soon found out that she loves to use these flowers in bridal bouquets, and that they should last well as cut flowers.  That made me happy, because I’d hate to cut these flowers to have them die in only a few days.  And I’m notorious for leaving dead flowers hanging around in my house.  I’ve got some dead daffodils in my bathroom right now.

I’m not sure why, but mason jars have become my favorite vase for flowers.  They just looks so much better than those crystal vases I got as wedding presents when I’m using flowers I cut from my own garden. 

Have you ever had to deal with a pretty plant that got a little bit out of control?

Bleeding Hearts