wand vs sword

I was lucky enough to have my seven year old 

twin grandchildren for a few hours the other day.

 (girl and boy) 

They spent most of their time playing in the garden while they 

were here because that's where I was.

I was pruning a few trees and shrubs, and as I cut I would drop the 

little limbs on the ground as I went along.

Brooke came along to see what I was doing and picked up one of the limbs 

and then two more, deciding that one can never have too many wands and flitted off

among the flower beds. 

In a few minutes her brother Matthew came by and seeing the limbs on the grass, 

said "Oh boy" and grabbed one up and off he went sword fighting with 

some invisible (to me) enemy.

This little incident had me smiling all day and pondering on the difference

between the sexes once again.

Sharing a little pretty from the garden today.

my favorite lilac in the garden

The tree below is the same tree as in my last post but a few days 

later after every bud has opened. 

I love it in this stage. 

Reminds me of cotton candy.

The trees in the front are now in bloom so there is an abundance of 

scent all over the garden with the lilacs and the trees blooming.

The tree below is the weeping Red Jade.

I love, love, love this tree's habit. It's covered with snow 

white blooms from limbs that cascade down to the ground.

 

Wishing you all a wonderful week!

beautiful blossoms

 The scents coming from the garden right now are nothing short of heavenly.  

 

 

 all ten of the crabapple trees are blooming!

The most fragrant and earliest to bloom are the Centurians. 

I have three in a row in the rear garden and so when I walk out my backdoor this is what I see.

  

They, along with the seven Canada Red chokecherries 

just fill the garden with the most wonderful scents you can imagine.

Usually the lilacs bloom the same time but they are a little late this year.

It will be a few more days until I will be enjoying them.

  These are photos I took of them four days ago and now their blooms have gone from
this deep pink to a very soft pink today. I won't be including photos of their
pretty pastel pink for a few days since I was just able to take a few today
and haven't re-sized them yet.

 The bees are really working these trees and you can hear the buzzing the
minute you go out the door.

I am loving every day spent outside right now. I go to bed completely worn out
and it is the best kind of tired I know.

I'm a very unorganized gardener. I flit from one thing to the next.
It seems to be my way, and it works for me since my motto is...
No time is wasted while gardening. Every task needs doing whether it's done today
or tomorrow!
My husband just wishes I would get the mulching done so he can use his trailer again :)

One good thing about my late Idaho Spring is that I have a little more time to put things in order
and accomplish things before the frosts quit coming. I'm still dividing perennials and transplanting them and even cutting out the dead canes in the roses.

I wanted to share a bouquet of daffodils I managed to cut just a day before we had a rain
and get a few photos of them.

a double white daffodil below


I know that so many of you have gone through a very difficult Winter, weather-wise this year
and are happy to see the spring come. I am always happy to have spring show up, but have to admit
that I really loved my winter this year. I am learning to really enjoy the slower pace of winter
and the soul-searching that happens during that time of year for me.
I need it to center myself and reset my brain.
Since I live in an area where because of weather (and because I live in the sticks),
 I have to slow down, it affords me
this opportunity and I'm grateful for it.
With all that said---I am happy to have a new season to embrace and
to 'go a little crazy in'!