After the rain

I ventured outside with my camera yesterday—the first day of sunshine in a long while. And lest there be any doubt, as Arthur and I stepped out onto the deck steps, we heard an animal underneath. As I descended the steps into the back yard, I saw the grounghog about a foot away behind the latticework scurrying back to its den under the stairs.

The irises are ready to burst into color. I can’t wait.

The lenten rose continues to bloom.

The azaleas we planted last year are full of buds with a couple in full bloom. They should be beautiful soon.

And the tulip tree continues to put on it’s show of pink blossoms.

I found some interesting flowers and plants along the edge of the woods. These little white wildflowers are abundant.

And so are these little yellow flowers. They make a natural border to the woods. They are more noticeable this year, and probably more abundant since Mark eliminated much of the honeysuckle along the edge last year.

I noticed these big-leaf plants last year and still don’t know what they are. (Postscript—Golden Ragwort according to a friend.)

This looks like some kind of trumpet vine down by the edge of the woods near the creek. I don’t know if this was planted intentionally or is a naturally occurring plant. Please feel free to enlighten me at any point.

This appears to be a landscaped section of the yard near the bottom. Last year it was overgrown and we cleared it to rescue these plants. They look like some kind of cross between a lily of the valley and a hosta. (Postscript—Solomon’s Seal. I saw these in a garden store.)

Here’s a close-up of the flower.

I did spy this small clump of lily of the valley back in the woods. I can’t imagine who would have intentionally planted it there, but I’m not sure how it got there otherwise. I am debating digging it up and moving it into my garden.

And finally, the peonies are budding, and apparently are making the black ants very happy. There is a big ant hill nearby that I discovered a couple of weeks ago by standing on it. One of the little buggers crawled up my leg inside my pants and bit me on the knee.

I hope the weather and ground dries out enough by next week so I can get back to work in my garden.

Hey, there’s a dog in my flower bed. He thinks he can pass himself off as a flower, but I’m not buying it.

 

See more posts about gardening in my series.