dreaming of april

is anyone else in awe of how fast march has slipped through time?
it has been but a blink of the eye and now it's going.

so we bid it goodbye, or as they say in france, bon au revoir.
all things being said i am glad to welcome april.

it is the month of easter, it is the month of major planting
here at dash home farm. we will be putting all veggies in the ground
come the 22 of april. the wild flowers will also be planted around
that same time. still there is some preparation being done...

...when the weather cooperates.

mr. cardinal sits in the high branches and declares his love very vocally.

the cherries are almost finished blooming...it comes and goes so fast.

i did see this dogwood blooming in downtown franklin...so

i thought i would share it...mine isn't nearly this big...and

not yet blooming.

mr. goldfinch is happily spying the niger seed from the iron gate.

panies are blooming in regal purple.

red clover covers a great deal of the open fields...

they say red but it looks purple en mass.

the teddy bear magnolia has a bud on it.

i re potted it for now until i find it's permanent home...which could require

a lot of work...more tilling in the front gated area.

my weed shield is the discussion of much debate around here

at the farm...some like the idea and others think it is silly.

i am not planning on planting through it like some suggest.

it's just here temporarily until i can sow the wildflower seeds.

to keep the weeds at bay.

but the birds are having a walk about on it...tiny footprints

in a photo taken by abbey.

~click to enlarge~

***as with any of my photos***

frizzle sizzle pansies are doing well.

the sun is setting on the last day of march

and i am "dreaming of april".

it will be a good month to be in the garden...to watch new things

being planted...to anticipate new growth from the ground and enjoy

family gatherings...and some can be outside...yippee!

farewell march.

all manner of flowers

burgandy

ranunculus

my son, jesse and i went to the nursery today.

we were enjoying this rainy cool spring day.

so many wonderful things i have never grown.

only seen in faux flowers or books.

this is a ranunculus.
i used to have a vase of these that were faux.

i loved them and now i get to plant the real thing.

white

ranunculus

purple and white

ranunculus

rocky white/purple wing

viola

jesse and i were there to buy more frizzle sizzle pansies, but alas

they are out and the grower says no more for this season.

i am glad i got some about a week ago. so still needing something for

the container out by the mailbox, jess saw these and said he liked them.

(i am trying my best to get anyone in my family hooked on gardening.)

this is actually one of jesse electives for homeschooling and he has been

helping in the garden quite a bit.

majestic giants II

ocean

pansy

majestic giants II

white blotch

pansy

periwinkle vinca

bowles

next we are going to try vinca. i know some of you

have said it takes over. i am okay with that seeing

as i have such a huge yard.

great for erosion control on banks and slopes.

tiarella

pirate's patch

this is a native plant.

first one of many i hope.

once we read the name of this jess

said this is a must. i like that attitude.

purple flower

jacob's ladder

this is the one and only purple jacob's ladder they had. so i got it.

i love the way the flowers are reaching beyond the foliage.

it looks like a fern to me.

hartswood ruby

helianthemum

spreading shrubby stems form low cushions of

evergreen foliage that is displayed for months.

that red flower on the right is the hartswood ruby.

clementine

red columbine

i have always wanted columbine and i love red.

so into the cart go two.

double spurless flowers are a favourite of hummingbirds.

clear crystal purple shades

alyssum

i had white alyssum at my other house and i loved the way it spread out.

these have an amazing fragrance.

sashay

heuchera

bicolour alum root

this dark leafed beauty has ruffled edges and a lusty

burgundy colour on the bottom of the leaves.

the purple peeks from the edges as you sashay by her.

it attracts both humming bird and butterfly.

the cherry tree in full bloom.

no blooms on the dogwoods yet still just buds.

have a happy day in your spring garden.

thank you mr. postman

today i received more good mail than bad.
doesn't everybody want one of those kind of days.
i love to get wonderful stuff in the mail.

i had won a giveaway from "in the garden".
thank you skeeter for such a very thought filled and
from the heart gift to this gardener.


there are three packets of seeds, morning glories,
violas, and sweet pea. also included is this wonderful plaque
depicting a vintage seed packet. i think this will go in my potting shed.
i am still thinking about where is the best place to put it.

i love it!

then at my standing lunch date with rachel, she had received this
in the mail from esty. esty is an online shop for all kinds of artistic handmade goodness.
it is a little bag for items for your lunch or i put my
sunglasses in it. it is adorable rachel thank you so much.



today i got my seeds for the herb and veggie garden. i ordered them from
south carolina foundation seed association affiliated clemson state university.


how exciting!
i love the simplicity of the packaging. i can't wait to open each one
and plant them in the ground. it feels very ambitious to have so
many seeds in my possession. i will need lots of energy and time.





also today i got some books i had ordered online.
both were recommended by sherry @ q-corner.blogspot.com/
i haven't even cracked them opened yet but i can't wait to read them.
but i plan on drinking something hot and peeking into them tonight.
i bought an extra copy to share with my daughter rachel.
"a guide to green housekeeping" shows ways of doing natural cleaning
and using what you have on hand. "roses love garlic" is
another companion planting book that i wanted to read.


by the way, rachel my daughter is thinking of starting
her own blog. i highly recommend it maybe you bloggers
could give her some encouragement.

happy rainy spring day!

march happenings

christine, maday, and brittani.

sunday was a photo shoot for senior pictures.

jesse did not want his photo taken.

so i had him sit on his dad's bike.

still, this won't work. i will have to use an older

photo for senior pics. our good friends,

the lopez family have a daughter, brittani,

graduating alongside jesse this year.

they are both home schooled. we have an

umbrella school and they will walk for graduation.

my oldest daughter, rachel and i were both taking photos.

we took brittani around the farm and drove around

leiper's fork to get some shots in nature, my favourite kind.

rachel's beautiful capture.

one of my captures of a beautiful girl.

we took lots and lots of pictures.

it was a beautiful day.

today is monday.

now it's another day to get things done.

first up order seeds for veggie garden.

i found a great resource in clemson state u.

they have an extensive amount of heirloom seeds

that have been proven growers over the last 30+ years.

chopee orka, chantenay red core carrot, stowell's evergreen corn,

bee balm, summer savory, cangreen lima beans, etc...

have all been ordered...yipee!

still there is so much research and reading to do.

this magazine has been inspirational and helpful.

when i was down visiting meems @ hoeandshovel.blogspot.com/ in florida.

i found these interesting watering tools at her local nusery. they are called

plant nanny's. i have been using them since i got back and

i have to say i like them. they are terra cotta and you put them into a plant and

use an old wine bottle filled with water to keep your plant watered for days.

another thing on list to do

is find a solution to my cushions

being eaten one by one by a pillow

hungry chesapeake bay retriever

named "bronte' jane" aka "the destroyer."

that is actually a polite nome de plume.

she has many aliases.

i found these decorative hooks and the cushions have a

small ribbon handle on the side.

hopefully she won't feel the need to

bother these hanging cushions.

we'll just get them down when we need

to sit on them.

since we have been here at dash home farm...

we have been trying to attract birds

of all sorts. bluebirds, finches, martins, owls...and more.

we have a bat house on the barn.

kestrels are next on the list to try to attract.

photo from the web

these birds are in the falcon family.

they are the size of a jay.

their prey are rodents and insects and of course small birds.

photo from the web



we thought that out over the open back

acerage would be the best place to put up

the box for nesting.

so this morning dh and jesse head out to put up the box.

jesse climbed the 28 ft ladder.

yikes i can't i don't like heights.

the under canopy of the tree line is so

magical...there is life in abundance there.

birds and creatures make the best of fallen trees.

moss are blooming like little green flowers.

greenery is popping up everywhere.

anybody know what this is?

first caterpillar spotting so far.

well the new kestrel box is hung...now we just have

to be patient and wait for one of them to discover it.

great job men.

thanks jesse and dh. there is always much to do in march.

happy springtime plans to you.