it's that time of year

it's that time of year

a middle tennessee garden blog


finding beauty in the natural things around us makes for one happy self and a lovely life. ~marmee

dash home farm, leiper's fork, tennessee

Friday, April 3, 2009

c'est la vie

"such is life"

despite the rains...buds are stilling emerging.
yesterday with our storms and torrential downpours
we were flooded here at dash home farm.
those are newly planted flowers on the chair. i found them laying around the yard.
weather is always a consideration on when to plant what and what to plant when.
the ranunculus got a bit beaten down...
...but not destroyed.

i am just learning the weather cycles of our beloved tennessee
but i still have a lot of understanding to come by.
sometimes it feels very pioneering to be starting all this new stuff.
expanding the berry bramble. those are the raspberry bushes from
last year with 16 new little plants all around it.
we will be adding blueberry bushes as well as some companion flowers.

i only wish i could read faster and my understanding would come more readily.
this is the outside of the wildflower garden with newly planted
vinca, pansy, hartswood ruby. the little fencing is temporarily in place
to keep the dogs off until the baby plants get their start.

wind blown pansies are hanging in there.

new shoots arrive daily on the oak leaf hydrangeas.

red clementine columbine made it.



alyssum fared well in some places...some got uprooted and floated away.
variegated ivy has lots of new bright green shoots on it.
dogwoods are holding tightly onto their
buds...it's alright you can let go now.
hostas are slowly unfurling their colourful leaves.
we have no takers yet on the martin housing. we have seen
the scouts they have been sending. there is all kinds of
pairing up going on around the farm.
introducing for the first time, mr. and mrs. purple finch.
there are always more females than males, at least so it seems.

but the males around here don't seem to mind it. they just pouf out
their chest, let out a belt and try to attract all the attention they can muster.
like mr. gold finch who shows off his brightest colours of the season.
then there is mr. red winged blackbird demurely showing his colours.
we have a new little visitor...a chipping sparrow... welcome little guy.

mr. tufted titmouse is more interested in keeping his belly full.
then there is mr. bluebird, already espoused, checking out the
newly placed feeder. he is just not quite sure ...
what to make of that shiny copper...come on over it's safe.
and so life at the farm goes on...april showers bring may flowers.
i wonder if floods bring them in masses?

18 comments:

Cheryl said...

Dear Marmee....your birds are charming....I love the purple finch, and the cheeky chirpy sparrow......but of course they are all beautiful.....

I am sorry that you had such heavy rain, so difficult on a newly planted garden.....but I am sure much will survive.....nature never ceases to amaze me.....

Yours hostas are looking beautiful, I love them when they come into flower..... they will thrive in the rain.....I grow a lot here as my soil is often boggy.......

Remember, dear Marmee, you are on a journey with your garden. When I started here, I was confused and muddled. It has been a huge learning curve but I would not have missed this experience for anything....
And of course, you do not travel alone, your fellow bloggers are always walking with you......

Have fun in your garden this weekend....and hope the sun peeps through the clouds.....

Deb said...

Beautiful photos! I was just looking through some photos my son took at the lake yesterday and noticed a red winged blackbird too. I love your planted chair in the garden!
Have a wonderful weekend.

Susie said...

Sorry about the rain beating up some of your new plantings. Hopefully you can replant them in a safer place.

You know I love those sweet bird pictures. They are all just precious.

Hope you have some dryer weather and a great gardening weekend Marmee.

ShySongbird said...

Hi Marmee,I'm sorry to hear of the flooding you experienced and the damage it did to your garden but Nature does have a wonderful way of repairing and renewing herself and I hope all will be well for you soon. What pretty little birds you have in your part of the world, your Goldfinch is so different to ours and I love the Bluebird.
Incidentally as a fellow Louisa May Alcott enthusiast I wonder if you have read 'The Inheritance'. I ask because it was only published here in the UK for the first time in 1998 and I only discovered it last year. As you may already know it was written when she was only 17 years old. I loved it and thought I would just mention it to you.

Dawn said...

What great bird photos you've captured. And I love your wire fence surrounding the tree as well. You've created a beautiful blog which I've added to my blog list. I look forward to reading more of your entries.

marmee said...

dear cheryl,

the birds could charm anything they wanted out of me. i love having many different types of birds here and when new ones show up it is so wonderful.
i am in awe of nature and what it can do the good and the bad. the sun was finally shining in the late afternoon and what a difference that makes. the earth swallowed up a bunch of the water.
i am happy that my hostas survived the dogs mostly because the seem to step right on them as soon as they start coming up.i wasn't familiar with them until moving here.
thank you for gently reminding me of my journey. i have always said it is about the journey not the destination but sometimes it can be confusing and feel like you don't know much.
i am so glad to have you and my other gardening friends on here.
we are having a busy weekend and next week is our spring break.
here's to sunshine.

marmee said...

thank you dear deb,
i hope you also have a wonderful spring weekend. isn't it fun to note what birds are visiting. very cool your son is taking photos too. most of my children share a love of photographing, digital makes it easy to let them snap away. i have a thing for chairs so i love to include them where ever i can.

marmee said...

dear susie, we usually only get one terrible rain like that a year. so we are pretty safe now, at least i hope. we raised one of the beds today with extra dirt.
by the end of today it seemed like a perfect day. it was cool but dry and the sun was shining. i didn't want to come inside.
the birds are always wonderful to spend time with. today they seemed extra tolerant of me being there.
hope you have a lovely weekend too.

Wendy said...

Wow - do you ever have a lot going on in your garden!! Your birds are cute. And your flowers lovely. I like the temporary fencing you've put up. I'd leave it there if I were you.

Hope the rains abait. We also are having heavy rains. Maybe we will have masses of flowers! LOL!

Lisa said...

Beautiful pictures!!! We too have had some hard rains here and are trying to protect our early vegetables.
As we do more with vegetables, etc., I feel like my learning curve is so steep. But, I try to relax and just keeping studying.
They are saying snow this coming week. Crazy Ga. weather. We will have to provide added protection to our plants.
Have fun with your garden!

Lisa Q

Meems said...

Oh, Marmee, So sorry you have had some floating plants.

It is a lot to learn a new planting zone, new information on perennials, vegetables and flowers and like you said... overload on the brain. But you know what?... just do what feels right... it will all come together. Make sure you enjoy every minute! I simply HAVE to 'do it' while I'm learning ... then I GET IT eventually. It is all part of the thrill of gardening.

Everything looks great. Love the area 'outside' the garden. All the birdies are happy and fat at dash home farm. I so enjoyed seeing all the sweet things in their colorful attire.
hugs and love to you!
Meems @ Hoe and Shovel

Q said...

Dear Marmee,
I am so sorry about the heavy, flodding, rains. I do understand. So often I just wait until May to do very much in the gardens. It means I am running behind all summer too!
We have cold again and rain that could change to snow...April showers do bring May flowers! I do not know what April snow brings.
My gardens are old, 32 years of growing. I have lost so many plants and I have changed what I grow...it is a process. There is so much to learn. Keeping a garden journal is a great way of remembering....as is your blog!
I love seeing your birds and I did not know you had posted a photograph of a House Finch until just now! The Purple Finches and the House Finches do look so similiar. The stripped bellies are how I tell the difference.
Birds and bugs and plants....so much to know so little time.
I love the way you enjoy each day. Even when disappointment comes your way you are able to find joy.
Hugs,
Sherry

marmee said...

dear wendy,

it's not really all that much but i always like when flowers are blooming. it adds another dimension to the garden. are you all still cold up there? we are having snow flurries this morning.

marmee said...

meems,
great advice on doing what feels right. we are trying some things this year that just feel right and we will see how it goes. like your method of trial and error we will learn as we go.
this morning we having snow flurries, can you believe it. yuck but we know it can happen up until around the 20's of april. patience is the word of this month.
happy days of spring.

marmee said...

lisa q,

that's a great way to describe how i feel too. a very steep learning curve. digging in and be able to just keep learning is the key isn't it? thanks for coming by to visit "things i love."
you are welcomed here anytime.

marmee said...

dear sherry,


looking on the bright side of things seems necessary. life is too good and short to be bogged down with negatives.
it is all a huge learning experience changing houses, climates. i am grateful to be doing it with my wonderful hubby. he is diligent to work in the garden and we have an ongoing conversation about it.
it must be nice to have a garden you have been in for so long and know so well. although the weather is always throwing us a curve ball.

marmee said...

shysongbird,

the flooding comes rarely but if it rains so hard so fast it can not soak in with all the clay and limestone we have.
we know it does it usually once a year but it still is no fun.
thanks for telling me about this new book, i have not heard of it. i will see if i can find it. i would love to read it.

marmee said...

dawn, thanks for coming by and seeing "things i love."
i am delighted you have enjoyed yourself. come by anytime.