Winter Is Over

That has brought about a lot of changes. One of them being longer stretches of dry between weathers and they are warm to boot. This means more time is spent slowly getting things done on the cozy cabin and now that the building contractor is back, the more technical aspects of plumbing and mechanical are beginning to take shape after the completion of the rough electrical. The front porch roof framing is painted and ready to be roofed. The well man has been consulted and the money paid for the permit. The gas company is scheduled to deliver the tank and install the gas lines right into the cabin for each appliance.

The septic system installer who forgot about gravity is still a no show.



It also means that I have been spending more time working for a growing list of clients who are equally moved by the end of winter and the urge to tend their gardens. My house pacing and computer time has been drastically reduced.



The evening stroll is a wonderful way to end the day and see what is new on the mountain. It also makes a good bonding time with the Spots who are just as interested to see what is new on the mountain.

The Dodocatheon meadia sent up two flower spikes this year.



I actually think I need to schedule a day off so that I can wander further into the woods. I need to see more of what is going on down there. I'd also like to go back to the native plant garden in Lake Junaluska Assembly now that winter is officially over. The azaleas and rhododendrons should be blooming.



I bet that native plant garden doesn't have as big or as many patches of the native Dwarf Crested Iris, Iris cristata, as we do. They should be blooming any day now.



Then there are the catalog iris,



That are likely to bloom in every color under the sun.



The few surviving more commonly planted azalea types bloom earlier than most of the native/Exbury azaleas and the rhododendrons. Most of these common shrub azaleas are not hardy up here. A southern gardener always has to try though. There are a few successes. If only they could remember their names and get more.



Great swaths of the Spanish Bluebells, Hyacinthoides hispanica are carpeting Bulbhilla much like the pictures in catalogs. Years of seed collecting and seed sowing has aided their increase.



The first day of May in the Garden, what dreams are made of. Ain't that right Carol.