I think you will agree that things are looking a lot greener now a couple of weeks later, if not a bit empty thanks to the mean, mean moles who ate my plants over the summer. At last count, I think 8 plants are missing and 4 are damaged from the moles. There are a few things that are alive (I think) but come up late. My husband helped me split my out of control Alaskan Daisies that are in the centers of each of the 4 outer beds. They need to be split about every three years. They were a good 4 feet around. We replanted a small clump of each. This year it might look a bit meager but they were growing into other plants and over taking them. All but one clump of the dug up pieces have now found good homes.

Currently blooming in this garden are Basket of Gold, Candytuft (above), ground phlox, and my all time favorite, Pasque Flower (below).

Elsewhere in the yard, Bleeding Heart is blooming. I have a pink one and a white.

Goldenrod is starting to go by and lilacs are in bud. I can’t wait for them. They are an all time favorite as well. Daffodils are still going strong, as well as my Lungwort. The other day, my husband captured this image of the Lupine after a rain.

I thought I would try taking a picture of my “kitchen garden” through the windows as well. It worked like a charm. Here it is. It’s located in the center of our driveway, right outside the kitchen door.

It’s looking a bit empty because I plant a lot of things that I start from seed each year in this garden. They are still in their little greenhouse trays. I won’t plant them till about Memorial Day. In the triangle I have 3 hybrid tea roses and one miniature rose. Two of the rose bushes didn’t survive the winter well. I hope they will make it. In this garden, I am growing Oregano and Ornamental Oregano, Egyptian Onions, Sage, Tansy, Columbine, Catmint, Rue and Tarragon, among other things. My “vision” for this garden is herbs and cutting flowers. Because our house and barn are old and were painted with lead paint, I tested the soil and it was high in lead. We dug out the soil and replaced it with top soil that we ordered. I tested it again, just for kicks, and low and behold, it was still high in lead! Apparently, you cannot trust the soil that you order, FYI. So, I grow the herbs here for looks and put basil plants in pots scattered around the garden so that I can actually use the basil. The flowers I grow from seed and we cut them to bring in the house. There is so much to do and it is hard to do it only during nap time! Penny isn’t walking so bringing her outside to garden with me isn’t happening yet. If only the deer and moles would cooperate, the gardens might have a prayer of looking decent!