This blog is a record of my family, our adventures, and life as we know it. I named it after the movie "It's a Wonderful Life", because no matter what happens, good or bad, up or down, our life may not always be wonderful (or perfect), but it will always be a "Lacy Life", and that's wonderful to us!

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Spring Fever!

  Greetings and Happy Spring everyone!  I thought since springs almost over  it would be a good time to make a spring post.  Remember my motto...better late than never!  :)  My calendar actually says that the official first day of summer is...um...well...today!  Oops!  Well, in my defense, it WAS still spring back when I first started this post back on May 19.  Oh well...Happy Summer, then, and Happy (belated) Spring to all!

  Here are a few pictures of the plants/flowers that have been blooming and/or showing up around my house...
  Iris' are such a delicate looking, beautiful flower, but are plenty hardy and come back every year in full force, even with our COLD Minnesota winter weather.  :)
  Don't you just adore Gerbera Daisies?  They are one of my favorite's, and this one was a Mothers Day gift for me from my mom.  Ooh...Ahh...now I know where fireworks get their inspiration...doesn't it remind you of a firework up in the sky?
  These are one of my absolute favorite flowers, Lilly of the Valleys.  This patch is planted right next to the stairs that lead to my front door, so I smell them every time I walk up to there, while they are in bloom, of course, which is for just a short time...what a great fragrance these give off and a great Mothers Day surprise every year! 
 
  Ahh...Lilacs...aren't Lilacs wonderful???  Another one of my favorites, and these beauties are another wonderful Mothers Day surprise every year!  I believe these bushes were strategically placed by the previous owners of our home, so that the fragrance comes right into the house through the kitchen window.  It's always been my favorite part of washing dishes in the spring, to stand there while washing dishes and smell the lilacs when they are in bloom.  I had a better picture of this massive bush, but I believe it got deleted by my husband for a more "important" picture in a "bind".  LOL!
  This beautiful Amaryllis was given to me from a good friend at Christmastime, and it was so beautiful when it finally bloomed, and while it lasted!  :)  Thanks friend!  :)
                                                        Tulips...a classic beauty!  :)
                            Asiatic Lilly... such a delicate beauty with the stargazer effect!
  Look at my chives.  Aren't they nice looking?  I really enjoy the way they look, and they are "pretty" and "practical", because they taste great on baked potatoes, too!  Yum!  I've had to transfer them every year since I've had them, because they keep getting bigger and bigger, and they actually come back every year in a planter for me.  I've had this bunch of chives for about 3-4 years now, and this is the very first year they have ever bloomed for me.  That may be due to the "chive thieves" that I have running around here who like to "snack" on these beauties all summer long!  ("Chive thieves" = 2 of my children, I won't name names...but their "chive breath" always gives them away!  LOL!). 
  These are my Morning Glories I start from the same seeds every year.  I think I've had them for about 10 years or more, using the same flowers/seeds to start new planters every year. I have 3 of these that sit along my retaining wall in my front yard.
 
  Okay, so for Mothers Day, my favorite thing to do-besides the blessing of NOT having to cook all day, and besides being able to go out to a nice yummy restaurant of my choosing, and besides honoring my own mother and mother-in-law on this day- is to plant/garden on Mothers day. Because of the busyness of the day this year, I was not able to plant or garden this year on that actual day, but it's been getting done slowly but surely.  Actually, because we are trying to get our house on the market to sell, I am not planting a "big" garden in my back yard this year, and am living vicariously through my friend's garden over at my life on taffy pull (if you click her blog name, you can tour her beautiful garden).  But I still do several flower/plant planters, and vegetable planters as well, along with the children's planters that they do every year. 

  For several years now, on Mothers day, we have gone and bought all of the plants for mine and the kiddos planters, and we all try and plant them together on that day as well.  Each of the kiddos has their own planter that they choose the plants for, and they are either displayed in the front of the house or we use them to brighten up our long driveway.  Sometimes the children choose flowers, sometimes plants, and sometimes even vegetables, but I let them choose whatever they like.  They really have a good time with this.  It's been a tradition that we started several years ago, and I would love to keep it going as long as they are enjoying it.  Here are some of the pictures of us planing their planters this year, and of the plants they chose to plant as well, since you might not really be able to see them in their pots until they get a little bigger. 
Here's a close-up of these same planters:
  That's about all I have to share right now, but I will leave you with a few more pictures after I close.  I hope you are enjoying your spring/summer and taking some time to "stop and smell the Roses" (or the Lilacs, or the Lilly's, or whatever it is that you have to smell that is lovely) during this wonderful time of year.

Rejoicing in all the Glory of God's beautiful world and wonderful creation,
It's a Lacy Life
P.S.  We did actually end up clearing out the garden and planting the tomato plants back there, along with some onions, and some strawberry plants my dear friend gave me, so in the interest of full disclosure, I thought I would mention that.  I hope to plant a few faster growing things if the strawberries don't end up coming back to life-we let them sit too long out of soil, I think- but I am "babying" them to see if they will live.  Here's a picture of our garden behind our garage.

P.P.S.  I also thought I should mention that a lot of the beautiful flower pictures were taken by my daughter, Amish Girl, the budding photographer.

No comments:

Post a Comment