Spring has sprung!

My Dad always used to recite a version of a poem that I often think of this time of year.

Spring is sprung, the grass is riz I wonder where the flowers is?

They say the bird is on the wing, but I always thought the wing was on the bird?

~Unknown~

Sweet memories of Dad and, of course, FLOWERS!!!

I enjoy spring so much! I look forward to cleaning up my yard, seeing my spring flowers grow and bloom, making improvements in the landscape and planting flowers. It’s one of my favorite things! I have fond memories of going with my Mom every year to get our flowers. I think I’m at my happiest and am most at peace when I’m in my yard and on my deck. After putting in the hard work getting my yard and garden summer ready, I have a wonderful sense of accomplishment and enjoy of it all even more as a result. Before and after pics help me see how far I’ve come and I enjoy seeing the changes I’m making documented. (Cue before and after pics…)

Although I tend to my flower gardens every year, I’ve never ventured into vegetable gardens. Maybe someday I will, I’m just not ready for the commitment of it all yet. I feel I don’t have enough knowledge about growing vegetables, so I know I would have a big learning curve to tackle before I took on that challenge. I have recently seen some people making or buying deck gardens for vegetables and herbs.

I have enjoyed having herbs on my deck for a few years, thanks to this garden tower I purchased on Amazon! I am able to have a fantastic variety of herbs and I usually mix in a couple of flower plants into the garden tower for color. I fill the top one or two tiers with basil because it’s my favorite. When I’m cooking dinner during the summer, one of us will go out on the deck and grab a bunch of fresh herbs to add to the dish of the night. I have to get better at trying to keep the herbs growing inside over the winter so this is not just a summer treat, but I’m not there yet! I’ll keep trying, though.

When Mom and I would go flower shopping, we would visit one or two of our favorite garden centers. I wish I knew then what I know now! The Public Market is such a wonderful and economical place to go to buy flowers and herbs. I now buy most of my plants from there every year. I make it a goal to add a few new perennial plants to my gardens every year. When shopping around for these permanent new additions, I will visit locally owned garden centers. This way I am able to support them, too.

I live in an area that allows me to experience all four seasons in their full glory. A significant component of my garden joy is watching and documenting the plants and trees as they change from season to season.

Tell me about your garden! I love to get ideas and inspiration from others.