Just blame Janus! As you all know, I have nothing but gardens on which to blog. Holding most other activities in anathema, having declared ‘fatwas’ in all directions and holding most appurtenances of modern life to be ‘instruments of the devil’, there is sod all left! Then there is the other side to that coin- When you live in ‘God’s little acre’ why the bother with anywhere else? We actually did emerge this week to go to the tulip festival in Skagit County (one down) with friends. Wonderful tulips but the multicultural aspect proved too much for us, it was mobbed by more of them than us. Vancouver had emptied across the border to view tulips en masse. We retreated to lunch. I didn’t bother to take any pictures. So, just for a change you get more of what is in bloom right now in the garden.
The tulips have done incredibly well this year, the weather hasn’t beaten them up and the deer have not been around for lunch. Deer love tulip flowers, they leave a splendid row of green spikes and leaves but not a lot else!
Be sure your sins will find you out. Last year after the dreadful, horror filled viewing of the house by the woman with goats who intended to let them eat my flowers, I went on strike. A lot of jobs that ought to have been done were left undone, (all that erring and straying!) No point casting pearls before the swine of potential buyers. Now of course, the house is off the market, it is a different matter entirely! I have no intention of living in a garden that is not just so, all the paths had to have a new layer of bark nuggets, the drive had to be weeded etc etc. Poor old spousal unit has been delegated for all the extra grunt work which keeps him off the streets and off his computer. I tell him it is good exercise but not too sure he’s buying it!
This is one of my favourite spring groups, sorry about the crap photo.
For about two weeks every spring I get this somewhat eye stopping multicoloured effect. Quite unintentional and a dreadful result of me being cheap. I can’t bear to tear out previous occupants attempts at gardening if the plants are doing well and tend to plant round them to ameliorate. On this occasion I was tempted by a job lot of excessively cheap tulip bulbs that were a lot brighter than I had anticipated. Then they had the temerity to proliferate! I planted about 25 and now they have taken over! Will be marching triffid like to the front door in the next few years! Anything that volunteers to proliferate (In the plant world I hasten to add) is a welcome addition to a 5 acre garden! I am not about to pull it out! So dark glasses are de rigeur for a few weeks or so!
This is a little more serene!
Now this may not look very much but I am rather proud of this. If you look carefully you can see some pale mauve flowers on the tree in the foreground against the Douglas fir. This is a Josephine tree (Paulownia) that I grew from seed 9 years ago, it is the first time it has flowered.
Note to self- allow roses to grow into impenetrable thicket to guard the front door against unwanted visitors, mormons and the like!
Now we have a few days rain so I can take a rest in the greenhouse, Wagner’s Ring Cycle is on AGAIN! (in the house!) God how I hate Wagner, absolutely throat cutting.
Boadicea's Chariot 
I don’t care if the tulips are bright. That’s nature, innit?
Christins, what a tour de force! Yoour manicuring puts us to shame. I’m hoping to get some snaps of our new ranch next month – the ‘before’ phase.
It all looks very advanced in your neck of the woods, Tina. Spring that is.
It was looking promising here for a couple of days but it’s now chilly and grey again. Everything in the garden has just stopped in a sort of suspended animation.
The good news is there are no weeds to speak of.
Please do Janus, there is nothing more interesting than before and afters in gardens. I take the same shots every year When there is seriously nothing to do they make quite entertaining viewing in the depths of winter. The gardening magazines in the USA are ridiculous wastes of trees and not worth buying! Fire lighting material.
To quote a phrase, could do better on the back of an envelope with one hand tied behind my back!
Re#3. I reckon that we are at least a good two weeks ahead of our usual schedule for this area. We had a very warm winter and spring and have had no frost for weeks. The El Nino/Nina was extreme this year. Happens about once every five years here.
Appears the UK had the direct reverse, as so often happens.
A lot of drought areas in the USA have had torrential rains too.
Everyone getting someone else’s weather from what I can see.
El Nino/Nina affects the position of the jetstream, which says it all! Not that such would be admitted by the global warming lobby!!! All far too normal and rational.