Blooms from the Front Porch: GBBD May

This may just be the most un-spring-like spring in all my years as a gardener. The temperatures have ventured past chilly into actual cold weather territory, and tomorrow we may not even reach 50 degrees. I don't remember a day without at least a threat of rain in weeks, and the winds today have been brutal to tulips (above) and gardeners alike.

Thankfully, bright tulips distract from dead oregano stems and countless other as-yet-undone spring chores that need attention. In another highlight, the drought-tolerant bergenia have apparently appreciated the extra winter/spring moisture, judging by their new growth and blooms:

 
The grass has already been mowed twice, but only because I felt as though I had to make time for that since the neighbors do. (And one of them walks this tiny dog, which I feared would get lost in my tall grass, twice a day!) Many annuals sit in several spots on the porch, waiting for a chance to be tucked into the garden:

A few plants have made it into the ground, and  I'm waiting to see whether I'm going to regret planting the 'Bandana Cherry' lantana and 'Gartenmeister Bonstedt' fuchsia in particular. If a plant is mobile, though, I'm not taking a chance with it this evening. All of the flats, any individual pots, and my just-planted hanging baskets are all coming into the house for a 36-hour vacation!

The photos above show you what's blooming around here today... at least, what I could shoot without leaving my front porch! The rest of my May GBBD Bloom list can be seen below, and many more blooming gardens can be seen by visiting Carol at May Dreams Gardens. Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!

Also in Bloom:  lonicera sempervirens, 'Chocolate Chip' ajuga, 'Geranium' daffodils, passalong ornamental allium, 'Looking Glass' and 'Jack Frost' brunnera, 'Purple Dragon' and mom's passalong lamium, 'Ozark' strawberries, sweet woodruff and grape hyacinths.

Springtime and New Beginnings

This lovely iris is certainly enjoying its new beginning! After suffering similar winter (mis)treatment to the hosta and other plants that I recently profiled, this tiny gem was finally planted out in the front garden last spring. It seems to have gotten through our long winter just fine, and is rewarding me with more foliage and even a bloom.


I never really mention my day job here on my blog...but as some of you reading this already know, I have worked at a local ski resort as their marketing manager since graduating from college.  The last 3 or 4 winters have been especially long and hard for me, with 70+ hour work weeks from early December through mid-March or later.  (That seems like it should be an exaggeration, doesn't it?  Even as I type those numbers out, I wonder how such things are humanly possible...)  Obviously, a better work/life balance was needed.

I am happy to report that I start my new job tomorrow morning.  As with my previous employment, this new position will not really be a topic of conversation on my blog...but I will say that it's a regular 8:30am-5pm, Monday through Friday, office job.  As such, it fits in line with my quest for a more balanced life. 

I am more excited than nervous, but I would still appreciate positive thoughts on Tuesday, if anyone can spare a few to send my way.  I'm hopeful that, like the iris, I will flourish and bloom in my new environment!  To quote one of my father's favorite sayings:  Time will tell...