Yesterday was Mother's Day and I spent it doing what I love most:  GARDENING!  It was a breath of fresh air to get out and get my hands dirty!  It was a touch chilly still this weekend, but I simply. could. not. wait. any. longer.  My darling husband, who knows me well, took me to a fantastic local greenhouse where I strolled the isles carefully selecting my plants.  I focused on the veggies and herbs this trip because I finally have my very own veggie bed - woot woot!

I was lucky and the area where we decided to grow veggies was already laid out, but it was covered in yucky mulch.  (I'm not the only one that despises mulch, right?)  

Here is a dreadful before picture:  

Not a huge area, but a good starting point for our first year.  That messy glob in the middle was a peony that I pulled out, divided and transplanted in another bed.  

My generous father-in-law dropped of a load of compost.  I get REALLY excited about compost. I love the stuff...seriously, I do.  Click here If you want to read more about how much I LOVE compost and a really easy method of composting.  

I know a lot of people believe in tilling and it might be necessary in bigger gardens, but given my simplistic style of gardening we just took the ole' garden fork to the existing soil to break it up.  Then we laid the compost on top, a nice thick layer and worked that into the top layer.  

Now the fun part:  planting!  Again - to keep things uncomplicated I decided on a few varieties of tomatoes, green leaf lettuce, and three varieties of peppers.  I also incorporated various herbs in the other existing beds around the back patio.  And voila!  

And of course I had help watering.  

So excited to have my very own vegetable garden bed.  It was my perfect way to spend Mother's Day!

Hope all you mamas had a great day too!  

And tell me what divine things you're planting this year!  I'd love to hear from you.  

Patty

This is what I was doing three days ago:

A little fun in the sun (80 degrees!) at the Iowa Cubs game.  

And, today it looks like this:

Boooo!!!!   

When spring returns, so will I.  

Look what I found!  Well, truth be told, my father-in-law spotted them:  adorable little Crocus.  What a sight for sore eyes!  These are the first signs of life in our yard this year and a tell-tale symbol that spring is FINALLY here!  Woot Woot!

I'm baaaack!

Okay, it's been almost a YEAR since I've posted!  Pathetic, I know.  And I really don't have time to get into the details of my blogging slackerness, but we've been through a lot of changes the past year, the main one is that we moved.  Not a major move, just across town but the entire process took almost a year and it was exhausting.  The other huge factor in my VFTG neglect was my job that pays me real money.  There have been some changes and my position is WAY busier than it was a year ago.  And like I said, that job actually pays me real-life cizash, so I figured it should take priority.  

BUT, I love this blog and since I haven't been taking advantage of it I can feel myself slipping from my passion of gardening and horticulture so I am putting it back on the priorities list!  

Plus the new house brings like a bazillion gardening opportunities and decisions.  It will be the perfect platform for me to utilize this blog.  

And now it is April!  This Iowa winter was particularly harsh, so I'm so stoked that April is here and hopefully it will bring warmer weather.  There have been no signs of life in my yard yet, but I know I don't have much longer to wait.  

Happy spring everyone!  

Patty

Lately, our mailbox has been full of colorful gardening and seed catalogs...and for some reason I've been avoiding them.  Well, I actually know the reason:  our house is on the market and I'm a little confused as to what I'm supposed to do with them.  Although our yard is beautiful in spring, the result of nine years of incorporating bulbs, perennials, shrubs, pathways, river rock, etc. etc., I REALLY hope we aren't around to experience it this year.  But we are in the second week of February and reality has given me a little slap in the face (think Airplane when people stand in line to slap that hysterical woman).  We'll most likely be here to see that first hellebore bloom break through it's snowy barrier.  So be it.  

But then there are the catalogs....what am I supposed to do with them?  I know I will not be ordering any perennials, but do I order seeds? When the seeds come, do I plant them?  Should I start them indoors, like I have in years past?  Will prospective buyers see the rows of trays filled with starter mix and minuscule green shoots as I do - full of potential, eventually filling containers and beds with lush greenery and pops of color?  Or will they view my seed starting getup as clutter, dirty and messy?   

I think my solution is to downsize my usual operation. I will order as many seeds as possible that can be sown directly into the soil.  I will just stick to a few trays to start indoors.  OR I can look into purchasing or building a cold frame.  Hmmm....now there's an idea!  

Alright, I'm feeling a little better about my gardening dilemma.  Now it's time to dive into those catalogs - gardener's porn!  

PLEASE, give me your insight.  Any tips on gardening while on the move?  

Happy Bloom Day to you, my gardening buds! 

My fellow garden blogger from May Dreams Garden set up a MEME for us to share what is blooming in our gardens on the 15th of every month. 

This is my first official Bloom Day post here at View From the Garden and I couldn't be more excited to get started, but wait...what's that?  Oh, it's the quintessential rainy April day:  cold, rain, wind.  Fortunately I've been busy out in the garden snapping photos, so we can get a good idea of what's flourishing in my garden in Des Moines, Iowa (zone 5b, if anyone is paying attention).

I was soooo excited to see this little iris popping out from the earth.  This is the only one I've seen so I'm hoping more will emerge soon.  Iris reticulata 'Pixie' is very dainty, but is such a rich, royal blue it catches your eye from afar.  Stunning!

Daffodils are the true ambassadors of spring.  Bright yellow representatives are popping up all over the garden.  This variety is big, sunny and cheery.

This Grant Mitsch hybrid daffodil livens a shady area in my garden.  The bowing stature of Narcissus cyclamineus 'Rapture' makes it more reserved than other daffs, but it still makes a statement.   Its backbending periant and elongated cup gives this variety an exoctic touch.

I'm a BIG fan of hellebores.  One of the first perennials to surface in spring, hellebores are a staple in my shady areas.  The deep green foliage is a sight for sore eyes early in the growing season.   

Although the flowers of hellebores don't measure up to the kaliedescope of color spring bulbs offer, I still find them very interesting.

The intoxicating sweet aroma of these gorgeous blue hyacinths keeps my sniffer happy! 

These delightful little tulips are a show stopper.  I had high hopes for Tulipa kauffmania 'Heart's Delight' but they've exceeded my expectations!  Also known as Water Lily tulips, they are creamy white with candy-pink highlights and a yelllow center.  As the blooms mature the color becomes more vivid.  These little guys wake up the garden on dull and rainy April days. 

These Water Lily tulips are small but mighty.  I'm anticipating them to colonize and make a more dramatic appearance year after year.

So there it is - View From the Garden's Inaguraul Bloom Day post!  I'm deliriously excited for this growing season and looking forward to sharing every step along the way!

It's here, it's finally here:  SPRING!!!  Today is the first day of Spring and I couldn't be more excited.  We experienced some spring showers in the morning, but we ended up with a partly sunny day and a balmy temp of 68. 

I was able to rake out a garden bed that sits near the sidewalk and is notorious for collecting leaves and debris.   After that I inspected all the beds to take the first roll call of the season.

The hellabores are emerging, one of the first perennials of the season to bloom.

I'm thrilled to see these adorable species tulips popping up that I planted last fall.  They are a native variety that hopefully will bloom year after year. 

The bright, crayon green foliage of the surprise lily is a welcome sight every spring.

There's not much now, but I'm happy with my early arrivals.  Can't wait to see what spring has to bring in the coming weeks!