Making the earth laugh

"the earth laughs in flowers" -e.e.cummings This blog is a journey into that laughter. From my childhood when my job was weeding the dreaded vegetable garden (which I despised with every fiber of my being) to my very early adulthood when I planted my first impatiens (which promptly died) to now - a gardening lover and business owner; gardens have made me feel something. This is my tribute to the hard work, the boring work, the failures and the immeasurable joys of gardening. Yes, I continue to garden...and laugh.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

A bit of color in the spring gloom

I am interrupting my fall retrospective of 2010 and zipping forward to spring 2011.

I know it's supposed to rain in the spring and I am very grateful for it...but for crying out loud, enough is enough!  It has been COLD and WET and GLOOMY here 5.5 out of 7 days a week here.  I am about dying for some warmth and sun and color.

So last week I threw in some flowers to cheer myself and my client up a bit.  For those of you in the same glum boat, enjoy...

Spring is here (believe it or not), Easter will be here next week, and although it is too early to begin planting permanent pots for the season, there are some hardier flowers that can withstand the cold.
 
In this window box, I planted purple and white osteospermum (daisies), mixed pansies and (my favorite from last summer), snow princess alyssum.  The overall effect is cheerful and a bit different from the usual spring arrangements of tulips and hyacinths. Another bonus is that everything in this widow box can be pulled out and reused for the summer, so I'm not wasting plants or money.



This pot has yellow ranunculus, mixed pansies and again, snow princess alyssum.   I loved the combination and overall effect of color and texture.  The only bummer about this arrangement is that the ranunculus aren't terribly hardy, so they have to be under cover if the temperatures get near freezing; which is why I put them in a pot rather than the window box. 



This may be hard to see, but if you put your face really close to your computer screen, you'll see that mixed in with this gorgeous old can of pussy willow are artificial pussy willow lights.  They were a bit pristine and white when I bought them, so I dirtied them up to make them blend.  I thought it added a bit of warmth and whimsy to the arrangement.



So there you have it.  Today it's cold and rainy, tomorrow its supposed to thunderstorm, and then I believe we will actually get a respite for a day!  My girls have spring break this week, so it would be nice to have at least one day of sun and warmth.

Happy gardening!
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