Spring in Atlanta

I spent the weekend in Atlanta with Julia and it was so nice to see that leafy green city again.  Atlanta is so lush and green, with lots of big, old established trees that canopy the streets.  They are way ahead of us, lots in bloom.  Azaleas are everywhere, along with spring shrubs and flowers. The trees are all leafed out and the dogwoods were at their peak this weekend. The weather was perfect, and we walked to a Dogwood Festival in Piedmont Park on Saturday, filled with craft and art vendors, food, and music. The Atlanta BeltLine is right behind Julia's apartment so we took long walks on that both Saturday and Sunday, joining lots of walkers, cyclists, skateboarders, and runners. It really seemed like everyone in Atlanta was outside this weekend, and we spent most of our time outside, too, walking around the city and her neighborhood,  admiring the houses and gardens. Of course we had some pretty delicious meals too. We also visited Maggie, who lives in Atlanta and we took a stroll around her neighborhood with her and baby Liam. Lots of fun, but just nice to spend some time with my girl.

Lots of curbside gardens

Bike art along the BeltLine

Lunch in Midtown

Happy to see these gingko trees

Maggie and Liam

How The Light Gets In

I enjoyed this mystery by Louise Penny very much. It is number nine in a series she writes about Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, of the Sûreté  de police de Québec. He is dealing with internal problems in the Department that are seemingly forcing him to resign, and which apparently have been going on for some time (previous books?). His most trusted investigators have been reassigned. His good friend and second-in-command Jean-Luc Beauvoir has gone to work for the 'bad guys' and no longer speaks to him. What is going on? Who is behind this plot to force him out? And who can he trust?   And on top of trying to save his career, a friend has asked him to investigate the murder of a mysterious woman in the picturesque village of Three Pines, just north of the Vermont border, east of Montreal.  There's no internet service in Three Pines, but there is a friendly bistro, a  cozy bookstore, and a charming inn, as well as a whole cast of colorful characters. As well, it is snowing, and it is Christmas, and Gamache is trying to get to Paris to meet his wife Reine-Marie and their children for the holiday. I read the first in this series, Still Life, awhile ago, and I don't know why I skipped to the 9th book--it must have been on the shelf in the library and I needed a book--but I think I will now go back and read them in order. I think the books stand on their own, but it might be helpful to know all the background, as many of the characters reappear.

The pull of the book is Gamache himself--he is a wonderfully developed character, calm and  intelligent, always patient, always kind.   He cares greatly about people, the good and the bad. As the author said in an interview, "Gamache understands perfectly well how cruel the world is. He has evidence of it every day. The reason he is kind is because he chooses to be kind. He stands in the light because he knows where the darkness is." The book is worth reading just for getting to know Gamache.

The title of the book comes from Leonard Cohen's song,  "Anthem."

"Ring the bells that still can ring, 
Forget your perfect offering, 
There's a crack in everything, 
That's how the light gets in."

Excellent book and looking forward to reading the rest.

Emerging

Perennial Garden

I love these early days of spring.  I find the garden so beautiful when the ground is still bare but you can see shoots and leaves and florets--and all that lovely green-- emerging.  I like to walk around my garden and greet all the plants (oh yea,  you're back!)  that are waking up from the winter. I like to see the garden in its bare bones, assess the placement of plants and what I might change or what I can add.  I love to clean out the leaves and winter debris to find a clump of hellebore babies coming up. Larkspur seedlings are popping up all over.   I love to see all the shades of green, so fresh. The greens seems to brighten overnight. It's such a miracle, truly.

Cherry

Tall Snowdrops

Lilac

Hellebores

Hosta

Golden oregano

Peony

Bleeding Heart

Viburnum carleisi

Rhodo

Peony

Phlox

Getting Up Early

Getting Up Early, by Anne Porter

Just as the night was fading
Into the dusk of morning
When the air was cool as water
When the town was quiet
And I could hear the sea

I caught sight of the moon
No higher than the roof-tops
Our neighbor the moon

An hour before the sunrise
She glowed with her own sunrise
Gold in the grey of morning

World without town or forest
Without wars or sorrows
She paused between two trees

And it was as if in secret
Not wanting to be seen
She chose to visit us
So early in the morning.

Spring Inside the House

It may be cold and rainy outside, but spring is blooming inside my house.

Early Bluebells at Riverbend

Got lots done in the garden on Sunday~~more weeding, fed my roses and hydrangeas,  spread bone meal on all the perennials. Walt edged the garden beds, cut back the crazy autumn clematis, and cleaned out the garage. I brought out the last of the succulents,  planted more pansies~~it was a good day.

In between garden chores, we went to Riverbend Park in Great Falls because I wanted to see if the bluebells were blooming yet. They had just started, so while it wasn't quite the sea of blue yet that I like,  it was still nice to see the blues beginning,  as well as several other varieties of wildflowers. Another week and it will be a stunning walk along the Potomac, with acres and acres of bluebells. Bluebells and other early wildflowers are 'spring ephemerals,' or flowers that take advantage of the sunlight hitting the forest floor before the trees leaf out and close off the sun. By May all traces of them will be gone. Bluebells ('Mertensia virginica') are native to Virginia. My fav Virginia gardener Thomas Jefferson grew bluebells at Monticello.

One interesting fact I learned is that the bluebells at Riverbend were not planted by anyone. The river, wildlife, and climate all have pitched in to create this native garden. Pretty amazing.

I loved these trees that were blooming yellow. Such a great pop of color. Not sure what they are, looking them up they may be cornelian cherry dogwoods (cornelius mas)? So cheery.

First Week of April in the Garden

This week, 2014

I've been looking through my garden journal to see when the daffodils have started to bloom in the past (usually March 23-25),  and looking at pictures just shows how far behind we are. The picture above is my front perennial garden on April 1 this week, and the picture below is my garden on April 1, 2012. What a difference in color!  The redbud is blooming! The tall snowdrops are blooming! Even tulips. I know we just need a few days of warm temps, but come on. Usually my cherry tree is blooming on April 1 too.  I just checked and there's just a hint of buds. The redbud tree shows no sign of color.  The snowdrop are just a few inches high. I keep checking the D.C. cherry blossom site and it looks like another week before they are in bloom (peak bloom estimate April 8-12). I've also been checking on the bluebells at Riverbend Park, too, because I don't want to miss them and it looks like next week is the week to catch those.

Okay, enough complaining. It will happen.

This week, 2012

Patiently Waiting for Spring

I love this painting. I don't know who the artist is,  I have searched and searched with no success. (UPDATE: It's Childe Hassam, thanks Liz!)  I must have torn it out of a magazine or book years ago, and I have had it in my sewing room for years. But for me it expresses the waiting we all experience with gardening. Patiently waiting for blooms, patiently waiting for spring.  Last weekend we were working in the garden, pruning and cleaning out the beds, and this past Sunday it snowed. Big, wet snowflakes all afternoon.  But yesterday the sun was out and it finally felt like spring was in the air. The neighborhood kids were all outside playing, riding bikes and playing ball. I weeded the front garden for about an hour, that sun just felt so good even though the garden is really too wet to do much. I took inventory of my pots and tools, my seeds, checked my succulents that have been wintering in the garage.  It looks like most have survived, although a few look pretty bedraggled. I walked around the yard looking for signs of life (buds on the tree peony!) The birds are chirping a little more. No daffodils yet, but they are taller,  there's hope at least.