The Lilacs are blooming! The Lilacs are blooming! I tried hard and just kept myself to sharing one picture. I love Lilacs!

The bushes that are blooming are right by our back porch stairs. In this picture below, you can see the top of the railing, the Lilacs, then in the back, a Red Bud Tree, a Dogwood tree, with the raised bed in between. Then another bed on the other side of the Dogwood Tree. It’s kind of hard to see, but between where the green grass ends, and the half dirt banking in the back is the creek. It’s several feet down in this part of the yard, but it’s there.

I have been standing on the stairs just so I can smell the Lilacs. lol

Here’s a picture of the bed in the right of the above picture. I just added this last year. It contains Hostas, Iris’s, Wild Roses, and an assortment of weeds. haha It also holds my latest project. I took an old wagon that was hanging around the yard, it doesn’t even have any wheels on it, and added several cans that I spray painted white. I planted flower seeds in the cans.

I love the Dogwood flowers, too, so pretty.

In the herb bed that extends from where the Lilacs are, I planted two Lavender plants. yes, I bought them. I have not had any success growing Lavender from seed, I’ve been trying for years. So I finally gave in and bought some. I’d love to have a whole garden full of Lavender.

In the raised bed, in the above picture, I have Spinach and Lettuce planted. They are growing good.! Here’s the Spinach.

And the Lettuce. Won’t be too much longer, and I’ll be eating it. yum!

When I bought the Lilacs, my husband was looking around and found this plant that he liked. It’s a Catmint. Butterflies love Catmint, so it should be a great addition to the front yard.

I have found out that cats love Catmint. should be interesting to see what my cats do with it. Hopefully, they leave it for the butterflies. I also found out that you can brew Catmint tea. I’ll have to dig deeper to see if it has any medicinal properties. You can divide Catmint in the spring, and the plant will put up suckers. From what I’ve read, it spreads easily and quickly like other mints. So be careful where you plant it! I have it in the front yard in a flower bed between two Butterfly Bushes. It’s the only flower in the bed that’s somewhere around 20 feet long. I’ll be planting annuals in it this year, but it wouldn’t be a bad thing if the Catmint took over the whole bed. Just think of all the butterflies we’d have!

What’s blooming in your yard?

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Time for another Saturday on the Farm Garden Update! It’s such a beautiful time now, everything is growing and the flowering trees are gorgeous. We have several Dogwood and Red Bud Trees on the property. These two are in the backyard.

The Dogwoods were already here when we bought the property. We add the Red Bud trees. We got the seedlings for free at the conservation office. They give away several types of seedlings every year. If your looking for trees, check with your local conservation office to see if/when they giveaway trees.  We’ve also gotten pine trees and white oaks, in addition to the Red Bud trees. Of course, the seedlings are small. Ours have been in the 2 – 3 foot range. If your willing to be patient, you will end up with some beautiful trees for free.

The Red Bud flowers aren’t only beautiful, they are edible! I like to surprise guests by pulling down a branch and nibbling on the tree. roflol The flowers taste like lettuce, I think, not bitter, but a sweet sort of lettuce flavor. They make great garnishes, and are delicious in salads. I have also made Red Bud Jelly.

The Lilac bushes below are by the back porch stairs. The window on the right is the dining room, so I can see these when I’m sitting at the table. 🙂

That’s my little garden seat next to them. And just pretend you don’t see the grass growing under them… ahem….time for more mulch! The blossoms are getting ready to open. I can hardly wait. I check them every day !

I found blossoms on several Strawberry plants in the herb garden. The chickens usually get any strawberries that have ever grown. We don’t have any chickens this year, so hopefully, we’ll get some berries! (We’ll be getting chickens in the next month or so. yippee!)

In the Bible Garden, the Lily of the Valley have really spread this year. That’s a Hardy Cyclamen in front of them.

I love the little flowers on the Lily of the Valley’s. They’ll be open soon.

Our Apple trees are full of blossoms. They are pretty, too!

I hope we get lots of apples. Last year we didn’t get very many because a frost got the blossoms. This year they seem to be doing very well.

My father in law’s apple trees have even more blossoms than ours. He always shares with us, so I see lots of applesauce, homemade cider, and apple pies in our future.

What’s blooming in your yard?

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