Spring Beauty

We have had unusually warm and sunny weather for the last week.

The long April showers have blessed us with Lovely May Flowers! 

The birds are singing and the air is filled with the scents and sounds of nature. 

The strawberries are blooming in my strawberry pots on the deck. 

Of course, there are wildflowers that have moved in alongside over the winter, so I have left them to bloom along with the strawberries. 

They do look pretty and I didn't have the heart to pull them! 

You can see an empty spot where I am waiting for a runner to root. 

These are sweet little French Strawberries that I use to make Strawberry Scones. 

I have some growing here and there, too. They grow alongside the catnip (up high, away from cats), some succulents, and pink and purple creeping phlox. 

Here I have some beautiful yellow succulent flowers blooming in my Bird Bath Planter. 

Forget me Not and Candytuft, nestled in ivy, bloom in the background. 

Ling Ling looks on. 

To the left, the steps lead to the parking area.

The lilac tree against the house blooms right outside my living room and sewing room (upstairs) windows. 

The scent is heavenly. 

Forget me Not, ferns and ground covers hide the stone wall. 

The wildflowers have taken over the picnic area. 

Once they finish blooming, I will move the picnic table and have a new garden! 

Two different kinds of ferns love to seed themselves into stone walls and the nooks and crannies around the roots of trees. 

I encourage re-seeding! 

The lighter colored  'Deer Fern' dies back in the fall. The darker Ostrich Fern has tough leathery leaves that survive the winter. 

We walk around the front of the house - the 'North Side' that gets very little sun. A large grove of cedar and Hemlock trees is to the right. Very little grows under them, so I have introduced an aggressive ground cover called 'Yellow Arch Angel' along with several types of slow growing variegated ivy. The ivy grows in the deep shade. 

The grove of trees protects the house from water run-off, as we live along the side of a little mountain. 

It also hosts the doggie kennel under it's sheltering branches. It stays comfortable and dry, blocked from the wind and rain by the house and trees. 

A perfect place for the dogs when we have guests. 

Ferns, ground cover and ivy grow along the edges of the house and fence. 

I have introduced a few hosta and am having some success! This is a very large hosta sprouting up through the Arch Angel in bloom. 

I have to be diligent about the slugs. They love hosta leaves! 

I use 'Sluggo', an environmentally safe slug bait. 

It is safe for pets, birds and wildlife. 

But lethal to slugs because of the mineral content. 

Whitey looks at his kennel area, the hosta is growing under the big group of windows.

This is the view from the windows. Hubby's tool shed peeks out at  the top of rise. 

Buttercup grow alongside the fence and under the Hydrangea bushes. 

My 'Secret Garden' lies behind the fence. 

Here I have a bird bath and flowering trees. 

A crab apple and flowering pear. 

Bleeding Heart, 

Trillium, 

Motherwort with green bells, 

Lady Ferns, 

A secret view of apple trees and holly, 

And these.......Spanish Bells that have naturalized beneath the flowering pear tree. 

Can you see the break in the fence where the bear came through the summer before last? 

Hubby patched it up with wire fencing. 

I do believe there might be fairies living here! 

And as the sun sinks low and lights the surrounding hills on fire, 

I work in my secret garden and count my many blessings. 

That we survived another winter. 

That we have each other to share nature's beauty. 

I hope you are enjoying nature's beauty with your loved ones, too! 

xoxo

Linking to: http://fishtailcottage.blogspot.com/