Flower Bed Makeovers.

  Yesterday we went to see a dear friend whose husband went to sleep after 94 years of life.  They were married for over 70 years.  Poppy was very close to him and lost a friend he could confide in.  Mamie is a lot like his wife, and so they have an unspoken closeness that they understand without having to use words to explain.  Yes, there may be years in age difference, but Mamie and Poppy have learned that age does not matter when it comes to making good friends.  We enjoyed spending some time with our friend, and have already planned to go back again.

  We  scheduled some time the next day to work around the yard after our morning routine.

  We started in the back so we could eat on the back deck later in the evening and enjoy the fresh, clean look.  One of the things we do to prep the beds is to add a layer of compost and then cover it with some mulch.  Of course, we remove any weeds that we can and trim up the bushes for this year's growth.  Then we mulch, but as of yet we haven't got the mulch for the beds. But the work begins.  While working here are some of the flowers we are enjoying.

Some of the early roses.  Because of the humid south we have had our share of difficulty with roses.  But when we get them blooming we love them.

These are blackberry blooms that show up around the yard in our flower beds with their thorny stems.  We remove them where we are trying to grow flowers, but along the edge of the woods or fence lines we let them grow so that we can enjoy their fruit.  Of course we compete with the birds, raccoons, and whatever else beats us to them.

Every spring Mamie always spots the wild azaleas that grow in our back yard along the edge of the woods.  They don't last long, but when they are blooming it looks like soft pink rain where they are located.  They are beautiful and were planted by the one who created them.

Here are some of the blueberries.  Because of the weather pattern changing, we had some unexpected freezes so we think we may have lost some of the berries.  But at least we still have some and they look like they will be nice and plump.  We shall see.

And here are some of the azaleas that because of the strangely warm weather have given us flowers almost all winter.  For that we are thankful.

These are some of the other flowers starting to show off their colors.

Everything is finally greening up, and we look forward to the flowers coming out in full force.  We spend a lot of time on our deck in the summer grilling and eating, having friends over, and listening to owls and coyotes at night.  We still have a lot more to do, such as getting the leaves out of the gutters and cleaning windows. (Fun, fun!)  But after we are finished, it makes us feel so satisfied with our hard work.

Well, that is a glimpse of what is blooming around Sweet Pickles Farm.  Now, into the kitchen to make some "Creme Caramel".  We'll let you know how it turns out... (hopefully as good as it sounds)!

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