More Bonsai and Other Gardens

Promising pictures of the bonsai D worked on recently may take a while.  One of them is too large for me to pick up to put on a stand, and I don't feel like lying down on the grass to get a good photo of it.  Okay, so I'm adverse to getting all wet, too.

But here is a picture of the latest in bonsai stands/benches:

This new bench is directly behind our family room so we can see them if we walk over to the window and look down. When we had the house re-sided, we had to tear out all the vegetation that was in this spot so the men could actually get to the house without killing themselves on my rose bushes.  I was philosophical about it since I figured I'd replace them, and only one was a heart-throb-favorite. Guess I'll have to find another place for roses because this spot is much better for these particular bonsai than the older bench as it's more shaded and that's what these babies need.  There are two larch forests - one at either end and a ginkgo forest in the middle that is just beginning to leaf out.   The others are all conifers except the littlest one which is a boxwood.  To the right of the one covered in aluminum foil (to reflect sunlight out to keep the root ball from drying out) is a cypress, next to that is a shimpaku juniper, then a pine, the wee boxwood, ginkgo forest, another shimpaku juniper, and the final larch forest.

The rest of the photos are simply to show you what is happening in some of the other gardens.  The first is in the backyard, and you can see how the lilacs are opening and there is evidence of more green coming up.  I no longer even try to grow tulips or most other spring bulbs because of the critters who simply think bulbs are dessert!

From this angle you can see D's hop poles (though of course at this point the hops are almost all reaching for the split rail fence!).  That birdhouse is home to a family of chickadees this year.  The garden farther to our left belongs to our neighbor and friend.  The pink you see is his bleeding heart.  And note that each of us purchased the same birdbath!

 

Despite being well and truly trampled when my studio was built, the trillium at the side of the garage form a larger more vigorous patch than ever before!  But I don't see any sign of the deep maroon ones yet.  

In the front yard is my white flower garden which is the site of the next two photos.  The first are white (and almost white!) daffodils down near the road.

And the last picture is the white flower garden in its very early spring bloom.  Dwarf white iris and a white rhododendron in bloom as well as the perennial alyssum are in this picture.

The next couple of weeks are going to be very hectic for us so I won't be writing for a while.  In the mean time, have fun checking out what's growing in your garden and those of your neighbors.  

Enjoy spring!