Mother's Day Projects

First a sneak peek of the west flagstone bed. By next week the spring bulbs should be in full bloom so I can post a bunch of pictures. Above you can see a pink 'Crown Princess Mary' tulip with violet and orange flowers in the background.
Last weekend we accomplished a lot of work in the garden. A dump truck left 5 yards of bark in the driveway on Saturday morning, and we worked through sun, rain and hail to get it all spread by evening. My husband did most of the work, but the kids and I helped some, too.



I bought a fountain to match the birdbath from last year, both from Lowe's. My husband put it together and set it into place near the back patio. The sound of the water running is nice - not to loud, not too soft. Of course nothing can drown out the shrieks and wails of our kids when they're playing in the backyard, but after they go to bed the fountain makes the patio very pleasant.



I also brought home three more big black urns from Lowe's, to match the one I bought a year or two ago. I planted them simply with an Asparagus densiflorus 'Sprengeri' in each one. The conditions on our back porch are difficult for flowers, with shade for most of the day, then intense sun and heat for a couple of hours during the summer afternoons. Hopefully the asparagus ferns will be tough enough to take the extremes.



The bark in the beds makes a nice backdrop for all the emerging leaves, and the smell of fresh bark is wonderful. I chose 'bark fines' instead of bigger chunks, so it will be interesting to see if the small pieces rot away in one season or if they stick around longer. My tired husband informed me that he'd love to avoid this project next spring, if possible. The photo above shows a lily stalk among columbine leaves, with delphinium leaves in the background.



I was grateful for all the work my family put into these garden projects. Some moms enjoy breakfast in bed, but I was happy to get bark in my (flower) bed for Mother's Day. I also wanted a nice picture of the children to send to the grandmas and great-grandmas, which I caught after ice cream bribes, threats, and lots of eye-rolling (from me as well as the kids, wonder where they learned it?). You can see the result above. I hope all you moms had a great day as well!