Saturday, April 07, 2007

The Easter Bunny did it

Since my last post, things were looking rosy outside. The snow melted, the sun shone. I took off the lawnmower blades (actually, my neighbor did) took them to Big Tool Box while they sharpened them while I waited, I changed the oil, mowed the grass (highest setting). That was last Sunday. The tulips and daffodils were standing erect again, having shrugged off the surprise snowstorm, and then the Easter Bunny paid me an early visit this morning. Those poor yellow tulips above don't look quite as happy as the day before.

They were looking pretty perky then. Ah well, fleeting beauty. That's spring in the Rockies. Our local garden guru gave us a "to-do this weekend" list in the newspaper. He says:


  • Prune hybrid tea roses, butterfly bush, and grapes as needed

  • Fork organic matter into vegetable beds

  • Top-dress perennial beds with compost

  • Aerate and fertilize lawns

I've pruned the roses (well, some of them); the butterfly bush seems to be squashed behind the Rose of Sharon and I'm not sure what to do about it; fork organic matter? Not today. Same with top-dressing. The aerator guy came last week and it's really too soon to fertilize the grass no matter what the guru says. Do I want to kill myself mowing that verdant lawn? Do I really want to encourage it this soon? I don't think so. Besides I've seen his garden. He has no lawn, well, maybe two long strips.

While I was mowing last weekend, I checked on the Nepeta "Six Hills Giant" which I cut back drastically a few weeks ago. This plant has been growing next to the driveway for years. See that crack in the concrete? Six Hills likes to throw runners out there too, so it looks like I grow flowers in the middle of the driveway. When my son was a teenager he drove over it every day to get his car in the garage. He said he always enjoyed that since it smelled so good after he crushed it. A teenager noticed that? It gladdened my heart and it obviously didn't hurt the nepeta in the long run.


Before the Easter Bunny came, here is the freshly mowed front lawn complete with aerator plugs. In the background is a Flowering Quince (japonica) that I see I should have trimmed last spring after it bloomed. Too much Quince, not enough Flowering.

Well, must go, I have an appointment with an Easter Bunny (ears first)!

20 comments:

Annie in Austin said...

So you are the 'Sally Forth' of the Rockies, going for the ears first?

We're getting hit now - maybe not as cold, but the Central Texas peach crop is in big danger from a predicted freeze tonight. We dragged things that are tender and moveable into the garage, and covered some plants, but who can cover trees?

I'd better get back to my carrot cake baking -
Happy Easter, Lost Roses!

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

[I loved the nepeta story]

Mary said...

Lost Roses, you were certainly in the Spring Mode last week! The sound of lawn mowers and the smell of fresh cut grass really puts me in the spirit to dig and weed. We didn't have the snow, but we are having two overnights in the 20's. The hydrangea are really taking a beating - I don't have enough coverings to care for them. Tonight will be the worst. Oh, well. Maybe this is our last cold nip of the season...sigh.

I love those eggs in the garden! And yes, breaking off the ears first is traditional, right? And I love stale marshmallow peeps :o)

Anonymous said...

Your lawn looked so verdant before the snow. I like your snow pic with the Easter eggs and tulips. Somehow it looks like spring even with the snow.

Enjoy those ears!

Diana LaMarre said...

Wow, you had to mow already?

Those eggs just sparkle in the snow.

That chocolate rabbit looks good! I haven't had any Easter candy this year. Since it's still snowing here, it doesn't look like the bunny will be able to get in to bring me any. Unless he/she shovels first!

Have a great weekend.

Rusty in Miami said...

Sorry to hear about your visit from the Easter Bunny, usually he is not as bad down here
Happy Easter

Carol Michel said...

Your tulips look a lot like mine right now, except we don't have the snow. Just the cold. I love seeing the Easter eggs in the snow, and that bunny needs an extra coat! Or is he "gone" already? Happy Easter!

kate said...

Spring is always full of surprises including sparkling eggs of many colours left amid the snow. What a beautiful picture ... although now I have that delicious-looking bunny occuping my thoughts. His little scarf is so cute!

Joyful Easter to you!

Boxwood Cottage said...

Oh my oh my the poor tulips! I love your nepeta six hills, I own one too! Hope you can still enjoy easter though despite the snow! Hugs Carol

Anita said...

It's really hard to believe that some of my blogging friends have a "White Easter". I am so sorry for you!

I hope you had a blissful Easter. Unfortunately, it was quite cold over here.

Thanks a lot for your nice words on my first pottery balls that I posted on April 1st, I was more than lucky to get such an overwhelming feedback! I'll try to post some kind of tutorial soon since there seem to be many other bloggers who are interested in pottery, too.


Warmest wishes from a windy Germany!

Anita

Gary said...

I'm glad to see that you got your garden reaqdy for the Easter Bunny. I'm sure he appreciated it.

You have a very nice blog.

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

MMMMMMMM, chocolate! Is he gone already?

What a lot of snow you've got. Where did Spring go all of a sudden? Hopefully it will be back soon and you can enjoy your lovely spring garden once again.

BTW love that nepeta and so do my kitties. ;-)

Verena said...

Hi lostrose,
thanks for stopping at my blog!
No problem with stealing the idea of decorating pussy pillow branches with eggs - it´s very traditional in Austria!

As I see the Easter bunny brought you a lot of snow :-(!
I hope it will melt away very soon!

See you, Verena

Anonymous said...

Do not despair lostrose, I am in Ontario, Canada and my yard looks like yours. A week ago I was outside looking at the crocuses and tulips that were just starting to peek above the earth. Then boom! Snow! Climate change is not a myth! Chin up girl, it won't last forever!

Anonymous said...

Sure, blame it on the easter bunny! Funny, this year we had a green christmas in the 50's and then easter was below freezing, snowing and the ski resort was still open! Crazy year this has turned into! LOL, happy Easter!

Giddy said...

After seeing all the green down south, we are scheduled to arrive back home tomorrow. Last week, it snowed 15 inches, so it will be interesting to see how much is left. Darn! I was planning to work in the yard when I got back.

LostRoses said...

Thanks for your comments, all. I left replies for everyone the other night and now I see they have disappeared! Rather than repeat myself (can't remember what I said anyway) I can say this: yes, I ate the bunny, the snow melted, the yellow tulips are standing up straight again (!) and we have a forecast of heavy snow for tomorrow night. But I swear I'm not putting any more snowy tulip pictures on this blog! Hope you all have green grass and blue skies.

Gotta Garden said...

I am impressed! You know how to change lawnmower oil? That's awesome! (I haven't a clue!)

Funny about the nepeta/catmint! I'm with you...you obviously have an observant teenager! My cats love it. I catch them eating leaves (not that I care). I found what I thought were some new little plants...never occurred to me they might be runners! Yikes! I like it in front of some of my roses...or I thought I did...lol! Gotta check that out!

I'm with everyone else...love the eggs in snow! That may be a classic picture!

LostRoses said...

Gotta Garden, I never tried changing the oil before but it was actually easy. I tipped the mower on its side and let the old oil drain into a pan. I have no idea if I did it right but it seemed to work! Since the mower is only a year old I didn't want to pay the usual $50 tune-up charge.

Nepeta is fairly well-behaved compared to catnip. I planted that for the cat and he died years ago, but I still have catnip popping up all over!

OUR BEAUTIFUL HOUSE&GARDEN said...

Hallo,
Ich wünsche alles gute und grüße aus Stuttgart/Germany
Sonja

LostRoses said...

Thank you, Sonja, and thanks for visiting. (I went to freetranslation.com)!