The one good thing about a cold spring is that the tree bloom lasts long enough to enjoy. The cherries, the dogwoods and the early magnolias covered the whole landscape in pink and white veils for over two weeks, it's very poetic.

Now that good weather is finally here it brought with it the glut of gardening activities that had been postponed due to unfavorable conditions. Another trip to the garden center is in order to find out if more annual flats arrived. The cleaning, weeding and dead-heading schedule needs to get on track. The fall perennials need dividing. Last, but not least, I still have a few seed packets to plant.

The clematis is already covered in buds, the peonies are a foot tall and the roses look very healthy. Life is good, or at least will be in about a month.
For now the flower beds are still dotted by cheerful daffodils; the latter always bloom late because they are planted on the north side. The hybrid ones seem to be thriving, all sporting fully double ruffles in bright tangerine, blush pink and lemon yellow. I forgot to check if they're fragrant.

I'm looking forward to planting lots of annuals this year, they really make a difference, especially in the shade.

Author's Bio: 

Main Areas: Garden Writing; Sustainable Gardening; Homegrown Harvest
Published Books: “Terra Two”; “Generations”; "The Plant - A Steampunk Story"; "Letters to Lelia"; "Fair"; "Door Number Eight"; "A Year and A Day"; "Möbius' Code"; "Between Mirrors"
Career Focus: Author; Consummate Gardener;
Affiliation: All Year Garden; The Weekly Gardener; Francis Rosenfeld's Blog

I started blogging in 2010, to share the joy of growing all things green and the beauty of the garden through the seasons. Two garden blogs were born: allyeargarden.com and theweeklygardener.com, a periodical that followed it one year later. I wanted to assemble an informal compendium of the things I learned from my grandfather, wonderful books, educational websites, and my own experience, in the hope that other people might use it in their own gardening practice.