April tailend

April roared. Not with ferocious weather -- at least not here in south central Wisconsin, but for me -- with travels, events, spring work, each day offering both opportunities and challenges. That's my view of it! I've done most of spring planting -- except for 150 bulbs that I ordered in bulk (many are Abyssiniam Gladiolus) and now I'm wondering why I went down that road... I need to figure out what to do with them! Should I mark their planting? Should I just do a random dig? None of them are hardy here so I'll have to remember to lift them out come fall. What was I thinking?? I am going to revisit the idea of garden scheming in January. Strange ideas percolate then!

It's a pretty morning.

I feed the animals then go off for one more appointment -- a total waste of time because it was mis-scheduled.  I need to come back another day. This bothers me not a whole lot, except last night the lilies did finally arrive and so I am in a hurry to put them in before tomorrow's rains. (There is zero chance that I'll plant 150 bulbs before then.)

Breakfast is thus late. After the non-appointment.

And then I do my last-day-of-April planting. 

I took a chance this year, counting on no frost from my birthday onwards and it looks like I got lucky. (Had there been a frost forecast, the backup plan is to move all tubs to the shed and hanging baskets to the kitchen -- a horrible job, but it can be done!) This is why, after putting in my last lily into the garden extension Ed created (by eliminating one of the paths), I put down my shovel, water my new plantings and wish them all good luck for the season. I'm done with planting! (Except for the bulbs.)

As the sun poked through the cloud cover, I noticed that the tulips are looking especially lovely against a lingering sea of gold...

But, too, that the first crab apple is opening up. We have several crabs, and when they bloom, they absolutely draw your attention away from everything else. So, in the next week, guess what I'll be admiring?!

I stop work when it's time to pick up the kids. 

It's not a long farmhouse visit because the two older guys have a school concert tonight -- one that I am not attending. I wish I had it in me -- I love school choir performances and this is the last Elementary School show for Snowdrop (next year she will be in Middle School), but trekking to the other side of town in the evening after a full day is just a little too much for me. I am an imperfect grandparent, consoled only by the fact that my grandma never attended a single event with me in it, and I loved her deeply anyway.

In the evening, Ed goes off to bike and yes, I do hit the bulbs and plant a whole bunch of them. I don't want to count. I'm sure I'll think I did too few. Nonetheless, I am entering May with a switch of focus -- from energetic prepping and planting, to spot correction, weeding and maintenance. (Well, once I get the rest of the bulbs in!)

with love...