Sweet Saturday -- sweet garden

Thought I'd do a quick garden post after the questions in the comments on yesterday's post about my garden.  And because I think gardens are pretty sweet, I'm joining in with Sweet Saturdays today.

There's nothing quite like the spring garden.  Each little shoot and bud brings so much joy.  But the spring garden can also look quite barren.  Many of the perennials haven't started growing and everything is so small and low.  I always feel a need to fill up the garden in springtime and have to remind myself to wait for the plants to fill out.  The garden is also pretty messy in springtime.  Mud, mud, mud.  Detritus from last year.  I have a lot more work to do in the garden, but although it's somewhat sunny and warm today, it's also really muddy from all our rain.  I squished around out there for a bit, taking advantage of the sunshine to snap some photos.  Not the best light, a bit harsh and hazy, but I'm not complaining.  I'll take any sunshine I can get.

With the cool weather the forsythia have kept their flowers for a long time.

 We have a few huge forsythia bushes in the yard and they're so bright when they bloom.

Lots of yellow in the garden right now.

And some flashes of purple, too.

Including some surprise violets.  They've invaded quite a few of my garden spaces, but I'm happy to have them.

Even if they are considered weeds.

Our lilac tree will be blooming soon.

Adding even more purple, and its lovely fragrance.

But you can see that there's still a lot of brown everywhere.

I have 30-some roses in my garden and I'm happy to see that they all made it through the winter and are putting out beautiful new growth.

 

You probably noticed the bottles in those pictures.  My bottle borders make me happy!  Although we do like our wine, many of our bottles were donated by friends and family.  And some of the blue bottles held sparkling water before they were emptied in aid of garden decoration.

In addition to the borders, the bottles were also used between boards in some of our other edging.

A great way to recycle.  They've really held up, too.  The glass is very strong.  None have broken and they've been in the garden a number of years already.

The rhubarb is growing quite well.  It's a bit to early to pick some, but I am tempted by those glowing red stems.

The gooseberry bush is also beautiful right now with its bright green leaves.

It will be quite a while before the berries will be ready to eat.

Another part of my garden that always brings me joy is the entryway into the main part of the backyard.

You can't see it in this photo, but you have to walk through a sort of tunnel.  On those arches I've planted clematis and roses.  When the garden gets going a little more it will be so beautiful. 

Ok, I could talk about gardens all day long, but this post is already more than long enough.  I hope your Saturday is sweet and that if you're celebrating this weekend that you are enjoying spending time with friends and family!