April Flowers

 

This Amaryllis bulb was a Christmas gift. Tom has been growing it in his greenhouse, and now it is emerging as the most beautiful red! There is a second bud stalk coming when this one is finished with it's show. 

The camellias are finally starting to bloom. This one is from my mother's garden. So long ago now, Tom took a cutting of it from the farm in Oregon, so it is a treasured plant.  

As you can see, I have decorated for Spring/Easter. I'll post more decorations later, but if you remember, you will see that they are the same year after year. 

The roosters came from Sweden and the chickadee bell came from Concord, Mass. Those were from trips way back in the days when we traveled, but they hold memories. 

I am hoping to get outside on April 1st. I am still having a lot of trouble staying upright and dealing with various pains, so let's hope the April Fool doesn't mess with me.

Happy April!

56th Anniversary

Another year has rolled around, each one seeming to pick up speed. March 29th, 2025 marks 56 years of marriage for Tom and I.

  I am happy to report that we still remain best friends. Our partnership is strong, and has seen us through yet another time of recovering and caretaking. 

On Friday the 28th we had a little celebration with our breakfast friends. There was chocolate cake with yellow roses. Our original wedding cake was chocolate too, unusual for that long ago era of 1969. 

This evening we'll go out to dinner, nothing too fancy, and take son Jake with us. Other members of the immediate family are traveling. 

Fifty-six years sounds like a long time, and I guess it is, but if you are fortunate enough for you and your life partner to keep on ticking, it's just one day after another, good days and not so good days , adventurous days and ordinary days, days shared with family and friends, quiet days with just the two of you, until they add up to a long life of days bound by an enduring love. 

A Little Walk In the Park - And in the Garden

It's a beautiful warm sunny day. I thought my PT today should include a walk in the neighborhood park, my first in 2 months. I went to see if the cherry trees are blooming. Not quite. I'll be back.

 Then I had to go find one of my favorite native shrubs, Red Flowering Current. I caught it at it's most glorious stage!

I walked a path through the woods, enjoying the first new green leaves.

I walked .70 of a mile, not that much but good enough for now. I am now 2 months out from my knee surgery.

Back at home, I have been taking walks in my garden. The other day I took photos of a patch of Hellebore seedlings that are finally multiplying. All of these colors came from the seeds of a slingle plant. Helebores do that.

Now I've had a rest and it's time for 25 minutes on my stationary bike, and then some more rest and ice packs.

Tom is doing more tree clean up. This afternoon we are going to a local botanical garden. We have to take advantage on this one beautiful day.

Spring Is Here!

 

Well, I think it's a little past morning now, and it isn't very spring like outside, but we are celebrating anyway, because we made it through the winter and flowers are blooming. 

I bundled up and went out in the misty 45 degree late morning to show you what the first day of Spring is looking like in Reeder Gardens. 

It took a while, but the daffodils are finally opening. Daffodils don't come back well in our garden so I buy a few new bulbs each year. 

Winter blooming cyclamen persist into spring, and the foliage is so pretty.

In the front yard. That maple tree is getting trimmed right now.

And YAY! The trilliums are up and almost in bloom.We have several clumps around the garden and it is always a treat to see them again. 

They were once commonly called WAKE ROBINS!

Spring is here!

Happy St Patrick's Day

 

Happy St Patrick's Day! There are leprechans, shamrocks, and a little pot of gold on my table, thanks partly to breakfast friends. 

The forsythia and acuba from the garden are supplying a big pot of gold. 

Daffodils are blooming everywhere. Mine should start popping open today.

I'm not feeling very lucky or Irish, but I did find a little green to wear, so I won't get pinched. 

Not that I'm going anywhere. It's laundry and house cleaning day, but I'm taking time out to post. I might test out driving a bit, since one of us has to make a run to the grocery store to get some cabbage. It's not for corned beef though, but for pozole. Yes, that's Mexican. I believe in DEI.