Lady in a bath?

Lamprocapnos spectabilis

 

Formerly known as Dicentra, aka: Bleeding heart, Lady in a bath, Venus's car, Dutchman's trousers, Lyre-flower.  Venus's car...hmmm.  By any name, she's doing splendidly.  She was just a stick last spring.  Her perch, a whiskey barrel under the flowering cherry, must suit her 

 

It was a spectacular (spectabilis!) 80 degrees today, and we could practically hear the leaves unfurling, the blooms popping open.  If only we could have a few more days of sun. Alas, rain is once again in tomorrow's forecast.  At least it's warm.  Sort of.

 

Some more lovelies from today's foray into the damp garden:

 

Aquilegia (Columbine) in the herb garden

 

Our new dwarf apple trees in bloom

 

Editor's note:  we apologize for the double-spacing on this post.  We're still learning how to navigate this whole blog thing.  Any tips would be appreciated.

 

Silent Spring

No, not that one!  We're talking about the overly lamb-like spring that refuses to do anything but tip-toe coyly behind the clouds.  It's raining again today, and though we don't pay much mind to statistics, we have had 20 days of "below normal" high temperatures, and, well, lots of overcast days and rain.  Yes, rain is good, very good, but what our peas and spinach and radishes need is sunlight, and plenty of it.  We can provide the water manually, but there's no substitute for the warm yellow light that's been evading us since March 21st.  What to do with the huge tomato starts that wait not-so-patiently on the windowsill?  Must we pull our tiny carrots and sugar snaps out of the plot to make room for the summer giants?