Early In The Garden

Hello Friends! I hope the spring weather is being good to you! Early spring is a mild time of the year in Central New Mexico for us. Albuquerque is in the high desert. Warmer and dryer than Santa Fe and Northern NM year round. It's invigorating to finally see some green and bloom here before the real heat sets in.

The sunny front of our little brown house just bakes in the summer. There is a bit of ivy clinging to the shady north wall, and it's easy enough to keep a few potted flowers going out here throughout the season if you stay on top of things. So far this purple delphinium is doing very well.

I like to keep a couple of mixed flower pots alive at the front entrance. The location assures that they get attention the minute they need it. For me it's "out of sight, out of mind" when it comes to growing things!

 

The rest of this front area is xeriscape and gravel which is encouraged in this arid part of the country.

But step through the garden gate and we have a little different story. . . .

Tall poplar trees and grass provide a substantially cooler environment just a few steps away.

It was  a busy visiting weekend for us to kick off all the warm weekends to come, so I did just a bit of easy dressing up of a few sitting areas around the lawn ahead of time.

We got our first rose in bloom on May Day just in time for the weekend. Tea roses are pretty leggy, but the scent is divine!

I keep a few pots in the rose bed for interest and ease, and to fill things out. I love vintage garden urns and pots and buckets and cans. They get tucked in everywhere!

This one got a bit of alyssum tucked inside.

The rest of the roses are all in bud. One of my old favorite trellises is on it's last legs, having already lost its top portion. I found it in very vintage condition to begin with. 

The first peace rose of the season!

The cement urns and watering cans, and most of the outdoor furniture are flea market finds. One of my favorite things to hunt for!

Still a few cement pots to fill!

Love old garden gates and fences too! They keep things interesting when there's not much growing.

The delphinium did so well out front that I got another one! Love it in white. And this chippy old pot is another flea market find. I have managed to collect quite a few over time.

Vintage metal garden chairs are great to mix and match. . . .

A little Marguerite daisy is popping up from last year. So cheery!

And another garden table standing by when needed....

A little boxwood shrub is drought tolerant and easy care, but also gives a little height to this bed too. For this weekend I merely plopped it in a pot with it's platic nursery pot, but it will do better planted in permanently.

We had a couple of visiting dogs running through the yard with our human visitors. And Bocce Ball is a sort of ongoing thing this time of year.

And the viburnum is blooming! Too bad we can't have snowballs all year long!

It will be green and coolish for another month before the serious heat sets in. But even after the spring bloom is over, the early mornings and evenings are a luscious time of day to sit out on the lawn under the trees and listen to the birds.

Many happy May Days to you!

Jacqueline