Gardening Around The Dovecote

 This flower container is along the picket fence leading to our dovecote. The pansies surprised me by coming up again this year along with the pink phlox behind them. The phlox won't bloom until mid-summer, but they'll be more than 2 feet tall and fill the air with their sweet scent.

 This is the view from the other side of our front porch. The front porch wraps around two sides of our home. The grape arbor has 2 seats under it and provides a very cool shady spot to sit in on hot summer days. At the end of the fence, upper left of the photo, is the dovecote my husband built me.

 I have 2 chickens in the dovecote too. They clean up the dropped seed and keep things interesting.

 I just finished cleaning up the flower beds around the doves. This year I set aside a week on my calendar to catch up on spring cleaning in the garden. The past few years have been hit & miss and our gardens have suffered. My husband has worked so hard to make the flower beds and herb garden for me and I want him to know I do appreciate his hard work. Tending the gardens is the best way to show that.

 I love the way this bird bath seems to emulate the scallops of the Lady's Mantle growing around its base. Lady's Mantle is named after the Virgin Mary. Dew and raindrops in the leaves look like pearls, and on very misty mornings each leaf looks like it has jewels all around it. The drops often reflect eye-piercing rainbow colors when rays of sunshine hit them.

 Hostas & blue Lithodora.

The weather is so beautiful, especially now that it has warmed up. There are new blossoms and baby birds everywhere. Hummingbirds & butterflies too. Spring has finally arrived around here !