April Bloom Day

I have been absent from the blog for a couple of weeks. I suppose the freezing and raining and snowing in April just had me down. But! Waking up this morning to 45 degree weather, warming up into the 60s this afternoon really helped my mood! What a day for Bloom Day! I wasn't able to get to the Farm today (I live about 60 miles south) but Julie & Mom (GramaHoot) sent pictures so I could make one post instead of 3 separate ones. It felt so good to get outside again. It was a little on the wet side, but it was just solid enough that I didn't sink in the mud. I was able to get all my front beds weeded, and of course ~ I was able to take pictures for BLOOM DAY!

Daffodils were in bloom today at the Farm. They started blooming at my house just before March Bloom Day, and are still blooming today.

You can see the daffodils at my house in the background of the Grape Hyacinth that were open in full glory today!

The Grape Hyacinth were blooming at the Farm as well, and are adorable surrounding the rooster statue!

The white Narcissus blooms were sparkling today at the Farm.

All 3 of us had Creeping Phlox open today. This nice lavender (left) is Mom's, from the Farm.

This paler blue Creeping Phlox (right) is mine. It's been in bloom for about 3 weeks now, and is a little muddy from all the rain that we've had this past week.

Julie's Creeping Phlox (left) is blue as well, and seemingly unaffected by mud. Hmm... maybe my dogs had something to do with my mud splatters.

While I do try to eradicate dandelions, I always leave a few violets (right) in the lawn. They remind me of my Great Grandma, whose shady side yard was full of violets all spring and summer.

Julie also has violets in her yard, and they were blooming today as well. (left) I just love the variety in violet blossoms!

Now, I did say I TRY to eradicate dandelions. But, it just wouldn't be April without a few of these. Actually, I tend to be a little bit fond of dandelions. After all, they're the only flower that my children have free-reign on making into bouquets for me.

Another 'kid-friendly' plant in my yard is the strawberry. I have strawberries in almost every flower bed in my yard. I allow my children to eat them, and it keeps them very close (out of the road) while we're working in the garden. They were VERY excited to see the blossoms on the strawberries this morning!

Isn't this a cutie?! (right) I don't know his name, as he came to me unlabeled from an auction of a nursery that went out of business. The pretty blue flowers are each smaller than a dime, and the whole plant is maybe 3" to 4" tall. If you know his name, please speak up!

Now, this obviously isn't a bloom, (left) but we're just so excited about the peonies this year! We have several new varieties that we haven't seen bloom yet, and they're full and lush already this year. We love 'meeting' the newbies!

Mom's pretty vinca is in bloom today. I love the soothing periwinkle color of this flower!

Despite all the crazy weather and late freezes, the Red Peach tree came through and is in bloom today!

The Red Bud tree (right) is coming along nicely!

The lilac (left) isn't in bloom yet, but has started to bud out quite well.

Also making it through the freezes unscathed are the plum trees, whose pretty white blossoms sing out in the landscape.

This landscape shot (left) that Mom took at the Farm today shows forsythia, crabapple trees, and pear trees all in bloom.

A close-up of the peach blossom taken by Julie on the Farm today. I love how pretty this little blossom is!

Now that you've seen all the blooms we have here at Painted Acres Farm, feel free to leave your comments, and make sure to go visit Carol at MayDreams Gardens for much more Bloom Day fun!

Spring Cleanup

This weekend has been beautiful in our little corner of the planet! Although the forecast said we'd have thunderstorms, they ended up holding off and we had plenty of sunshine. Today, the temperature was up to 74 F, and we were able to get much of our spring cleanup accomplished. I noticed that my rose bush has gone from buds to leaves in the last few days!

My daffodils, which had been in bud last weekend, were in glorious full bloom today! My son even picked one just for me.

My cannas, which curiously enough winter over here in Missouri, are starting to put up shoots.

My hostas are also up - this one has leaves, several other types are only nubs. The pink stick is just a popsicle stick colored with a marker. My 4-yr old son helped me mark all the flowers so he will know not to pick them when he helps me with the weeding.

I found a volunteer hollyhock next to the fence. I think he'll be staying - I'll have to remind Jeremy not to hit it with the string trimmer!

And, here are the peonies! Just zooming right into spring, starting to unfurl just the tiniest bit!

And, lastly: I filled and started my fountain! I just love the sound of the running water coming through the open windows in the spring time. When the weather turns hot enough to force me to turn on the air conditioner, I really miss this sound. And the sound of the windchimes. Here's a close-up.

Newspaper Pots

I saw this video tutorial on eHow teaching how to make seed-starting pots from newspaper earlier today and decided to give it a try!




Instead of a drinking glass, I used an old empty prescription pill bottle - about 1.5 inches diameter. Accordingly, I only used half a sheet of newspaper instead of a whole one. Here are my results! Although making as many pots as I wanted proved to be a bit tedious, I was surprised at how well they stayed together. They were quite wobbly while empty, though.

Once they were filled with soil and watered in, I was able to straighten them up nicely, and they seem to be sturdy enough to do the trick! I'll let you know how they turn out. Here's a close-up:

Daffodils are in bud!

While out enjoying the mid-60 degree weather, I discovered a very happy thing: My daffodils have buds!! I checked around and found several other garden residents starting to show up for spring: The Stella d'Oro daylilies are poking through last year's leaves, the rose bush has some tiny buds, and the red shoots of the peony are showing. Being without crocus as I happen to be, the daffodils are my harbingers of spring. A truly happy day!

Are your tools ready for spring?

Here on the farm, we are all anxious to get out into the sunshine. Winter is about to shed her mantle of cold and wind and change into the warm breezes of spring. Now is the time to get back in touch with our shovels, trowels and hoes. We're making sure the handles are stong and the ends are sharp and ready for use. Hope y'all will be ready for that first warm and sunny afternoon back in our gardens!

Crop Counting

One aspect of gardening that is is new to us since we started offering our flowers commercially is Crop Counting. While we may have gone around in early spring to find evidence of flowers making it through the winter, it was never mandatory, and there was no accuracy issue. We could always check back later to see if a hole needed filling. We now find ourselves in the midst of the crop counting process!

Now that the plants have begun to green up, we will be in the fields counting them to update our availability amounts on our website as weather permits. Don't be surprised or alarmed if the numbers available change from day to day as you browse the site. This process may continue well into April.

Be on the Lookout for Dwarf Iris!

In just a few short weeks, look for the Standard Dwarf Iris varieties to begin blooming! We look for them between the 1st to 15th of April in northwest Missouri - maybe earlier on extra warm years. Watch for them when you see daffodils or forsythia in bloom!

Is your ground starting to thaw?

Ours finally is. Now is the time to go through your beds and find any plants that have been pushed above ground level by the winter process of heaving. Re-set those plants at a proper planting depth when your soil is workable to give them their best chance to perform at bloom season. After all, no matter how much we like to dig in the dirt, it’s the blooms that make it all worthwhile!

Gardening with Dogs

I have two dogs, whose names are Tonka and Bandit. Tonka is a female Great Pyrenees and Bandit is a male Border Collie/Australian Shepherd mix. While these two animals may be wonderful companions and fabulous with the kids, they really are nothing but destructive where gardening is concerned. Bandit is a 'chewer' and Tonka is a 'smotherer' (she lays on the most lush plant she can find.) Therefore, I have confined most of my gardening adventures to my front yard, which is quite small compared to my back yard. I have three flower beds in the back, one being a rock garden that I had hoped would keep Tonka from laying on all my shade plants. Alas, she taught Bandit to lay on them instead because he fits in the spaces better. Another bed in the backyard is full of plants that are more prolific. I have some Four O'Clocks there that come back from seed each year, some iris that have managed to survive, Salvia that seems to be offensive to Bandit, and a couple of Stella D'Oro daylilies. The dogs run through, dig in and lay in this bed at will, but amazingly it usually still looks nice. The third bed is a complete disaster. I made the colossal mistake of placing the bed in a nice, sunny spot next to the house. What I didn't know is that Tonka spends her afternoons napping in the sun in this very spot. All the daylilies I have planted in this bed are dead or pathetic, and the bushes have all been chewed to the point of oblivion. Somehow, I can't seem to give up the idea of having flowers in this spot, so I continue to try, year after year, to get something to grow.