Discoveries around the Yard

I've been hearing stories about how the previous owner was so particular about the yard/grounds and was always out working around the yard. That said, I was expecting to have all kinds of surprises popping up as the ground warmed up. There are garden beds all along the perimeter of the yard. That said, except for one side where we're putting in the vegetable garden, there really hasn't been that much floral activity in the yard. Lots of hostas, but I'm not that crazy about them. Here are some pictures of what's come up:


I'm really excited about the great peony bush. There are tons of beautiful pale pink flowers. I've already cut some and had them around the house!


















There is a wonderful Clematis plant that gets bigger every day. It's starting to get a bit crowded out by the other plants but so far is holding it's own. Right now it's still green, just starting to get flower buds. Once it's in full bloom, I'll post pictures of that too! I wonder what color it will be? I'm particularly fond of the deep purple ones, but we'll have to wait and see...

Early on I had two plants come up that by their spacing were obviously flowers. As they grew, they looked more and more like something out of 'Little Shop of Horrors'. Very strange, I'd never seen these plants before. What could they be? Are these going to be something I'd like??

Turns out these are poppy plants. I realized I don't think I've ever seen poppies growing. According to one of my co-workers, poppies only bloom once and the foliage is pretty ugly before and after blooms, but can be cut down. Unfortunately this year, just as the blooms were opening, we got several days of heavy rain that washed all the petals away. Good thing I got these pictures when I did. And there is still the other plant to bloom yet. That one is a bit slower than the first.

Springtime on Lenester Drive

Well, spring has arrived and there's lots to do outside with our new home. Our first summer on Lenester Dr. First step was to get the pool opened. There were a few rips in the winter cover, so the water was quite a mess when we first took it off.

A visit from the local pool company helped to get things in order.

Here are some pics of my great pool guy...

And here is his supervisor keeping an eye to make sure everything is done right... as he lays down on the job.