My Kwanzan cherry tree also bloomed yesterday, which was a pleasant anniversary gift. We had removed a gigantic silver poplar from our back yard a couple of years ago (our neighbors cheered - it suckered and fluffed like a cottonwood and was aphid-ridden and just a horrid, invasive tree for everyone), and planted the flowering cherry tree some yards away in its stead. It is covered in pink carnation-like blooms every spring, and is quite beautiful (and doesn't fruit, which I love). Genevieve was sick at home for the second day in a row yesterday (nothing that involved unpleasant bodily functions; just a slight fever and a lot of crankiness). So, I put her into the big hammock in the back yard while I planted and weeded nearby. Poor kiddo was pretty tired and whiny, and conked out for several hours on the family room floor later that day. Sophie (the cocker spaniel) was thrilled that I was home, and laid down in the shade in the yard while I worked. Rough life there, Soph.

I am gambling on our last frost date, and hoping the forecast is correct in terms of no additional freezes this week (we will be to 90% confidence sometime next week), but I couldn't resist putting in our vegetables and a number of new perennials. We'll have tomatoes, beans, carrots, radishes, watermelon, pumpkins, peppers, acorn squash, strawberries, cucumbers, zucchini, lettuce and swiss chard before long - fresh and lovely. I planted a number of shasta daisies, rudbeckia (black eyed susans), centranthus (Jupiter's beard), phlox, penstemon, a viburnum and a climbing rose (and a number of miscellaneous perennials that Genevieve picked out a few days ago at the flower market - "Can we have one of THESE, too, Mommy?" I cannot resist a child holding flowers - how can you possibly say no?). I added rosemary, marjoram, and basil to my herb garden. The kids (especially Eleanor) wanted table grapes, so I bought a vine and need to get a trellis set up for it. It should bear 10-14 pounds of white seedless once it's established.

I had told my father about my gardening plans a few weeks ago, and he commented that my late grandmother Susan would approve, and that I'd be on par with her gardening skills once I knew all of the latin names for everything I planted. I replied that I already knew exactly where I had planted teucrium aroanium, it was keeping it alive that was the challenge. He laughed, and said I got THAT from my mother. (I'm sure she appreciates being associated with plant death, Dad!) So far, I think I managed to move my alcea (hollyhock) and a couple of bunches of achillea (yarrow) without killing them; we'll see if that trend holds!

I was awakened at 5 am this morning by heavy rain on the roof, and the realization that it was back to reality at work today, with plenty of catch up to do after being gone. I suppose I'd better go DO that work now! I'll have time to visit my new plants later.