Mothers' Day Tour of Gardening Things (Posted Later...)

Does this offering by THAT squirrel (the one who races me to the hazelnuts each fall) mean he views me as his mother?

The main clump of bloodroot, looking a tad sparse this year.  Does it have anything to do with my Handsome Son digging the calla bulbs I had planted there last fall when I could not dig and store, and now can not find?

I was worried that my weeping crabapple 'Red Jade' would not bloom this spring, but it does indeed have buds.

A self-seeded hepatica in the hosta bed, which seems to becoming more of a magnet for tiny woodland ephemerals planted by the ants.

The pagoda dogwood, a native in my front yard.  Typically an understory tree, or edge of the forest tree, iit is right at home in the dapples shade of the white pine.

The 'Songbird' mix of columbine are coming up.  I transplanted seedlings I had grown here late last summer.  I also grew some delphiniums and placed them in the long border and they also survived the long, winter.

The Great bloodroot exodus...those tiny ant gardeners are at it again.  There is bloodroot blooming in lots of different places in my yard, none of which I planted, except for my main clump.

I thought I might have lost my sea oats grass, but no.  Finally, I can see it is coming.

Also, I can now see that 10 of (recounted) 12 clematis are alive.  The two I am still on the ropes with are both of the subspecies texensis.  That can't be a coincidence.  They are either both dead or both slow to emerge.

So what is decidedly dead?  (I am not talking won't bloom this year, that is yet to be seen.) For sure, among the dead is my large Korean boxwood, euonymus fortunei, rose 'Blaze', rose 'Eden', and probably the lavender and Japanese cypress.  The last two are sad losses.  I enjoyed having them in my garden.  I don't see them here in retail often.

It has been a beautiful day to work in the garden, but I am not up to the task.  I spent numerous hours yesterday (Saturday) with my nephews, some of those rototilling the garden, smoothing the soil and planting 2 rows of corn and half a row of beans and half a row of peas.  I am afraid I am worse for it.  Rototilling and raking works muscles in the area muscles have not been moving a lot the last few months.  It did get me to lengthen my stride, and lift my feet, all good; but there is often a price to be paid these days-- nearly complete muscle exhaustion the next day.  The good news, I can rototill.  The good new/bad news: Wow!  What a workout!

Also, Baby Gardener (age 2) planted his first seeds (beans and peas), his five years old brothers teaching him how.  When he dropped some brown bean seeds, and I said to pick them up, he was willing and looked, but told me, "too dark, can't find them." We will all know where those seeds are in a few days.  His twin older brothers are now experienced gardeners, asking when the pepper and tomato transplants will be ready to plant."  One of the twins planted every pepper last year, from digging the hole, to removing the transplant from its container.  To borrow a phrase: "Each on, teach one."