First Bloom

Our First Iris

This morning Steve and I went outside and noticed our first ever iris had bloomed. My coworker gave me these irises after last year’s season, so we didn’t even know what color to expect until today. This is a very nice variety and hope we get several more blooms from this season and even more in future years.

It’s been such a great weekend to be outside and spending time with family. Steve and I had many adventures this weekend, including eating out (we hit Margaret Kuo’s and Susanna Foo’s . . . yay for spicy tofu!), visiting Spool and Loop downtown, shopping, and going on long walks. I even had the chance to work on some projects and bought lots of supplies for future ventures.

I can’t wait to have a few grad-school-free weeks coming up and am really looking forward to our upcoming weekend plans.

Spring is Beginning to Blossom

Well,  I have some good news: my PURPLE crocuses are in bloom! Here’s a picture of one of them from last year.

The First Sign of Spring!

Hopefully we’ll get to work on the yard in the next few weeks. We’ve got plenty of ideas for it.

A Beautiful Day

Wow! We had such a gorgeous day today!

Spring (well, we’re not quite there yet, but you know what I mean) is such a great time of year. For a significant number of weeks after the last deep freeze of winter, every nice day outside is worth a comment. Considering our snow storm on Monday, it is absolutely amazing to have sixty-degree plus temperatures in less than a week.

Steve and I took full advantage of the beautiful day by taking a long walk. It was stimulating to have fresh air in the lungs and be around other people just as excited for the nice weather. I even saw crocuses blooming throughout the neighborhood, which gives me hope that my own spring bulbs will bloom soon.

We’re in full garden-planning mode now and are coming up with lots of ideas for our modest plot. My coworker gave me a lilac bush to contribute to our building up the yard. I just need to dig a big hole to plant it and find some other companion shrubs at a local nursery. However, despite the mild temperatures this weekend, I know we’re still susceptible to some more of the white stuff!

Garden Splendor

A few days ago, Steve and I went with my parents to Longwood Gardens, as I mentioned in a previous post. We had a great time at the conservatory, which displayed holiday-themed flowers and other related accessories (like trees, cranberries, and holiday lights). My favorite flower was the Eggnog Poinsettia, which I forgot to photograph. However, I did manage to get some nice shots of other displays at Longwood, which I have posted here.

Out of the House

After several days of lounging at home, my parents, Steve, and I have decided to venture outdoors. In the next hour or so we’ll be headed to Longwood Gardens, one of my favorite Philadelphia destinations. I can’t wait to be immersed in flowers! Longwood has the most beautiful indoor flower displays, which offer a great pick-me-up for these colder months.

I enjoyed yesterday’s quietness, and we played lots of Boggle and Scrabble and watched many football games. I think it’s always important to spend New Year’s Day resting. It should be a quiet and peaceful day.

We have many activities planned for the next few days and I look forward to finish sewing my mom’s new purse. We purchased a new Amy Butler purse pattern and I can’t wait to see the project completed!

Our Summer Garden

Summer Garden 2008

Summer Garden 2008

Steve and I ripped out the last of the summer annuals this weekend and replaced them with a scarecrow and some mulch.

While I didn’t remember to take a picture of the garden in its full glory in August, here are a few pics of the late September garden. Like last year, we had great success with the marigolds. We also had good luck with zinnias, impatiens, and petunias. We had a nice balance of color.

We’ve also really worked on our perennials this year, and will have spring bulbs, lavender, day lillies, irises, hostas bloom next year, and hopefully our boxwood bush will survive the winter!