Playing in the dirt

Our last frost date is May 15th here in Charmed Life land.  That's an important date for gardeners because it's the date that you can pretty safely put tender annuals and garden plants like tomatoes in the garden. Sometimes I throw caution to the wind, like this year. I have plans for May that include travel rather than gardening.

So I made plans to meet Mom at the Mennonite greenhouses in Chickasaw County. This is the fourth or fifth year I've traveled north to purchase my annuals. I still buy annuals locally and all of my perennials here in town. It's important to support our local businesses if we want to have a thriving community.

Still the trip to Mennonite country is so pretty.

Once we arrive in Mennonite country I feel transported back to my childhood.  We passed the country school with children at recess on our way to Deerfield Greenhouse.  As we pulled in we were greeted by the results of wash day.

The greenhouses are vast and the selection is incredible.

There are so many interesting varieties of flowers

If you go, stop at Klunder's Kafe in New Hampton.  They have wonderful, old-fashioned cafe food that will allow you to tromp on forever through all of the greenhouses.

This year we got to just two of the greenhouses before the car was full. There are at least 12 greenhouses so give yourself plenty of time and explore them all.  My favorite two are Deerfield Greenhouse 1517 Cheyenne Ave, Ionia, IA 50645 and K.R Greenhouse, 1505 170th Street Ionia, IA 50645.  All of the greenhouses are open Monday-Friday 8 to 8 and Saturday 8a.m. to 6 p.m. All of the greenhouses are closed on Sunday. 

I was so glad Mom agreed to meet me.  First because I was looking forward to spending an entire weekend with her shopping and gardening.  We're at our best together when we can work on a project together.  Second I'd taken a spill or two (two actually, but who's counting?) on the tennis court  injuring my back.  I was trying to dodge a ball and gain a point for my team when I took the first tumble. I may have the smallest competitive streak, hardly worth mentioning, really. Wanting to win the point, landing hard on the cement court beat losing.  See? Just the tiny tiniest competitive streak. The second fall happened when my legs wouldn't work because of the first fall.  Three chiropractic visits later I can do some really terrific things like stand, sit, walk and almost sleep.

Without all of Mom's help, I don't know how I would have gotten all 13 pots planted.

Mom hard at work.

The girls at K.R Greenhouse were especially sweet to help us carry everything to the car.

...READ MOR

Here's the load we hauled home.  Here's what it looked like in the pots

Full sun pot

Shade pots

And after a week, they look like this!

Shade

Sun

Speaking of wonderful mother's, if you haven't found the perfect gift for your mother yet, Here's a book I highly recommend

Gardens of Awe and Folly by Vivian Swift

I fell in love with Miss Swift's work with her first and one of my lifetime top 10 favorite books:

When Wanders Cease to Roam

Gardens of Awe and Folly is a romp through 10 gardens around the globe that each give off a unique vibe.  If your mother likes to garden or likes to travel she'll love this journey through beautiful watercolors of a Japanese style garden, a garden in New Orleans, Paris, Marekesh, Key West, Edinburgh, London, Long Island and Rio de Janeiro.

If you fall in love with Ms. Swift's sense of whimsy and joy de verve as I have, you can also catch her weekly at her blog which she dispenses life wisdom and lets us watch and learn from her weekly watercolor painting sessions.

And while you're ordering, Awe and Folly for your mom, order When Wanders Cease to Roam.  You won't be sorry. Or order her second book, 

Le Road Trip. 

The weather was "hot" over the weekend before the roller-coaster ride that is spring in the Midwest took us in for a big temperature dive mid-week.  And so spring got all fancied up. It's like drinking from a fire hose with everything blooming and then fading so quickly.  Though the cool temperatures irritate Prince Charming,

I was glad to see cooler temperatures so that everything could just slow down a bit. Besides it gave us an excuse to light another fire and spend an evening reading. See that book next to Prince Charming? Yep, it's the Gardens of Awe and Folly! A perfect read on a cool spring evening in front of the fire.

 Here's what's blooming in the garden this week:

Magnolia

Crab Apple

Red Bud

and the most exciting, aromatic, lovely of all

Lilacs!!

Enjoy this lovely spring weather with all of the good and beautiful flowers spring heaps upon us. Our cups truly over flow with abundance.  Take care of each other until we meet again next week.