Spring has sprung, the shades of green are as beautiful as can be. The spring bulbs are out in full force and looking great. The tulips, daffodils, hyacinths & jonquils are just stunning. The color palette is beholding of an artist’s brush strokes. But with all the beauty comes the work that every gardener can relate to. Raking, trimming, reappointment of plantings, placement of “tchochkes” throughout the gardens, sprucing up with fresh coats of paint. The hours are endless but oh so fulfilling. It is amazing how you can be working outside for hours on end and not realize how quickly the time passes. But the knees, back and arms are very unforgiving when rest periods are too short or not existant. But  we make Motrin our best friend along with the tart cherry powder. Every day we plant our feet on the ground and forge forward. We have done some new things in the garden we have planted (in cement) 3 new plant holders which look like giant crosses with some Victorian Fret work on them in the formal garden and 1 on the upper level on the curve going to the fish pond this one also has had a light attached to it. They look stunning and really add a new dimension to the gardens. I have resurrected an iron table & chair that came from the family home on Long Island. I have given it a new coat of bright orange paint and placed a lime colored flower pot in the seat of the chair for some shade plantings of coleus & impatiens. The table has a piece of lattice cut to fit and has been placed over a mound of daylillies which will act as a support as the lillies grow up. My thought was the table will then look like a table a lillies. I hope it works. This has been added to the the mound in the front shade garden. Our cleaning process has taken us from the driveway garden to the red garden, through the shade garden around the burm and stonewall garden. We have also finished the entire upper level of the formal garden and layed new layer of buckwheat hull mulch which looks great an gives such a nice stately appearance to the whole picture. Today we are going to work on the lower level we will be removing the net lighting from the alberta spruces to trim the boxwood then replacing the net lighting on the outside of the boxwood hedge. We will weed throughout the area of the vegetable garden and get ready to lay some new pine bark mulch. We have another light to install in the lower level by the gate. Draining the fish pond and reflecting pool and getting them cleaned out will be the next saga of the gardening prep. Once we get the reflecting pool emptied we will let it dry get it painted and filled up. That is always a exciting time as there is nothing like hearing the sounds of water while gardening. It brings such a peaceful ambience and has a wonderful way of drowning out the sounds of the neighborhood we prefer not to hear.  We also will be moving the 9ft watering can fountain to the driveway garden to give that area a new focal point. When that is all done we can sit back and relax for about a day or two and get right into the greenhouse growing season. No rest for the gardeners once the sun starts shining. So wish us well pray our knees, back and hands stay healthy and we will keep the updates coming. Enjoy spring it comes but once a year. TTFN