Our new house is just wonderful.  So far, no problems we can’t overcome.  The basement room I want to use as a guest room/office needs a coat of paint and a few new ceiling panels.  It also needs a rug and a comfortable chair.  I have the bed in, and my office stuff, and there is still room for a sewing area, and room for a rug and a comfortable chair.  It’s going to be the best guest room ever!

But the outside…that is where I’m finding myself these days.  There are so many wonderful growing things in my new yard.  I know I haven’t discovered them all yet, but I will.  The front of the house has an area where things have been planted, and rocks have been sprinkled in. Among those rocks are Lily of the Valley.  I have not had Lily of the Valley for years.  They are struggling through the rocks, and I’m sure within a couple of years they would take over that area entirely, if I gave them room to grow.  So I will be picking out all the rocks. They are smooth, egg-sized, pretty speckled granite rocks, the kind that are very common here in Colorado.  I’ll use them somewhere else, or I’ll give them away.  So this year the Lily of the Valley will struggle, but next year it should be happier.

Further toward the street are a bunch of leaves.  They are a soft green and fuzzy, but pointed.  I had to ask someone what they were, as I’ve seen big pods on them, as if they are going to bloom soon.  They are poppies.  I don’t think I’ve ever owned poppies.  They should be orange, according to the locals.  Yesterday I went out there with pruning sheers and cut off all the elm sprouts that are coming up from an old trunk.  I am going to have to be diligent.  Since it’s elm, it will never completely grow away, but I can sure make its life difficult!

I have three rose bushes.  Two are bush-style, in decent condition and look like they were pruned last fall.  The third is a climbing rose that is growing next to (but not on) the arbor between the side of the house and the back yard.  I will give it a good pruning this weekend, when I find my leather gloves.  It is sad-looking, but I think it will be okay if I get it trimmed up and tied to the arbor.

I have two apple trees, one in front and one in back.  Both bloomed their heads off the last few weeks; now they are fully leafed out.  The owner says the apples are small, but that’s okay.  It’s something different.  I’ve not had a fruit tree in my yard since I was a kid.

The area behind the patio is almost completely taken over with a giant lilac.  It smells heavenly.  It needs a trim, however, because it is creating a big shade issue on the one patch of ground I would like to use to grow vegetables.  I may not get enough sun there, however, as it is on the east side of the house and shaded in the morning by a gargantuan pine tree.  There is a community garden a block away.  I may just rent a plot there to grow vegetables.

The small garden along the back of the house, which also faces east, was empty.  I planted two healthy peonies, with blooms.  They should do wonderfully back there, and to fill in all that empty space (it is completely weed-free!!) I will plant some zinnias and marigolds, I think.  The ground is in decent shape; the soil is loose with no clay and looks organic enough to support life.  We’ll see.  I might have to add something, but for now we’ll see how it does.

It feels wonderful to get my hands in dirt again, to think I can plant some growing things, and help other growing things along.  I have missed that.  The duplex had no yard to work with, and back in Missouri, my last house had terrible clay soil and just didn’t want to grow anything but crab grass.

It’s spring, and I feel like I’m getting plenty of new starts right about now.  It’s a nice feeling!

I’ve been posting pictures of some of my growing things over on my picture blog, 365.susabelle.com.  Check it out!

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