Here at Colehaus, the mini daffodils are sometimes the first flower to bloom. Of all the daffodils we used to have, these little ones are hanging on and make us very happy that they continue to wag their heads no at nibbling voles and that past reckless sprinkler repairman. JKP, we’re looking at you.

But this year, the wild sweet Violets gave the mini Daffodils a run for the main show. Mom’s decided to move most of these to an area at the back of the garden in hopes they’ll eventually take over a flower-hating neighbor’s yard. Kidding!!! (Or maybe not.)

Enough about the yard. When will the warms be here??

We thought Spring was coming in early at the end of February but you know how Mother Nature can be. The good thing is that half the yard cleanup is done. The bad thing is, the other half isn’t going to happen anytime soon. We’re getting loads of rain at last. Can’t garden or cleanup too much in mud, Mom says.

Here’s two cats who have the right idea. Napping the day(s) away on warming mats. Who wouldn’t want to do that? But what else would they do? Can’t see them outside weeding alongside Mom, can you?

This is a sad daylily, one of Mom’s favorites. It had to be permanently moved when we had that great arbor built last year. Unfortunately, Mom doesn’t have space for it, absolutely nowhere and she carved out this sad location for it. Oh sure, it’s coming up, but she knows its unhappy in this location.

This is where that sad daylily used to live, next to its friend the ornamental grass and where the large rocks are. The large rocks now cover a drainage pipe and a foot or more of gravel for necessary water runoff that was discovered to be a problem when that arbor was being built. No chance of that daylily returning to this location. Once it stops raining, Mom’s determined to find some nearby area to relocate that daylily. With the garden fairly well squeezed for space, this will be an adventure. That’s what she’s calling it, using finger quotes around the word “adventure.”

Millie says hey! It’s breeding season and mamas-to-be are looking for warm, dry places to have their kits. We’re pretty sure Millie is one of those. We haven’t seen her since very early March but heard the commotion of a visiting male in late February. We hope to see her again and if she does have kits, she might come around with them in late May or June. We’re sure someone will bring their kits to visit as they have for the past 20-plus years. We will not encourage her kits learning Millie’s shoe-touching behavior.

Of all the primroses, these are the only ones that remain. Mom bought one small pot of these at the very last garden show she attended back in 2007 and they’ve grown beautifully and have been divided several times since.

Another one of Mom’s favorites and one of only two tall daffodil patches we have left. She says if she could, she’d have dozens of this variety alone. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be a long lived daffodil, but then again, that’s what new varieties are for.

Now these tulips, amazingly enough, seem to have a much longer lifespan. Or maybe that’s because they were planted under a cedar bush and maybe voles and moles aren’t friends with cedars which stands to reason why they wouldn’t hang around waiting for these tulips to come up.

Last summer, Mom gave away 200 or more grape hyacinth bulbs and she was positively giddy over it. Grape hyacinths, while pretty and awesome for bees, will TAKE OVER YOUR PROPERTY in just a matter of a few years. Fair warning. We’ll always have some, because by this point, it’d just be wrong not to have one, two or a hundred pop up, so look forward to us continue to complain about them for years to come.

Lastly, that pretty greenhouse-grown, probably a bloom one time then throw away Cyclamen bought by Dad for Mom years ago and made a successful transition to our shade-lovin’ flower bed full time, is doing wonderful. Hazelnut shells sprinkled around its base keeps most of the slugs away and provides good mulch for cold weather (Mom covers it only if snow’s promised). No one was more shocked than us that this plant has done so well and for as often as it blooms, which is very often, it’s a happy sight when visiting that area of the yard.

That’s all that’s going on around here this month. Mom’s looking forward to getting the yard the rest of the way in shape, and we’re looking forward to see if anyone new visits us this spring. Maybe some old faces will return? It could happen!

~ ~ ~

A Colehaus Cats flashback:

2025 – No post
2024 – To Care or Not to Care
2023 – Sleepy Time
2022 – No post
2021 – No post
2020 – Fibs or Secrets
2019 – No post
2018 – No post
2017 – MultiCat Monday
2016 – No post
2015 – More Interruptions
2014 – No post
2013 – Working Wednesday – Branching Out
2012 – No post