Welcome Spring, Please Stay A While!

I hope each of you are enjoying this Good Friday with your family and friends.  Nick flew in from his Las Vegas "boys' trip" late yesterday afternoon, so our little family is back together again.  After reading my dear friend, Taryn's, blog on her garden, I thought I would post a few pictures of our yard.  Most of you know, I love gardening. You can read about it here, here, and here.  It is truly one of  my very favorite hobbies.  There is just something incredibly peaceful about digging in dirt and watching something flourish.  I think of plants like my pets and try to do the best I can to take care of them.  That being said...Winter was tough on our flower bed.  I planted pansies in October and really thought that even through all the snow, they would flourish.  Well, I was wrong.  After the snow melted away and it started to warm up, my pansies looked awful! Thankfully, with a little sunshine, a little food , a little water and lots of love; they are starting to bloom again!

I was so incredibly pleased when our spring bulbs actually started to come up and bloom!  Last Fall was my first time planting bulbs.  I worried that I would not plant them the right direction!  What if I planted them upside down!?  They would never come up!  Luckily the white, purple and pink Hyacinth flowers decided to make an appearance!

The Crocus bulbs also decided to debut this year!

Last year, we had a late spring BLIZZARD!   You read that correctly, it was late April with a full blizzard.It was severe enough to cancel school.  Gotta love the Texas Panhandle!  To be on the safe side, I wait until mid May to plant Impatiens, Begonias and Caladiums.   So until then, our Pansies, Hyacinth and Crocus will have to hold down the fort in the flower bed until their summer cousins join them.
Although, I just cannot handle a bare porch!  I have to add a little bit of spring time.

I love these yellow Amstel Begonias!  They are just like sunshine!  This is a guess and test run with them!

Pansies are such a perfect Fall and early Spring standard!

I also found these wonderful mini Pansies!

I had a Wandering Jew basket that just did phenomenal last year...I am hoping for the same result with this one!

I love this Dew Plant!  It has tiny pink flowers on it!

My favorite basket thus far, a SunPatien basket in a Deep Rose color!

All of these are always a "guess and test." I don’t care how much one reads, what grows where, etc.; I firmly believe some things work, some things don’t and experimentation is what gets you the the beauty spot!  Hopefully this will hold us over until it is really time to get to work!  Thanks to Texas weather, the baskets are in my entry way tonight and a sheet is covering the pots outside.  It might get down to freezing temperatures tonight...lovely.
Oh, I can't believe I forgot to show you the prettiest little flower of all!  She just keeps growing and growing and growing!

Wishing you and your family a blessed Easter!