Early Garden Photos

I thought it would be good (for me) to take some photos of how our garden areas progress throughout the season of spring and summer this year.  These were all taken on March 23.

Above, we cleared out half of the lily bed to make room for an herb garden.  I hand-tilled the area last weekend and will probably plant the herb plants and seeds in a few weeks if it looks like we will continue having warm weather.  I'm going to plant basil, thyme oregano, mint, catnip, parsley and cilantro.  I think I'll throw in a tomato plant too.  The lilies still remaining in the bed haven't bloomed yet so I think I'm going to let them bloom first then dig them up a little at a time and plant elsewhere.

The next two photos are just showing the beginning of the season.  I've already hung two hummingbird feeders anticipating an early return this year due to the mild winter.

This is my compost bin with something growing out the side.  My guess is the pumpkin or other gourds I threw in there last winter.  I'm going to try to rescue them and transplant somewhere.

This is a shot out towards the back of the yard.  It's the new Royal Star magnolia tree we planted recently.  It blooms in early spring and the flowers are a little different than the standard magnolia trees.  Their petals are more like daisies and smell really good.

This is the crape myrtle Dad gave me a few years ago.  It was just a little tiny thing when I planted it and look how it's grown!  The leaves are just now starting to bud out.

This little guy is the cherry tree Dad also gave me.  It was about 6 inches tall when I got it two years ago and it has survived and is doing quite well this year.  It didn't have any flowers this year but appears to be healthy and has grown since last year.