Nature Friday: Somewhere that's green

After a long, cold, lonely winter, I am back taking walks and supervising my parents' yard work, which means I have put on my newsman vest and am giving an early Nature Friday report. 

Each of our gardens is named after an angel who once lived with my parents. There is the Blake garden in front, the long River butterfly garden on the side, Foley’s Saint Anthony garden at the top of the driveway, the little Pocket garden behind that, and in the back, the Rose garden, which,  a long time from now, will be named for me.

We start with the Blake Garden, named after my parents’ first dog together, a Shih Tzu, who served as a role model for Foley, who would go on to be a role model for the world. 

There isn’t much going on in Blake’s Garden right now. It has been freshly mulched, and I heard on the Bloom Rumor Line that they are planning for a fabulous late May show.

River’s garden is freshly mulched and has some cool new toys in it. There is a water can that lights up at night, connected to another solar light, that was supposed to look like a fireworks but stopped working. The watering can share its light so they can both sparkle.

River also asked for a solar butterfly wind chime, which we provided for her, so we can see the butterflies all day and night; a metal windmill that expands and contracts when the wind blows, and an orange gaze ball, that frankly, does nothing for me.

River’s garden gets a lot of sun, so it has to have special plants. It is a good spot for ground cover. The Moss phlox is thriving and ready to grab more living space. 

The common speedwell is at the end of River’s garden, near the road, a heart plant that gives the residents some beauty as they drive slowly around the village trying to remember where they live. 

The highlight of River’s garden, the twin Butterfly bushes, are beginning to thrive, after being cut back in March. 

In Foley’s garden, it has been expanded to include the two fern trees, that have had their lower branches removed because it tends to, like Foley, overshadow anything smaller and more delicate

. 

The moss phlox here is looking beautiful. Saint Anthony is out for the season. There is a solar light at Saint Anthony's base that causes him to be lit in the dark. The cats have adopted him as their savior and after midnight they genuflect in front of him until dawn.

There isn’t much happening in the yet-to-be-mulched Pocket garden and my Rose garden but I am predicting big things in the coming weeks.

Thank you for taking a tour of my pre-blooms. Hopefully, the next time I report they will be stunning.