groundhogs be damned.

oh, that was one lovely and productive weekend.

the greenhouse got weeded out (basically, i kicked the freeloading tenant known as the common ivy out) and organized, and the raised beds are set up, awaiting their final dressing of more soil and some seeds.
wanna see?

then we rewarded ourselves with a trip to duke gardens…and we were pleasantly surprised with the colors out there despite the drought:

flowering apricot.

flowering quince.

cardinal holly and a lone forsythia branch.

the bees loved this…i’m not sure what this fragrant, fragile tree is.

smooth sumac, i think. so fiery red.

magnolias were everywhere– all evergreen and wise, having survived plenty of droughts, they’re also very tall and majestic, with long spread-out branches, and it’s easy to find a canopy “inside” the tree.

some stepping stones.

afterwards, the sky looked like this…

while a tangerine thyme popsicle was consumed, and a crossword puzzle finished.

then it got ridiculously cold at night in comparison to the day. february’s a cruel mistress.

Tags: duke gardens, greenhouse, weekend love