Spring has Sprung!

I know the calendar says it's only February, but it's definitely spring-like around here. Yesterday I went out and worked in the yard. I love yardwork. For some reason it is so satisfying. Much more so than housework. I love pruning. See what I did to this shrub?

It had gotten completely out of control. It was huge, but the whole inner part was all dead wood. So, I pruned it back (and some of its neighbors). That was a big job. And the green waste container was already full, so I had to make a new pile.  But, Cee-cee helped me drag all the branches over here.  She was a good helper to me yesterday. She was the only one outside, actually. Baby was sleeping and the three older ones were at Little League tryouts. (Yes, my friends, it's that time of year again! And this year we're gonna have 2 boys in Little League. But that's ok. I love baseball.)

So, I pruned and Cee-cee chattered away. She's actually quite talkative, which is wonderful, since she didn't talk much when we got her. My Lenten Roses are also blooming. They're the first ones to bloom in the late winter. They bloom, like their name indicates, around Lent.  They're beautiful plants, even when they aren't blooming, but the flowers are just lovely.

And you can't forget the tea roses. Look they're starting to leaf out, already. It's definitely early for them to do that. But that's ok. I love my roses. One thing I think is neat is that all the leaves are a little different color plant to plant. Some leaves are more burgundy colored, some are very red and some are green.

I had one spot left in my rose garden and so I filled it yesterday. This one is called Double Delight. It's a red and yellow rose with the most delicious fragrance. There are a couple ladies in my church who love roses and grow beautiful ones. One morning in church H had brought a bouquet and she had this marvelous rose in it. I asked her what it was and she said it was Double Delight. I knew then I had to get that one, so I did. It doesn't look like much now, but in a year or two it'll grow and be just beautiful!