Spring has Sprung!

Although I've not stitched on this piece for a month, I thought I should share a progress pic with you. Looking at it helps me think spring and think about my garden!

At this time of year, my thoughts turn to the garden. We have a large flower bed in the front yard which we have landscaped with mostly natives to attract bees and butterflies. In the back yard, we have our veggie garden and a smaller flower bed near the back of our yard. It also has mostly plants native to Texas, but since it gets a lot of shade, those plants are hard to find. My goal this year is to work on that back flower bed more and really get it looking good! Things are popping out all over (a lot of weeds!!) and I'm trying to remember what I've planted where so I don't pull out the good with the bad.

In the veggie garden, so far we've planted onions, pole beans (green beans that keep producing all season), peas (2 varieties), carrots, and radishes. It's time to plant cucumbers, which I'll do this weekend. My tomato seeds that I planted have germinated and the little buggers are growing well. I'll transplant those out at the end of April, along with the bell pepper seedlings.

Maters and Pepper seedlings. Some are getting big enough to transplant into bigger containers!

Radishes, in desperate need of thinning! Radishes are fun to grow. They sprout in 2-3 days and you're ready to harvest in about 2 weeks. Instant gratification!n Radishes are also great to grow in pots.

Things are coming to life in the flower beds! Plants are coming back from dormancy and the early bloomers are starting to bud in preparation of blooming.

Salvia "May Night" and Four Nerve Daisies. The daisies have been blooming all winter, but have really perked up with the recent rains and warmer temps.

Lyre Leaf Sage, a Texas native (or at least does well here). The more shade it gets, the more blue or bluish purple it is. This one has been happy in this spot for several years.

Four Nerve Daisies and wild onion or wild rain lily. Not sure which, but it definitely doesn't belong there! I will have to dig it out as it's very invasive.

The first monarch of the season visited my garden yesterday! So glad she could find something to nectar on since she's had a long journey and has further to go still.

Lastly, these two cuties have sprung up a friendship that involves, playing and roughhousing. They are not snuggle buddies yet, but they do enjoy each others company. Daisy has definitely come into her own and she's becoming more social with us and learning some boundaries. She still thinks it's cool to jump up on the stove (NOT cool in this house) and has learned that a spray of water from the water bottle will soon head her way if she doesn't jump down when told. While I don't like using the water bottle, it is necessary at times.

Tumbles lounging in the sunroom.

Daisy loves the window sills! She enjoys looking out at the birds, bees, squirrels, and neighbor's cat that visits from time to time. She really has the sweetest little face, as you can see in this pic.

Lounging on the window sill!