Spring Planting

Figuring that spring had finally arrived, I began one morning by removing the water heaters beneath the pigeon and chicken waterers. Then I removed the weather proofing from the pigeons' window and opened it up so they could fly:

 I locked Remy and Blue out of the barn because the weather was so nice. They didn't care, though, as they were having a grand time:

 The dogs were in their fenced run and watched every move I made. But where was Jack?

 Jack was at the fence, barking:

 I brought out a bale of hay for the herd, then replaced the bale spear with the bucket and scooped up the sod from a strip just outside the dog fence:

 Oops, I scooped too much, but used what sod remained outside the tractor bucket to replace where I'd scalped too far out from the fence. Jack, as you can see, continued to run in circles and bark:

 I had ordered a big box of fancy hybrid Day Lilies which had been discontinued and were on sale, so I opened the box and soaked them briefly in a bucket of warm water. Jack, Fergus and Seamus watched intently:

 I planted perhaps 20 Day Lilies in an eight foot strip between the fence and the driveway, using the compost I'd scooped up when I dumped the sod:


 I had a lot of compost left in the tractor bucket when I was done, so I put several inches of it on top of the Iris plants near the porch. I've done this every spring for a couple of years and it seems to benefit the Iris but hasn't yet caused the Rhododendron to bloom:

 The two rose seedlings spent the day outdoors, becoming acclimatized to real outdoor life:

Then I used more compost to mulch the rock garden and Peony patch because I had a few more new plants to add to the flowering plants of the yard. I planted Astilbe, Peony and Asiatic Lilies. While digging, I was pleasantly surprised to see lots of last year's bulbs sending up healthy looking shoots. The poor Tulips, however, had been up but were being eaten by rabbits:


The rock garden should have so many flowering plants this year that I hope they crowd out the weeds: