Strawberries and Roses and Other Things Too

So, an update! I've had several days off work, and I'll have a few more, and mom and I have taken the time to get our ornamentals planted this year.

We can't plant the garden for another two weeks according to the Almanac and the weather patterns we're experiencing, but we were determined to plant something. So we picked up some vincas, impatiens, pansies, and a very fragrant dianthus from the garden center to bring home some color to the flower bench.

I also grabbed a pack of 12 assorted oriental lily bulbs from the store. I love the oriental lilies, and I was going to pick some up from The Lily Garden, but I just couldn't bite the bullet on those prices. Perhaps in the future if there are one or two varieties I'm missing or I particularly like, I'll grab some from there. Nevertheless, that's a great site to browse for identification purposes.

As for other garden updates:

The tomatoes are up and growing strong! At the lower right, the pepper plant has made an appearance at 2 wks 3 days.

The strawberries are blooming! I'm honeslty surprised to see them do so, as I was certain transplanting messed them up for this year.

We've added a hummingbird feeder to the garden! It's standing next to my beloved Don Juan rose. We've had one brief visitor to it in the 24 hrs it's been up.

And finally, the roses are making roses! Pictured here is the biggest rosebush in my yard, a Sarah Van Fleet.