A few days ago, I sat out on the deck studying for my Organic Chemistry exam and I was joined by the sweetest little butterfly. He spent a good ten minutes just lounging on my foot. I grabbed a few snaps (pardon my poor photography skills):

Everything is growing well. I better start eating those mesclun greens and cilantro (left;  basil and sweet peas on right):

Clockwise from top left:

Parsley, sweet peas in windowbox, sweet peas in trellis box, basil:

A view of the row of beautiful plants in various stages of growth on my deck. Notice the boisterous blooms on those nasturtiums!

Close-up on those nasturtiums:

Little sunflower buds at the base of my callas:

It seems as though my strawberry planter has thus far escaped (much) molestation from the resident chipmunks and squirrels:

Look at the blooms coming up on the hydrangea in my backyard! This was planted by the previous homeowner, and all I have done is fertilize and water it. This is not my greatest photographic work, but I promise that the blooms are a perfectly gorgeous shade of bluish-lilac:

I finally transplanted that peace lily under the plum tree. He was outgrowing his pot and seemed kinda sickly in general, even though I kept him shady and well-watered. Perhaps I am overthinking it, but I really think he seems happier already:

That gifted monkey grass seems to be taking hold very well!

Here are my wildflowers. I can’t tell what’s a weed from what’s a flower, so its all chaotic in there. I really don’t mind at all, though. At least its not bare dirt anymore.

I thought JC, at least, might enjoy a shot of the deck from the yard. The big window you see is the one into our den. We spend most of our at-home leisure time in there, its where the TV is and where our laptops live. I love being able to see the lovelies I’ve planted coming up every day. I love seeing the trellis light up at night. I hope those sweet peas start climbing!

That sweet green card table to the right of the window was a freebie from a friend of ours. Not exactly the chic patio furniture I’d  like, but it works just fine. We have nice, deep eaves, so I fold it up and lean it against the house when not in use and its plenty sheltered from the rain right there.

A little to the right of the card table is my potting table. Its a re-purposed Ikea kitchen cart, covered with (please don’t hate me) a plastic Target tablecloth cut to size and “hemmed” with duct tape. YUP, THAT IS HOW I ROLL. I figured tacky was better than ruining the top of the cart.  The window above it is the one in my kitchen, in the breakfast nook, which is really our “dining room” as I have turned the real dining room into an office/craft room. I clearly have my priorities straight. Yarn storage first, eating second.

These gloves used to be light blue. Now they are the color of WORK. I have two watering cans, two jars of birdseed (which mostly feed the darned chipmunks), a little lantern filled with citronella oil, and the small green bud vase I use for my Duchesse clippings:

Have I mentioned lately what a wonderful husband I have? I see pricey birdfeeders at the Pike’s Nursery, and he goes home and makes me a much cheaper (and chock-full of love) replica with scrap wood and some screen:

Out to the front yard, and I discovered the gardenia bush blooming! I didn’t think it would bloom this year. But I nabbed a half-dozen of them, careful to leave as many leaves as possible on the fledgling shrub:

Hello, beautiful:

The Duchesse is practically bursting with new growth. I’m really pleased, she seems to be doing well. All I am doing is chasing away the bad bugs with Sevin, and fertlizing every few weeks. Also my husband set up a nifty little irrigation system with bubblers:

The Knockout is also jumping up!

One of the gladioluses seems just about ready to bloom. These bad boys are enormous. Knee-high on me. They are dwarfing the shrubs, but that’s only this year. I think in the future years they will balance better:

The previous homeowner had something of a green thumb and this spring I’ve been enjoying the products of her handiwork, including these daylillies, ringing the bases of the pines in our front yard:

Yes, I need to mow. *sigh*

Last, but not least, the gardenia blooms I clipped, floating in a glass bowl. It was a wedding gift from my sister. They smell positively heavenly: