First Day in the Garden

If Phil looks especially content it's because he had some company in the garden today. With temperatures just below the freezing mark and the sun shining bright, I ventured outside to do some cleaning up and poking around.

There was lots going on out there. The daylilies were the first to catch my eye. As usual, they arrived to the party early and brought lots of friends. I'll be dividing these this spring and using the divisions to create a daylily edge at the opposite end of this border.

The tall bearded iris have made it through the winter just fine. Like the daylilies, the irises have grown into a most impressive clump. I need to divide these too but I'll wait until after they bloom. Maybe I'll even wait until fall (that seems to be the best advice of numerous internet postings on dividing iris).

Are those daffodils? They must be daffodils. I love daffodils. Last fall I planted dozens of daffodil bulbs and am especially excited to see them.

Judging by these buds, it's going to be a very good year for the "Ludwig Spaeth" lilac. Lilacs are often criticized for not having much to offer a garden once they are done blooming. I couldn't even begin to imagine a garden without the unbelievable fragrance of lilac.

Yup. I think Phil will have lots to be happy about this year. That's good news because we all know that a happy gargoyle is essential to every garden.