Fun!!! And very Easter appropriate!

Gorgeous!!

Don't grow much in Atlanta besides orchids. I just enjoy the bird's nest views. DH had to prune the redbud because it got to shady by late summer with the orchids in their slat camp.

I used to grow a lot of bulbs and other flowers at Maypop. The wildlife enjoyed them as much as we did. We concentrate on the kitchen garden now. Last year's collards are blooming in the foreground and this years cabbage is off and running in the background. This is only a small slice of the garden. Snowpeas, parsley, cilantro, two mustards, kale, turnips, three beets and pak choy are on their way too. I'll post progress reports.

We've only been in this house for a year, we renovated an 100+ yo colonial. The yard was paved with rough stones which gave me very little room for plants and wasn't easy to clean after our 3 dogs. So, they just completed building planter beds with the stones and using concrete for the paths. I'm going to start with a blank slate this week as far as plants. Well, I do have a small area of heliconia that seems to have survived all the dust and debris. They are even blooming!

I also have a pond out there that is looking a little ragged after all this but a couple of the lilies are blooming.

This is Foxfire, one of my favorite lilies.

the bougainvillea is blooming, I need to cut it back some.

more bougainvillea

Oh Jonna, I think this is the first set of pics you've posted and they are wonderful! Just the sunshine alone...our skies are clouding up as we "speak." Love the water lily and the bougainvillia! In any case, feel free to post more pics anytime. Such a great addition!

Laurel, I love the pic of your garden. The thumbnail looks like a fairytale illustration! I want a redbud one day. I used to wander around the Appalachians on our spring vacations just to see them and the dogwoods.

My star magnolia is opening a few flowers and the scent is heaven! Actually between the outside and inside (Encyclia and Pixie Charm), it's a very scented world here!

It is almost 90F today! We are entering our hot and dry season and all of the trees that lose leaves are doing it now. So, my pool and yard are full of leaves from my neighbors trees. I really shouldn't be planting anything now, it is the worst time to plant. But, I'm going to try it anyway and just water heavily until the rains start.

When will that be, Jonna?

Isn't the diversity great? Jonna, we are having the same temps as you are. Hopefully we will leaf out over the next few weeks and it will cool off. I cleaned our little pond and there are seven goldfish that defrosted this year.

Will they nibble my toes if I stick my feet in?

I've tried to teach them to eat out of my hand but they are shy. There are a couple of frogs that jump in when people walk by. You can see a little flash and then hear the plop. We once had an egret in there. Very silly looking in that tiny space.

Did he eat any of your fish? Our great blue herons are notorious!

Yes, it stood there and grazed on the fish. Stupid bird; there's a five acre stocked lake across the street.

My Den. Anceps is starting to bloom. I'm going to go try and take some photos.

I have Mollies, Guppies and Angel fish in my outside pond along with a couple of plecos. The Mollies are famous with my friends for their pedicures. I even have a rock to sit on next to the pond so you can put your feet in and they pick all the dead skin off your cuticles. It kind of tickles but most people like it. I hear they charge big money for the same thing in Tokyo and New York

I'm buying dirt and plants this week and most of the planters should be partly planted by the weekend, well, that's the plan anyway. We have 2 seasons, wet and dry and the rains generally start in June sometime and last until late fall. We've had several rain storms over the 'winter' this year which has been good for the plants but it is not normal. Once it starts, it rains generally in the evening and cools things off wonderfully as well as reducing the humidity. April, May and early June are thus the hottest months with steadily increasing humidity until the rainy season. The rainy season also coincides with hurricane season, that's only bad if we get hit but it keeps you checking the forecast regularly.

Jonna, your pond sounds like fun! You have just the fish I used to keep inside and then some which we did keep outside over the Summer years ago in our backyard.
We are talking right now about sinking a large container into the ground this Summer to eventually grow again some Water lilies and Lotus. I would buy a group of Paradise fish to eat the Mosquito larvae, but they have to come inside in the Fall. I still have a 30 gallon tank in the basement to use....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P...

those are beautiful fish, at least the males. But, it says they are so aggressive that you can't keep more than one male?

we had a couple of bettas in the pond for awhile, the pond was large enough that they each took one end. One of them disappeared though, I don't think he is in there any more. The other one was living in the rock bog filter at one end, he liked it in there and would return if I moved him. When the pump exploded and I had to remove all the rocks and take the filter apart I pushed him back into the main pond. A few weeks later I noticed his fins were really torn up and pulled him out. I think the mollies were nipping at him. Now, he lives alone in a small pond on the terrace off my bedroom.

I have other cichlids in a pond inside the house, they are about 5" long now and so far they have enough room they aren't fighting. I did just discover 3 small 1" convicts so they are breeding. I'm not even sure what I have in there, I had no idea what I was doing when I bought them. I don't know much more now but I've been reading and trying to learn.

Here's a pic of one of my friends with her foot in the pond last fall, even the pleco gets into it.