sitting here...

... at my little round dining table in the late afternoon on a beautiful spring day. I have worked, long: 10 hours, going in at 6 a.m., and leaving at 4:30. So it has been a long day, and sadly, inside the building instead of out there enjoying the pleasant weather. A bit breezy, but sunny with a gazillon shades of green as trees begin to leaf out.

The is a flower bed about fifteen feet away from the table, when I look out the big window into the yard on the north side of the house. There are ferns and hydrangea plants beginning to green up along the edge of the screened porch, under a wide roof overhang. The ferns I see from my vantage point are of the Autumn variety, and stay green all winter long. They are just beginning to put on new growth and there are tall slender curliques of fronds shooting up from the base of the leaves. Dark brown fiddleheads that will soon open up and begin to take shape, with bronze leaves that become green as they mature.

And a couple of holly ferns I can see out there along the edge of the lawn as well. These started from a plant my mom brought to me, given by a neighbor, who said I should plant it in my yard. I have watched it grow over the years, and divided it a couple of times.  Relocating the 'children' of the mother plant to spots nearby filling in the bed that runs the length of the screened porch.

I've learned nothing is going to be really happy growing in the red clay that is all around the house, where the topsoil was removed before building began. Which makes me willing to dig holes, often dispensing with the clay entirely, and filling the hole with good dirt, fertilizer, enriching the spot to give the transplants a good start. I used to have the attitude that I would dig the hole, put in the plant and hope for the best. Telling the newly situated transplant: 'You are on your own.' But realize that does not give optimum results, so I know to put some effort into giving it help to adjust adapt and thrive.

I brought home three big pots of shabby Easter lily plants and got them in the ground before it got too dark to see. Most are in a little space up near the street, where other oddities have been put out over the years. Various bulb plants, and some iris corms someone passed on to me. I thought it would be neat for passers-by to see them bloom in the future. They got good dirt mixed in with the red clay, along with fertilizer to get them started, so hope they will get established and come back year after year, with happy blooms to greet travelers/commuters as they hurry to and fro.