Azaleas, Lilacs, Ghost Ferns, Tulips and Backhoes: This Week in My Maryland Yard

Welcome to my Maryland garden! It's been a heartbreaking week for our yard so I'm really glad to have some pretty flower and foliage photos to share with you (from the non ruined parts of our yard). This white azalea is actually growing in a sunny part of our yard. The bush was there when we bought the house. Someday we might move it to the back but utility lines run under it so most likely we'll just leave it where it is.

The backhoe work I mentioned last week turned out to be significantly more extensive than expected. Instead of losing one flower bed and a 3' x 40' length of sod, the plumbers had to excavate much wider and deeper, in their words, "turned out big enough that you could install a swimming pool." Not that the front yard is the place for a pool. So we lost three major planting beds (front of house, along sidewalk and along driveway) along with about a 40' x 20' area of lawn. Because the soil at the bottom of the excavation is now what's on top of our lawn we need to amend the heavy clay soil before we can put back the plants we managed to save (which are looking kind of sad in their clumps and pots, but the ones in pots are looking better than the ones in clumps).

I love these Japanese painted ferns, also called Ghost Ferns. They're shorter than many ferns and look nice near the front of a shady garden bed.

Our Josee lilacs are starting to bloom. They already smell lovely and that should only improve over the next couple of weeks. These are reblooming lilacs so we'll be able to enjoy their scent on and off through fall but the greatest profusion of blooms is in spring.

Angelique tulip close up. I love the pink and white combination of this beautiful flower.

Our seedlings have started to sprout. By midsummer (God willing, of course), we should have enough Cosmos and Zinnia to please the local birds and butterflies.

As hard as it was to have an astronomical plumbing bill and have such a large amount of flower bedding and yard destroyed, God and good friends helped me greatly this past week. Also, others' suffering (a friend lost his wife and another her father) showed me that in the greater scheme, my loss is not as great as it feels. I still have my beloved husband with me and precious friends who encouraged and prayed for me. You are priceless and I love you all. Thank you for being part of my life. May God bless you!