Can't wait for GBBD :)

My livingroom window got a new decoration - on some days the beauty of blossoming cherry tree is breath taking.

Most neglected and last to arrange part of the garden got some touch late autumn and last week. It took almost 1 hour to remove huge growing Miscanthus giganteus nad it was growing in this spot only 2 years - its roots are like wood and therefore so difficult to move. As replacement came daylily from the frontgarden - see it in the foreground. If you take closer look at Cornus controversa, which slowly starts to show its beauty, new leaves look like a group of small birds flying - or only I see it?

Some of them are rushing to find lilies and eat them to ground - bad, bad guys.

I am in love with magnolias, so while making the main plantings 3 years ago I decided that it would be great to have the chance to admire its blooms as long as possible. Magnolia soulangeana - was already there, tiny, planted by previous owner - known as blooming in April, although not big, this year gave us 19 flowers. Second bloomer will be Magnolia lattifolia Nigra, that will bloom in May and Magnolia kobus, that grows as tree and blooms end of May/June. It is known for blooming when it reaches few years old - so, no flowers this year.

Pansies bought end of winter are blooming like crazy. I make them understand that they haven't propagated yet - deadheading is understood :) blooms! blooms!

Early spring bucolic afternoon.... weather is so nice... showers are coming to assure fast growth and I can hear everything growing!

There is one puzzle I am trying to solve - where all my daffodils are gone? I had many. I got just SINGLE bloom - and even that one got broken.

Cherry blooms are lovely.....

... and white rhododendron blooms with powder-pink color of the buds from outside are also lovely. This is Rhododendron caucasicum Cunningham's White - that shows great rare habit of blooming twice. Second bloom will come late August/early September. It seems doing well, cos I planted it in the pot and then in the soil.

... but my greatest discovery this year is apple blooms... so charming...

...and fragrant... although they are in my garden since the beginning, I have NOT SEEN the flowers appearing dependably every year.

They were there, but my heart was fully closed to its beauty - cos I was unhappy to have only fruit trees in the garden. No. Not "only" - they were also unattended and suffering from different pests. They got treatment and some fertiliser - not too much actually and I got the reward for care I have supplied :) right?

I am grateful to myself for not chopping them down...

... anemone promise of bloom...

... Viola sororia - little bigger than the violet cousin...

Light pink tulips - beauties, that we have to be carefull with, so the story will not be repeated, like in 1635 - the peak of "tulip bulb mania" when one single tulip could be bought for • four tons of wheat• eight tons of rye• one bed• four oxen• eight pigs• 12 sheep• one suit of clothes• two casks of wine• four tons of beer• two tons of butter• 1,000 pounds of cheese• one silver drinking cup :) wow - that was really "Mania". More info about it available here.

Mahonia that shouldn't be forgotten - blooming with glowing yellow and sweet fragrance.

Forgetmenots are taking care of hellebore... looking still well together.

Erythronium pagoda looks wonderful combined with fern.

... and here another piece of grass is going - with little help - away... cos my hydrangeas are big enough and need some more space. They are stucked between viburnums - one is clearly visible just on the right side of the pot... I made it deliberately - plans were small, I didn't want to deal too much with annuals and then with weeds appearing in empty spaces. So I was planting tight, giving plants more space as they grow bigger.
Removing sod, adding compost, some acidizer under and around hydrangeas...

... and this is how it looks 1 week later. Viburnums in full bloom filling the garden with fragrance.. looks better right? I think so...

I can't miss showing the pond after cleaning we made lately. This such fun! cleaning was hard, right, but normally pond does not need so brutal treatment - I had to do it, due to troubles it had caused by lack of plantings, and this was caused by grass carp.

Now pond is clean, fish, frogs and other creatures are happy. What is most important I can see plants growing! what a relief - that is a good promise...

White spots is cherry petals - garden is almost covered with them...

... while some of us, instead of watching TV, are gardening and blogging about gardening....

... the others are writing books. I remember long time ago I participated in a training and I got a revelation. The couch said: "do not grumble about your life if you are unhappy with it. There is easy way out. Every day spend 30 minutes on doing something to change it. 30 minutes is not long and it is not hard to find it. At the end of each day ask yourself 'have I done today something to change my life'?".

This are the pictures from the promotional event of new book by debuting writer. Agnieszka Fibich is a friend of mine, we used to work together. She wrote the book off time :) If you are interested, there is promotion clip on youtube.com.

... and while some of us are gardening, some others writing about gardening, and others writing and promoting books, some others seem to appear something else that we know...