It all started about a week ago. My nightly walks were making me feel a little too out-of-sorts kinda sore. Then BAM. Within a week I was in full throttle sick-with-bronchitis. What in the world?!
I haven’t been sick in… years? So this one caught me completely off guard. I was even doing MORE moves during my walking, thinking my joints were seizing up! Bring out the ginger tea…
But today the sun broke out… which is major MAJOR news around here. So I pushed (shuffled) myself around the block at a snail’s pace regardless.
I just know I have to keep up the walking. There is definitely a new lightness to my step these days, so I know it’s building strength. I’ve even been going in the rain, carrying a big ‘ol fat umbrella.
So when I walked past this mess today, I was delighted as well as disgusted.
I mean… tulips in bloom!
But… weeds.
And mess.
And sunken treasure like props.
You’ve seen this little area before. I called it the Farmer’s Market junk flowerbed.
But it sure takes on new meaning with tulips!
I’m personally still astonished some gardening has already been accomplished, starting with that tulip tray raised flowerbed. So glad that small section got done.
But I hadn’t yet ventured into weeding the entire front yard due to all. our. rain. And all the flowerbeds need newly cut edges to ramp things up again.
Have you tried my edging flowerbeds like a pro method yet? Oh, it so works…
So I had a little chat with myself…
I focused on what made me smile about this flower bed as is, and it was obviously the tulips.
So I worked with JUST THAT in mind.
I just wanted those beautiful tulips to shine. Their bloom period is way too short in my book.
My full coughin’ self fetched the wheelbarrow and a garden trowel, and those weeds lifted effortlessly.
Guess there are some perks to all that rain after all…
And with a quick rearrangement of some garden junk and a new bird house focal point, I was pretty happy to accomplish this pretty garden vignette!
While sick.
I had just woken up from a sunlight filled nap in the bedroom and was truly inspired to accomplish something small.
I’m beginning to think, thinking small is really where it’s at, I think!
And I did use my canon point and shoot (with no GASP tripod!) for this blog post because it was easier.
See? I was good to myself!
See the original barn birdhouse fairy garden HERE
Sniffles, aches and coughs aren’t that much fun.
But thanks to those blooming tulips, this small accomplishment in the sunshine appeared to have done far more for me than any meds could have!
What’s currently in bloom in your yard?
Love your moss display. I grew up in Mississippi where there’s plenty of rain to grow moss. I now in the Phoenix, AZ area where we have no rain. Therefore the moss was lovely to me.
Very inviting and those tulips are gorgeous. I grew up in Skagit Valley near the tulip fields and every year we enjoyed fresh bouquets week after week. Tulips speak Spring and this space is beautiful you brought it back to life perfectly.
It looks beautiful (as long as you took breaks when you were getting tired :)) Bronchitis is nasty so make sure you listen to your body when it needs a break. When I was in Home Depot this weekend, I purchased some RoundUp Gel for weeds. Its something new around here. It kind of looks like a deodorant stick that dispenses small dots of gel weed killer. The commercials show you dab some of the gel right on the leaves of the offending weeds and it will kill the weed, not the perennial it has grown right next to. I’m dying to try it on some dandelions that have gotten the idea that they too are perennials in my garden!
I have tulips, sunflowers and lilies. I also have patches of wild flowers this year. Some years they do good and others they don’t. They are pretty this year. I have plenty of Rose bushes also. A lot of work with all the flowers but like you said, they make you smile. Growing up in Pennsylvania we would have 100’s of tulips going up and down our walk way. Love the color and the look.
I love tulips. Any color, any kind. We had some when we lived in Ohio, but now that we’ve moved to southeastern North Carolina, we can’t have them. They don’t grow here. I think it’s something about the heat or it isn’t cold enough over the winter to make them go dormant. Something odd like that. So, I’ll just have to enjoy yours! Thank you!
I ran out this morning to snap some photos of what is in bloom in my garden too. After a 4 day weekend away to warmer climes I was oh so disappointed in coming home to more rain. But this morning the sun was out and I did not waste a moment. First light and first cup of coffee I went out to enjoy a day with sun. I keep telling myself Summer will get here, it is just taking its time this year.
Yes, I have to tell myself little bits at a time get it done and be content with that.
Take care and get well.
Flowers are a good reminder to be thankful for the blessings God has given us today. Enjoy your blessings.
Your flowerbeds looks so pretty! I hope you are feeling better! Take extra care of yourself… The weeds will wait for you! ?
So very cheerful and lovely. The birdhouses add just the right touch.
Donna, I sympathize with you regarding the flu. I was in bed for four days about a month ago. I had fever, achyness, and terrible bronchial congestion and coughing. And I tell you, I’m not rid of that cough yet. It’s better but fluctuates from day to day. Some days better, the next day worse. It has been a bad experience and like you I have not been sick like that for years. Anyway, I hope you return to vibrant health quickly. Perhaps I need to start walking, but my energy is so low some days.
Also, I think you are right when it comes to gardening and yard work. Do a little as often as you can. I have done some weeding and sweeping up and I work only until I feel tired. I feel like I have accomplished something but haven’t overdone. That’s a change for me because once I get started working outside I often have just kept going until I was feeling faint from fatigue and from not stopping to eat. Dumb. Not doing that anymore!
I love your little tulip plot with the bird houses. And is that little long patch of green along the right side of the photo a patch of moss? I love moss and I am planning to plant a small section of ground near my rail fence and gate with all different kinds of moss. That will be a little project I think I can handle!
Feel better and happy gardening!
Oh my goodness…. yes about the coma gardening… that is SO me! Especially when I have a pressure washer in my hands. I can’t walk for 3 days after! haha Why we do that I have no idea! I think we just get on a roll and love the progress. But our bodies sure don’t!
That patch of moss naturally grew on that little log. Strangest thing ever but it looks good like that all the time! In the summer it dries out a bit, but always comes back again. I think I like moss better than plants… no weeds! 🙂
Oh dear ! Sorry to hear you have been ill. I too have not been ill for a few years and got hit this year too. I love how humour and self talks seems to get you through ?the garden looks lovely and love the birdhouses ! ❤
Love the bright colors of all the tulips springing up around Michigan. We have tulip farms that go for miles in a neighboring city, Holland, MI. Every year there is a tulip festival; early May. I have one tulip plant, a gift. The deer eat them all so I gave up planting more. My favorite spring cheer is daffodils. I probably have planted a few hundred over the years. They bring such joy. I have various levels of blooming around my yard, so I can enjoy them longer.
Not good that you are sick…too much of that going around. You do need to listen to your body for sure while out digging in the dirt. I have learned the hard way (waiting too long to take a break)…one more weed that needs to be pulled!!!! Smaller accomplishments in cleaning the flower beds is the key for me to feel like I am ready for all the gardens to bloom. Gardening is great for my soul, seems like so many things get decided while pulling weeds! Funny how that works.
The garden section is beautiful…love bird houses too, I have them all over the yard. Some years the birds humor me and build nests, other years, they totally ignore them.
Wishing you a speedy recovery, too many weeds to be sick this time of the year!!
Nothing much blooming in Connecticut so far – still too cold. But soon ….
Sorry to hear you are under the weather! (haha see what I did there? ) I do hope you feel better soon!
Laura
Oh my goodness, I was thinking of you when I set the timer for an hour to go out to see how many weeds I could pull from the front yard. I call it my “native garden” because whatever grows there likes it. 🙂 But the foxtails had to go. So, at the end of the hour, I had filled the yard waste bin, and done 2 sections of the front before I stopped. My forehead was dripping, so it was exercise, too. Thanks for keeping me company, Donna!
Sunshine and seeing some blue sky helps a lot to lift the spirits. Your tulips are so bright and happy. Sweet garden art surrounding them and point and shoot worked just fine. Hugs and feel better every day Donna.
Joy
tulips have a special place in my heart…my mom is from Amsterdam! I hope you are feeling better…I believe we often get sick to slow us down when the body needs the rest we don’t want to give it.
birdhouses are super cute…rust and the moss looks cool on that log
happy you got a little sunshine…we are blooming here
Thanks for the inspiration. I had some little ole birdhouses I was going to toss!
So pretty Donna! I’ve been reading your blog for a long time. I love your creativity! Hope you get feeling better! Dawn