Dirt Therapy

This past week I needed a little stress relief and was able to spend an hour or two on several days working in my garden or the church garden. About two weeks ago my wife fell and broke her leg requiring a partial hip replacement. She has MS so falls occur from time to time but this one was serious. So after surgery and transfer from the hospital to a rehabilitation facility, I needed to reset my internal rhythms--working in the garden is my "dirt therapy". The past two weeks have been very cool. It seems spring has arrived and yet we're still waiting for it.  The most stunning flower in my garden this week is this yellow Magnolia. 

The Yoshino Cherry usually blooms a week earlier than the Magnolia but both are in bloom at the same time this year. 

The Star Magnolia has been in bloom for over two weeks now--the longest I've ever seen. The warm weather forecast for the coming week means this is probably the last week for it to be in bloom.

This rose colored camellia was salvaged from a dumpster behind a big box store about 10 years ago. I was going to shovel prune it last year since it had never bloomed but it had a few blooms so I gave it a reprieve and this year it looks even better.

The creeping phlox is just starting to bloom and periwinkle is in full bloom now.

This is week three of the tulip curb garden.

And lastly this weeks cut flowers and an arrangement. Notice how the cherry blooms seem to have exploded from the warmer air in the church from when they were cut