Mid-Week Garden Journal Update - Lilacs in Bloom - by Sunscape

Too beautiful days in a row. The sun shining and the temperature was so warm that the Lilac buds started to open. The scent wafts throughout the yard and it is heavenly.

I only have two Lilac trees left in the gardens; I lost my favorite white one last year to rotting from the inside out.

This one has deep burgundy flowers which are just lovely when open.

This group of yellow tulips are still going strong.

They were slightly closed when I took this photo first thing in the morning. I have a feeling they will be done in the next two days.

The spinach in the small tower garden is putting out new leaves since I picked it the other day. I will have another round to harvest this weekend.

The flat of leaf lettuce is overdue to be picked, but I've been so busy in the kitchen that it got put on hold. I will probably do that today, after I can a batch of chicken/turkey stock.

The tomato plants are getting really big, and I may just plant them next week.

Many of these plants will start to get planted into the gardens this week. They are all annual flowers for the butterflies and bees.

Speaking of butterflies, look who hatched in the greenhouse this week. I had two Black Swallowtail caterpillars that cocooned last fall. I've had them in my garage all winter to keep them safe. They have been hanging in the greenhouse for two weeks now, and I found this male had hatched when I went out to water.

I let him out of the cage, and he flew to the floor and laid there in the sun for a few moments before flying out into the yard. Thankfully, there are a lot of trees and spring flowers blooming right now for him to feed on.

I still have one more to hatch, and I'm sure it will be this week, too.

The peppers, zinnias, snaps, and nasturtiums are outgrowing the cell flats. I sure hope it warms up quickly so I can get them all planted soon. How is your gardening season going? We are just beginning to plant here in western, N.Y. and now all the fun begins.