So: Finally got the little backyard-patio area fixed up. I knew it had potential. James built the planter boxes last fall and I planted a fern, three hostas, pansies, and a few mystery plants in there. Everything that should have survived, did! Hoorah for me. Also, I added more pansies, some petunias, a whole bunch of strawberries, and a whole bunch of nasturtium seeds. Those will come in about two weeks, and I even got pink ones. Yay! Also, I have peppermint, rosemary, honeysuckle, carrots, some flowering groundcover, and a whole bunch of mystery bulbs that haven't bloomed yet. Not pictured: bbq and several spiders.

































For my birthday James took me to Crate and Barrel to pick out a vase. The first moment we walked in the door I caught site of this cool 60's looking blue one that I could swear my great-grandmother or somebody in my family once owned. I needed it immediately.













I picked some of the flowers that I had planted a few years ago at my in-laws. The pink tulips are the largest I have ever seen, and I took this picture for comparison: that's my camera lens cap. The tulip is almost as big as my hand. Ginormous!




























And the yellow and red ones are some of the prettiest I've ever seen. I got lucky with those bulbs.