#also iris your story about your url is so cute

[be-papas]

tagged by @leojupiters my beloved ❤

why did you choose your current url?

why did you choose your current icon/pfp?

why did you choose your current header?

these questions have basically the same answer, so im lumping them together ❤ it's the utena brainworms. i am very proud for snagging the canon url be-papas (yes including the dash) which is the artist collective that produced rgu. my header was specifically chosen bc im lazy and wanted to keep my mobile theme the same light blue that it already was.

any sideblogs? name them and why you have them.

yes but they are all defunct :) i ran a nice message blog w like 10 followers (THAT'S a throwback), a gomens sideblog very briefly @lesbiaziraphael and a discourse/vent blog @formsaltron. i was also a mod for a couple v slur blogs that i will not be linking bc no <3.

how long have you been on tumblr?

hahahahaha oh god i feel ancient. since october 2014. i did not witness dashcon but i was there in the aftermath. i have had this blog the entire time so that is why my top tags are all really cursed shit. im so sorry.

why did you join tumblr?

so i had been aware of tumblr for a good couple years (like i remember witnessing mishapocalypse secondhand thru a friend). i held out on getting one myself until fall 2014 when blood of olympus, the rick riordan book, came out and i was really desperate to talk to people about it. i have not left the hellsite since.

do you have a queue tag?

lmaoooo no way u get 10 posts at once then nothing thats how this works

what is your post with the most notes?

lmao a post during the destiel election of 2020 being like "lol the putin thing is misinformation tho" that got like 1400 notes?

how many followers do you have?

450 but girl i have had this blog for 7 years at least half of them are inactive

how many blogs do you follow?

319

have you ever made a shitpost?

like...yes at some point surely? lmao if a psat meme i made in 2016 counts, thats like my post w 2nd most notes (yes i know this bc i ran my blog through a note counter to answer this quiz)

have you ever gotten into an argument/fight with another blog?

oh most definitely. it was years ago and most certainly petty. oh once i volunteered to be the bad guy and yell at some weirdos having an unrelated convo in the notes of my friend's post to fuck off. that was fun.

how do you feel about "you need to reblog this" posts?

there is a 98% chance i will not reblog that post ❤ love and light

how do you feel about tag games?

i enjoy them, as evidenced by me taking the time to answer this one

how do you feel about ask games?

would love to do one some day but i dont think im a popular enough blogger to actually get any responses lmao

which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous?

uhhhh i mean not site wide but within the relatively small bfish fandom? rimi for sure. they are a legend.

do you have a crush on any mutuals?

i am too old for this question im sorry.

TAGGING: @eijispumpkin @kujinx @demonschnauzer @gaypplatelier @lesbiancheadle @banh---bao

[honeyrose-tea]

all the risky and really asks. -🌙

ok you asked for it, but be prepared, I'm hella boring lol

1. “@” people you want to be friends with

I know this is lame but I don't really have anyone? maybe on my old blog, but on this one I mostly just have old mutuals who I already consider myself friends with.

2. screenshot the tabs you have open

I won't do that to my camera roll bc there are at least 30 BUT I'll give you the highlights:

a hilarious music video by a boy from school, filmed in our dorm (and no, there's no context, he just made this for fun): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qaqk3PmQv20

this ring I want (which I can't afford lmao): https://www.dior.com/en_us/products/couture-JROC95024_0000-rose-dior-pre-catelan-ring-small-model-in-18k-pink-gold-and-amethyst

this wikipedia article: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controversies_about_the_word_%22niggardly%22

multiple articles about sharks (I'm obsessed with sharks)

a lot of me searching for memes or vines which I just forgot to close lol

recipes for berry crisp (Dan's fav dessert), watermelon sorbet (one of dad's fav desserts), and creme brulee (something I wanna make)

reddit nosleeep

me trying (and failing) to find a free pdf of the DSM (manual for diagnosing mental disorders)

me trying to identify a bird from my backyard

the coca cola freestyle machine locator (I'm addicted to creme soda with peach flavoring)

this article: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theodysseyonline.com/10-chris-evans-movies-ranked-by-hotness.ampe

and finally, a tab of me searching for where to buy the unedited version of Anne Frank's diary (she was bi!!!)

3. the last text you sent to someone?

"lol" to my mom... srry I'm not more fun

4. do you have a nsfw blog?

I do not

5. i dare you to _____ 

can you give me a truth instead? lmao

6. screenshot the first page of your search history

I use an incognito browser...

7. tell an embarrassing memory or story

one time I walked into the mens room behind my dad bc I was so zoned out I forgot I couldn't follow him everywhere

8. how often do you take showers?

depends. if I've worked outside or something then I definitely take one right after. but on a daily basis? probably once a day or every other day, if I'm home. if I'm at school I try to take one at home on Sunday, one at school midweek (possibly two), and then one as soon as I get back on Friday. I hate showering at school bc we have community bathrooms and you have to wear flip flops. it's gross

9.  what was your first blog URL?

I honestly don't remember my first one but I know at one point toward the beginning I was called "frozenfloralpolaroids"

10. if you draw or write, show some of your really old work

I don't draw and I don't write recreationally, the only things I can think of are some pieces I wrote for school projects, which I probably don't have on hand. once again sorry I'm lame lol

1. if you had to hug anyone who would you hug

uhhhhh probably my sweet internet friend who we'll call M. he needs a hug and I feel like he would give good ones:)

2. whats your favorite flavor of ice cream?

depends on the mood! if I'm feeling fruity I'll go for like a cherry cordial or a strawberry milkshake or maybe even a fruit sorbet! but if it's like a rich desserty mood I like anything with peanut butter or caramel or chocolate (or all three!). tldr; if you give me ice cream I will eat it

3. whats your favorite color?

idk? being LGBTQ+ I feel like I have some license to just say "the rainbow" but. for the sake of answering, I guess purple. I like purple a lot.

4. if you have pets, what are their names?

my dog that passed a year or so ago was named Haley, after Haley's comet. we called her a beagle/hound mix but she was really just a mutt. I loved her a lot:(

my other dog (still living) is my best friend. her name is Izzy and she's a golden retriever, though I'm convinced she's actually an angel

I have 18 chickens! here are the five who are still remaining from our first flock:

Annalise/Anna, a buff orpington (golden colored) who's big and floofy. she's Loud and likes to let us know she's laid an egg by singing an "egg song", which basically means clucking loud enough that we can hear her inside our house

Rosie/Rosalinda/Rosa, a rhode island red (a dark auburn color) who is debatably the alpha. she's a people-lover, and the best one to let kids hold as she's very calm. she'll fall asleep in my arms. but don't let that trick you, she's still bossy with the other chickens and aggressive when it comes to food (but aren't we all?)

Marsha, a black chicken (can't think of the breed rn) who is hearty and medium-sized. she's calm and demure and she has pretty brown eyes:)

Elsie and Stella, easter egg chickens (smaller breed that lays pastel green eggs) who are named after my maternal grandmother and great-grandmother. their names fit the way their namesakes were- Elsie is a lighter brown color and quite shy and sweet, Stella is skinny and darker and mean. not mean, really, but she has taken to bullying our new chickens which we've been trying to get her to stop doing

now for the new babies! (who are almost adults now!)

Rory and Lorelai, barred rocks (black and white striped) who are named after the Gilmore Girls characters

Violet and Iris, lavender orpingtons (gray with a hint of purple) who are both very sweet and named after their color, of course

Molly and Edith, two more easter egg chickens who are named after two more of my ancestors!

Clarice and Clover, buff orpingtons (like Anna) who are both super shy and precious (unlike Anna)

Ora and Georgetta. Ora is a golden-laced wyandotte while Georgetta is silver-laced (basically, they're dark-colored except for the ends of their feathers, which have a colored detailing. also come in blue and red varieties). they're named after two of the old ladies at our former church

Josephine/Josie and Penelope/Penny, new hampshire reds (a little lighter than Rosie but same idea) who are both so cute. they have a bit of black in their tail feathers and are just so so pretty:)))

finally, our special girl Buttercup! Buttercup was an extra because we ordered our babies as hatchlings from an online store, and they said we could have an extra for free! Buttercup is pure white and she is such a chracter. she likes roosting up really high and has fun doing things she knows she's Not Supposed To Do. she's funny and I love her

5. do you like a warm bed or a cold bed?

cold! I lovvvve sleeping in the cold. I like having the room super cold and then cuddling up under my blankets bc........... I'm baby

6. whats a really good memory you have?

strangely, the first thing that popped into my head was sitting on a rooftop with T on a really nice night. I'm not sure why, as I don't think about him that often, but I guess that goes to show that you can still love the memories even if you don't love the person anymore

7. favorite song you cant stop listening to?

Sweet Life by Frank Ocean, and the entire EP "This Thing Called Living" by Eloise

8. do you drink water with or without ice in it?

with ice, unless it's a bottle from the fridge. I love cold water though, and will very rarely drink room temp

9. do you like to use correct grammar when you type or just type all lowercase?

both? I don't capitalize the beginnings of sentences, but I do capitalize proper nouns and use correct punctuation and all that. I just feel like it looks too stuffy when there's all those capital letters

10. whats something thats made you laugh recently?

I was at a restaurant tonight where the servers sing throughout the night (they're all trying to make it on Broadway) and one guy sang a love song directly to this girl and threw confetti on her, which was funny. other than that probably just like. memes

[harrysdimples]

sooo...it’s the legend @btapants’ birthday and me and my main partner in crime daria @britneytshirt both came up with this idea and whipped up a lil somethin somethin for celine to read! we just want you to know how loved you are celine and how you influence us all to be better people! we all love you and had a few things to say :)

@bidonnas (aka mik):  i followed celine like ages ago bc i was looking for more harries to follow and she seemed so sweet and, like, a Quality™ blog and we've been mutuals for ages as well and we like sent each other asks for like ask games and tagged each other in tag games but we didn't start talking more until the first gc in like march of this year and i do not regret a single thing of entering that gc bc i got to meet my birlfriend, now my bife. we've just gotten closer over the past 6 months of being in so many different groupchats with each other and i love everything about her. she's funny, she's kind and sweet, and she loves mamma mia. i mean, who could ask for more?? fjdkgksdljkfg celine deserves the whole world and all the love in the world and i love her so so so much!!!!

@guccifloralsuits (aka violet):  Celine, you already know it but literally love you tons, you make my experience as a harrie stan so much brighter :) I'll always remember the #funkirk days and times we've been throught - from the discourse days to the crazy concerts & I can't wait to see what this next year for you & us brings! You're so easy to talk to and fun to share this experience with! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALL MY LOVE TO YOU 💖

@annaonvinyl (aka essie): Celine, Celine... I believe we've been mutuals not for that long and i do remember checking my notifications and seeing that she followed me i kid you not when i say i nearly had a moment because i would constantly see her posts and people talking so nicely about her. i can now understand why people kept saying sweet things about Celine, i mean she's amazing! if you aren't following her please do me a favour, go to her blog and press that follow, just... do it. celine is so sweet and funny, her blog is the perfect mix of aesthetic and relatable and not to mention she's so freaking stunning? i mean... have you seen her? model material, i'm telling you. so in conclusion what i want to say is celine is gorgeous and so nice and i love her! tanti auguri bella! spero che tu abbia un bel anno davanti a te e tutto il meglio vada per te! goditi la giornata e sorridi molto (scusa il mio italiano arrugginito)

@signofthebis (aka petra): Happy birthday, Celine! ❤❤❤ You know why I followed you. Because of the tags you wrote under my bta pants gifset. And I knew in that moment... this is a person that gets it and I need her in my life. And then I was lucky enough to get into the biconic gc you started and I got to get to know you and wow? You're amazing. You're so funny and incredible and just... I stan forever??? You're truly a queen. ❤❤❤❤ One day your selfies are gonna kill me because you're that gorgeous. And honestly? What a way to go. So Celine, I hope you're having a wonderful day and may your life be filled with only the best of luck, may it be full of love and kindness because that's what you're giving to us and you deserve the same it in return. Ily ❤

@flowerfeasts (aka dani): I followed celine like a year ago because i used to see all my faves tagging her on my dash, so i thought she was very important and cool and i remember waiting like a few weeks to follow her cause i somehow thought that would increase the chances of her following me back? lmao anyway, i still think she is very cool and i LOVE her fashion sense and she is a libra! that means she is awesome

@harryandcats (aka lejla): CELINE MY ANGELBOO!!!! I’m sooo bad with words and tbh?? there’s not enough words to describe how much u mean to me anyway smh you’re one of the sweetest, funniest and smartest (let’s just not mention your posts and the things you say something BDJDNDNDB) and loveliest people I know!! you’re also so silly sometimes but in a very cute and endearing way bdndn I could talk to you about literally anything, be it something deep or something random like poptarts bxjdndn speaking of poptarts we truly gotta meet someday and you’ll have to buy me lots of things and in return you’ll get the biggest hug of your life!!!! sounds like a plan if you ask me anYWAY I lov u with my whole heart, you’re my love, my life, my wife, my gf, my bitch, my boo, but most importantly: my dumbass ✌🏻😔 I hope you have the loveliest day!!!! Happy Birthday, Celine!! 💗🌈💕

@harrysnotechanges (aka kristyna):  Celine 💕💕 you are so funny and such a kind and generous person (not to mention gorgeous, ugh it’s not fair). I’m pretty sure I first started following you because of your url (I mean how much more iconic could you get,,, and I couldn’t agree more, the bta pants were the best pants Harry has ever worn tbh) and I stayed because you’re just an amazing human being. Ily 💕💕💕 Happy birthday!

@gettingdizzy (aka sav): I LOVE CELINE she is super kind and funny and like a little sister to me!! talking to her always makes my day better :) im not even sure why i started following her we probably got put in a gc together or something but im so glad i did!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ILY

@nofoookingway (aka jess): Oh boy, lil Celine. The cutest bean I’ve ever seen. I know we don’t speak anymore bc I’m trash and got too overdramatic about a stupid lil thing, but I’m so glad that we still follow each other and I see you on my dash every day. Your posts never go without a typo, even if it’s just the tags, and that’s probably my favorite thing about you. You’re so expressive and so weird in the best of ways. I’m pretty sure you’re starting uni (if you’re not smack me), but I know you’re going to kill it. It’s hard af, and it’s gonna suck. You’re gonna hate it sometimes, but believe me when I say I know you can do it and that you will have a blast once you find your niche. If I can do it, you sure as hell can. I wholeheartedly believe that. Anyways, I hope your birthday is just as fun and amazing as you are. ilysm 💛💛

@leesh (aka leesh lol): HAPPY BIRTHDAY CELINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i hope u have the absolute best birthday ever bc it’s what she deserves and i hope harry makes an appearance again looking absolutely fabulous bc it’s also what she deserves (maybe wearing the bta pants? yes i’m putting it into existence!!!!). i honestly can’t rmbr how or why i started following you, maybe it was a gc or maybe i just liked ur blog, i have a terrible memory, but i am SO GLAD whatever the reason I DID. i love seeing ur posts on my dash and i love seeing what you’ve got to say and i also love talking to u in gc’s and stuff. ur a cool gal and i’m glad we had a chance to become mutuals and pals. again i hope u have the best way day ever and get spoilt rotten. i love u!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 💖✨

@kiwiintro (aka kayla):  Happy Birthday Celine Bean! I hope it's amazing I love u and you're so iconic and amazing and ur an actual Meme™️ sometimes anyways again I hope your birthday is amazing and have fun being 1(one) year older ❤

@harryftvans (aka teresa): celine my dearest witch princess and gentle air spirit happiest of birthday wishes to you!!! someone’s getting old lol anyway I wish u all the best and hope you have a great day and that a lot of other great days will follow because u only deserve happiness and love and ~good vibes~ in your life!! stay ur amazing self, you’re always so chill and laid back (which is nice in this hectic world gksndn) and even when you pull a zayn on us at the end of the day you’re always there for us, being supportive and it’s always a delight to talk to you and hear stories from you!!! great britain is blessed to have you for the next couple of months/years (hope u have a nice time at uni I believe in u) so yea enjoy your day hope it’s filled with lots of love and hugs!! i’m glad you’ve been brought into the world and i’m glad we were out in the same group chat I couldn’t imagine my days without u, love you v much💕

@pinkflaredpants (aka iris): No offence but it's been a whole ass year since we first heard medicine and still no fuckin studio version of sott.

@britneytshirt (aka daria): celine, remember the day we became mutuals? it’s definitely been a year(+) now, can you believe it’s been that long? i followed u not really expecting to be followed back and u followed me about .02 seconds later and honestly i was a lil shocked. so i put my insecurities aside and decided to text u and u said u just saw my url and liked it and followed me. like?! *harry voice* craziness right? anyway, i like to think of u as a little present from life. when we started talking i was very lonely and literally cried myself to sleep every other night and having a friend, you, to talk to made me realise nothing is ever that bad and in a way... gave me hope? you mean so much to me. you’re always fun to talk to, u always have the funniest things to say. and most importantly, i know i can always count on u for whatever, you’ll be there to listen to me. so thank u. i’m so grateful i have a celine in my life. i love u

me (aka moi): so....celine, where do I even start? from those very first few months when I joined this fandom in september last year we were close friends. we started our first conversation about old 1d memes and the rest is history. I don’t think there’s been a time in the last year or so where I haven’t spoken to you, and I really couldn’t imagine my life without you in it. I look forward every day to chatting with you in the gc and i’m always just in awe of how accepting, loving, caring and truly inspiring you are as a person. I love hearing you speak italian in the rare voice messages you send, and especially your selfies (I will hold the belief that you should be a model to the grave I think tbh). you inspired me to love myself for who i am and we’ve grown as friends into something I never thought i’d reach. i’m never going to be able to fully articulate the weight you hold in my life or the impact you’ve had on me, and i’m bad at expressing my feelings anyway, but I just wanted you to know how LOVED you are, by me, and from everyone here. I can’t wait to eventually meet you once you’re settled over here and I can’t wait for the memories and shows we’ll make in the future. thank you for being you, and please never stop being your amazing self 💕

[chaisexuality-archive]

@lindaspark replied to your post i literally cant stand 99% of the people i follow...

thats why im not active that much on ig but im @ wallylindas / and twitter i only use to keep up with stuff that arent already on tumblr

instagram made feel like shit because fandom there didnt even like barry, and constantly dumbed him down, because 'iris is the only good part of westallen' fandom is trash there they act like woke people who cancel and start stanning every celeb who isnt

then drop them as soon as something problematic gets out, they try to erase the fact they were up said celebs ass by stanning new folks its a vicious tiring cycle and i tried to keep up but it was just changing me too much

under the cut bc this got long and ranty oops

its probably bc im already anxious rn but i get so frustrated sometimes i literally want to cry every time i open either twitter or insta bc on insta, theyre all gr@ndice shits that literally have 20 minute long insta stories dedicated to literally taking pictures of l/a/t and drawing awful things on her face, making fun of every little thing she does, ranting about her (over petty shit like her vacation pictures), etc... and theyre also perpetuating that year old conspiracy that nobody on the flash cast/crew likes candice and they literally feed into that by taking articles/information out of context and it hurts... so fucking much and like you said they dont even LIKE barry they literally talk so much trash about him it hurts my heart. and twitter stans are the same way except they have petty drama with every single user that follow and theyre all fucking fakes when it comes to any episode that airs (ex. when the musical episode came out they unstanned westallen/gr@ndice and started posting shit like TOMILLIE FTW and they all changed their urls/profile pics for a straight month and then after the episode aired they acted like nothing happened). i see so much barry hate on there too and its so fucking funny bc they claim that “barry stans are everywhere and they ruin everything” but im like bitch where??? where are they id LOVE to see where they are?? (the ones that arent racist or bigotted of any kind ofc). 

it kinda reminds me of That side of the fandom that i have soooooo many issues with that cant handle any differing opinions (again, harmless, not offensive/problematic opinions), and will be sooo quick to get on your ass and rip you apart over the dumbest shit. 

idk im really in a Mood today and twitter/insta didnt help me at all i just wanna be around sane fucking people is that too much to ask? like i literally just want some nice accounts that post cute edits and have nice speculations without all the extra, invasive celebrity stanning @ god im bEGGING YOU.

[propertyhold]

Spring Garden, 2017!

Last spring/summer, I was working so much on other projects that I TOTALLY slacked on my garden. I don’t recall doing much in the way of planting, pruning, weeding, or watering. I didn’t even mulch! When fall rolled around, I didn’t split or move anything as I had planned to, and decided to deal with it all this spring. You know that old sleep, creep, leap adage? I failed to notice that last summer was my LEAP year! Sorry, plants. There was a lot going on.

Regardless, almost everything has at least survived, and most of it is doing very well! I feel like this garden thing has a longggggg way to go before I start feeling happy with it, but just having stuff maturing in the ground (the majority of which will probably end up getting transplanted as I settle on some semblance of a plan) is a good first step. It at least looks pretty healthy and happy and cute enough right now.

The first order of business this spring was a long overdue clean-out followed by fresh mulch! I had a lot of weeds to pull, some pruning, and raking out leaves and some of the existing mulch from two summers ago. It took me a long day or two of work to clean and spread about 50 bags worth of mulch in this area! All in I’ve put down about 100 bags of mulch in the yard this spring, but that includes the other side of the house and a couple areas in the back that I’m DYING to get some plants growing in. If I ever want some mature trees in my backyard, I better get on it!

By the way, I know buying that much bagged mulch might sound crazy to experience gardeners rather than getting a bulk delivery from a local nursery/landscape supply place, but I wasn’t sure how quickly I’d be able to use it all and didn’t want it all festering in a loose pile in the middle of my backyard while I figured it out. I probably spent a bit more money, but this year it felt worth it to keep things manageable. Hopefully in the future that won’t be the case!

For some reference, the angle is different but this is more or less how this area looked when I bought the house! I installed the black timber fence back there as a way to divide this area from the back and keep the dogs contained in the backyard, but as you can see the garden was just regular grass with a couple rhododendrons and a big clump of hosta at the time. The hosta was dug up and split a bunch, and I’ve been trying to get the rhododendrons into better shape for a couple of years.

ANYWAY! This coming fall, I PLEDGE to split up the hosta growing in front of the original wrought iron fence so they grow as more of a full hedge rather than super distinct individual plants. I think that’ll look much nicer, and save me from having to weed/mulch as much as I currently do. That kind of goes for everything—I’m really looking forward to the day when I don’t have to mulch as much because most of the ground is occupied by plants! Those hostas have been growing steadily since I first transplanted them a few years ago, so they should respond very well to being split.

Also you can see that the creeping jenny has really started to take off—yay! I think I’ll transplant quite a bit of it for use elsewhere, but considering how little these were when I planted them, I’m tickled by the growth!

The rhododendrons probably hit their peak last week. So many flowers! Once they’re done blooming, I’ll do some somewhat aggressive pruning as part of my years-long mission to get them into a shape and size that feels nice and not too big for this location. We’ll see.

You can kind of see that the boxwood “hedge” behind them is doing quite well! I gave them all a little haircut when I was mulching which should help stimulate some nice dense growth. These are only a couple of years old, so probably still a couple years away from a real hedge coming to fruition.

I planted a strip of homeless day lilies in front of the rhododendrons, and now I don’t know why I did that! They’ve multiplied probably by triple in the time since, and I don’t even particularly like them, and they’re difficult to get rid of! Oopsie. I’ll transport them sometime soon…day lilies are ridiculously hearty and seem to survive almost anything.

Back along the black fence, I planted three hydrangeas way back when, and I think it’s safe to say that they are not happy. They’ve been healthy enough, but haven’t bloomed well or increased significantly in size, so I think this location is just no bueno for them. I’d guess they don’t get enough rain because of the huge spruce tree, and maybe too much shade.

In front of the hydrangeas, it’s a much happier story! All those purple bearded irises came from one small patch planted by the garage when I bought the house, and they’ve taken off really well. I love irises!

In the foreground, you can see the “wine and rose” weigela with the pink flowers! I planted three of these in a little cluster and they’re all doing well. Once they’re done blooming, these can get some pruning action too—they’re starting to get a little leggy and that should help them keep a more appealing and healthier shape.

There are a few more clumps of iris planted right behind the wrought iron fence.

Also back in there are a couple of oakleaf hydrangeas, which are doing OK but, like the other hydrangeas, don’t seem to love their location. There are two smallish pine trees growing sort of close to them in this front garden space, and I think they may be part of the problem—both because of the shade they cast and the water they hog. I’ve been thinking a lot about cutting them down, but I definitely want some other evergreen things growing before I do that so the yard doesn’t look too barren. More on that soon!

Up toward the front, the false indigo/Baptista is doing great! I love love these plants. These have HUGE root systems and don’t take well to being transplanted, apparently, so hopefully I can work around it as I keep futzing. It’s amazing how quickly these get so tall after starting from nothing at the beginning of spring!

The peonies aren’t quitttttteeee there yet, but I do expect some good blooms this summer! I think the location of these is also too shady for them to thrive as well as they could. I loveeee peonies and just want MORE MORE MORE—particularly tree varieties and ones that shouldn’t require staking. I planted some peonies as a kid that are still growing at the house I grew up in, and I desperately wish I had dug some of them up before my parents moved. Especially with perennials that can be split, it’s such a nice way to keep your plants with you! I guess I could still do it, but I’d have to be sneaky. Don’t put it past me.

Over on the other side of the front door, the much smaller front garden area is doing really well! I planted most of this stuff two summers ago, which means that this is year three! So according to sleep, creep, leap, this side of the garden is leaping this year! I’m not sure I’d quite say that, but it does seem to be thriving. Like the other side, I do picture transplanting most of this stuff as I figure it all out.

This type of weigela is different than the type on the other side of the garden, but doing just as well! Such a cute plant!

I have to say, I’m really impressed with these deutzia—this variety is called Chardonnay Pearl which sounds like a pornstar but is really a lovely, hearty little plant. These were bought off the clearance rack at a big box garden center, then sat in their plastic pots over a winter because I didn’t get my act together to plant them, then survived and got thrown in the ground, and now a year or two later they look great! The foliage is a nice vibrant kind of acid-green, and the little tiny white flowers seem to last a long time. You go, Chardonnay Pearls!

There are a few irises planted to the right of the front door, but these are different than on the other side of the yard! These are special—they came from my dear friend John’s grandmother’s property that they’ve owned since, like, Civil War times. He brought a few up to New York with him when he bought his first home in this area around 20 years ago, planted them there, and now there are hundreds of them! We went to visit the house just for fun a couple years ago, and we couldn’t help but leave with a few. I love having them here. Keep multiplying, irises!

  That’s pretty much how everything is looking! With respect to landscaping, this summer/fall will be about trying to fill in the more bare spots in these areas, but mainly I’ll be working on the whole other street-facing side of the house, which has almost no plants at all! It’s all freshly graded and mulched (I just had to get it down before the weeds could take over), and I’m really excited to get some stuff going over there. There are a few things with the whole side-of-house-restoration project from last summer to wrap up and it’s easier to get that stuff done before having to avoid stepping on new plants, so I really have to knock out those remaining items so I can get some things in the ground!

Spring Garden, 2017! syndicated from your-t1-blog-url