I have been away from the computer for a few weeks -- I've been working in the garden! The yard has exploded with color, and the many empty spots I've been trying to fill in during the last few years are green and lush. I actually think 3 little areas are done, as far as adding plants. Of course, next week I will see something I HAVE to have and decide the only place it can go is into one of these "finished" areas. I've been rabid these last months and attending all sorts of plant places -- Maymont's Herbs Galore, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, including their plant sale, Sandy's Plants, etc. My friend Anne, who owns Little Red Truck Landscaping, has the same feeling of being on crack these days as I do. I've given her several things in my yard that I've divided, and last week she invited me to come and "clean up" her yard. She has a ton of perennials that I don't have, or at least different varieties than those I have: pink lilies of the valley, columbine, love in a mist, lots of dianthus, yellow, white, purple irises, callas, evening primrose, hosta...I probably brought home about 20 different kinds of things that I immediately put in the ground. A friend who was with us and not such a gardener watched us with fascination as we reeled off names, planting conditions, bloom times. She looked at us like we were specimens she was studying.

My mother in law has also given me some things from her garden. This is one of several columbines I got. I have to admit I don't love columbine, but it does add nice color and has interesting looking flowers.