spring in full swing

my monster comfrey

it's been a while since i mentioned my garden, and i figured it was high time to take note of it, since so many things are blooming these days. it's amazingly gratifying to watch something you planted actually come back on its own and surpass your expectations. take my comfrey for instance, i planted it last year from a small seedling not knowing what to expect. it did well, growing into a nice bushy mass of leaves last year. this did not prepare me for the now four foot tall plant with purple-pink flowers that attract all of the fat bumblebees in the neighborhood.


yarrow

i have to admit that i'm pretty clueless on the art of gardening. specifically design. i have chosen most of my plants for their usefulness factor. comfrey is good for wounds and burns, yarrow has a number of purported uses. lavender smells good, and lemon and bee balms are both good for teas and smell good. heh. you would think that i spend most of my days getting beat up and drinking tea, from the choices i've made, huh?

the rest i usually get from plant giveaways (this year i got some easter lilies from my church once they stopped blooming)and i just throw them in there to see what happens. as such, i have snap dragons and foxglove randomly left over from last year with it's mild winter. none of it is very clearly placed and i have 'bald spots' all over the yard. i don't even know when things are due to bloom. for all i know, everything will have died by the time june is finished.

placement is not my strong point, either. last year i planted half of this yarrow (above) about six inches from the comfrey. come this year, the plants near the comfrey were all but killed from the lack of sunlight. the comfrey spread out so far, i had to transplant the little bunch left from the original planting. on the other hand, this half of the yarrow has done splendidly.

i dunno. even though i really am flyin' by the seat of my pants on this gardening business, it's nice to see all of the growin' that's goin' on. thank goodness plants really take care of themselves.