Playing in My Native Garden on My Birthday

…he’s younger every birth‑day than he was the year before. ~Charles Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby, 1839

I feel younger in so many ways each year. Finding my inner child and inner artist certainly has a lot to do with it. And giving myself time to not only play with art supplies, words, and still in a smaller garden keeps me so much younger in heart and thought. Especially hard as we age and sometimes harden. But my inner wisdom tells me to keep changing direction and explore.

My native garden has always been a project of the heart. Feeling as a steward for the earth and to continue to help in its healing has a lot to do with it. As my birthday was over the weekend I thought I would highlight this garden that means so much to my soul. It is finally coming into its own.

Earlier in spring some plants bloomed. Virginia Bluebells, Mertensia virginica, getting bigger with more flowers.

Tiarella cordifolia or Foamflower is dwarfed by geraniums but flowering a little finally.

Mayapples, Podophyllum peltatum, emerging early in the woods this month…..spreading more and more just off the grass at the edge (poison ivy there too-it’s native!).

Trout lily, Erythronium americanum, just coming back at the edge of the woods so no flowers yet.

Red Columbine, Aquilegia canadensis, growing in a larger cluster.

Wild geranium, Geranium maculatum, in full bloom….so stunning as a border.

Annabelle Hydrangea, Hydrangea arborescens, leafing out.

Look first hydrangea flowers forming after 3 years.

Coralberry bush, Symphoricarpos orbiculatus, leafing out after a hard prune.

Wild Strawberry, Fragaria vesca, likely the critters will get them before me.

Virginia springbeauty, Claytonia virginica, finally appearing.

Native Coral Honeysuckle vine, Lonicera sempervirens, was hard pruned as well and is now sending out shoots like new arms to entangle me. Hummers love this flower and were buzzing them until they opened.

Eastern bluestar, Amsonia tabernaemontana, flowering and getting a bit bigger.

And last but certainly not least is Ohio Spiderwort, Tradescantia ohiensis. A pollinator magnet as you can see with the small bee enjoying the flowers.

Getting so much bigger and growing into its own. I hope it spreads around like it did in my old garden. What a treat.

Many other native plants are growing but not flowering yet. Looking forward to seeing the surprises as the days and weeks roll along. I have added links to posts that profile some of these native plants that I grew in my old garden too.

In homage to my native garden, I decided to cut some Wild Geraniums for a vase. I would not recommend these in a vase as the cluster of flowers’ petals fall from open flowers after a day and the next ones open and repeat.

But I love the look and the fallen pink petals around the vase. They only do this when cut for a vase. They are long lasting and fabulous in the wild.

My husband also surprised me with a special bunch of flowers for my birthday; pink peonies.

We grew these at our first house all along the split-rail fence that bordered our corner lot. I miss the look and smell of them.

When I saw the flowers, I was brought to tears of joy! Happy Birthday to me!

With these vases, I am joining in with the wonderful meme, In A Vase On Monday, from Cathy at  Rambling in the Garden.

All the pictures shared in this post were taken with my Nikon Coolpix or iPhone camera, and manipulated on my iPhone using the apps, Pixlr and Prisma. 

All original content is copyrighted and the sole property of Donna Donabella @ Gardens Eye View, 2010-2024.  Any reprints or use of content or photos is by permission only.