To Weed or Not to Weed?

My hubby often laughs at me for letting a "weed" grow awhile to see what it is or looks like. I guess I need proof that it's a weed or it's just a fun little garden experiment to let a plant thrive awhile before it gets destroyed. Sounds evil that way. :)

As we all know, it's only a weed if it's unwanted. Last year I had been trying to discover what weird things were growing in the lawn and around the garden beds. My earliest discovery was in a large spot of lawn I found these pretty pink feather thin flowers sprouting from a big clump (see link below). It's called fleabane, but looks like really dainty asters. What do I do? I move the clump out of the yard and to the side to avoid the dreaded mower. Later in the year I found a smaller white version that I also had to relocate as my hubby laughed at me. Oh well..lol.

http://blog.catbirdnotes.com/__oneclick_uploads/2009/07/daisy-fleabane_07-14-09_03.jpg

Well I also found this mystery plant that's very low to the ground. It has green and deep purple leaves and I only have 3 small clumps of leaves that were slightly spread out. It was in the mowing zone so I never saw it bloom yet. Well it survived the mowing, winter and snow, and I plucked two leaves to try and figure out what it is again tonight. I am almost certain that it's a type of ajuga, possibly ajupa reptans (see link below) which is also known as bugle or bugleweed. It's grown as a ground cover and in the shade and can even be planted over some spring bulbs. I wonder how long I can delay my hubby from mowing the lawn this Spring so I can see it bloom before moving it elsewhere in the garden.

http://landscapeartisan.wordpress.com/2009/04/
http://www.reallywildflowers.co.uk/product/bugle/shop/ (it has a hyacinth-like bloom)

In other news, I think it's officially Spring. Why? Well 1, my lawn of snow is almost gone which is surprising since we had the largest pile up on the street from shoveling it ourselves. And 2, my bulbs in the back have been growing nicely and I think I might have the very beginning of a crocus bloom trying to make its way out of the leaves. Lastly, I heard a huge flock of geese heading back home. There were over 40 geese flying high and in a not so symmetrical V, but a V none the less. :) It was kind of nice since I heard them leaving in the fall, and I got to see a big bunch return. I wonder if it's the same geese...is that possible?

Is Spring Here?

It's been a warm, sunny weekend and a lot of the snow has melted off. Luna and Momo, the kittens, are back to wanting their daily outside fix now that they know it's not so blisteringly cold and windy. I stepped outside with them today because it didn't feel that cold at all. It felt quite warm with a slight cool breeze so I decided to survey the gardens in its upcoming 2nd year (almost). We moved into our house in June 2009 and almost everything in the "garden" (fancy wording for our boring, beginners backyard) was planted after we moved minus the roses and the shrubbery in the front garden bed which got reorganized as well. You got to love mother-in-laws that divide their plants like crazy for you. :)

So I stepped out and after being annoyed that the cats and dogs of the neighborhood are still gracing the flowerbeds, I noticed that My BULBS Are GROWING!!! Yes I was a bit ecstatic to see Something growing again. They are also my first attempt at growing bulbs. Sure the geraniums survived and their leaves are showing out from under the snow, but it's not necessarily new growth. It's good to know they survived though. So the geraniums survived in their cute little clumps, and the bulbs in the back yard are starting to grow. So I will soon see crocuses, hyacinth, and some tulips. They better bloom before my trip to see my parents or I'll be super sad. T_T

My russian sage is also starting to show new foliage which I'm happy about. I bought it because it was lavender and thought it was pretty, but it never did much growing so we didn't know if it went dormant or what. I'm so happy it's growing again. Now it's just waiting for everything else to bloom and leaf out. I don't even remember half of the names my mother-in-law gave me. I'll take pics of the bulbs soon when they've grown more.