Dinosaur Tour

I wanted to do something a bit different with this post- and I've shown pictures here and there of the Dinosaurs in the past but it's this time to do a tour and show the Dinosaur of the garden! I wish there was a huge backstory to tell about how I loved Dinosaurs since I was a young child, bit strangely, getting "into" Dinosaurs did not happen until just a few years ago at 26, just before I bought my house. It started with a 15" metal T-Rex that which screamed "you need me" at the Brass Armadillo store, I had left without getting it even through the feelings, I went back the very next day after work because it was needing to be on my bookshelf... for some unknown reason.  Since then it has expanded all over my house and from there, what I have outside now as well. They have really taken over my life.... my home, work, car, cell phone! I always have a Dinosaur on me somewhere.

Mason ( T-Rex )

Morgan ( Triceratops )

Going from smallest to largest the first two Dinosaurs above are Morgan & Mason, the two hatchlings. Morgan was a gift from my brother and needing to give it a name that somehow pay tribute to him, she was after the street in which he lives on in Minneapolis. Mason was named after the street in which I'm on since I paid the  ( adoption fees ) Took me awhile to find some "eggs" to add to the nests, when the Easter decor came out at Hobby Lobby I found these ceramic eggs that were the perfect fit/size! Both Mason and Morgan are energetic and full of life and like to play and roll around near my back door.

Edgerton ( Velciraptor )

Edgerton is a young Velociraptor that justs like to mind his own business. He just found an egg for lunch- It's a rough world out there sometimes! Edgerton is one of three Velciraptors that live in my yard. This along with the ones above are the only three that are made of resin material instead of metal.

Tammy ( Triceratops )

Spike ( Stegosaurus )

Spike is the oldest, he was the very first Dinosaur I brought in that lives in the outside gardens. He came with me from my last house and as such prominently likes to show off how he's "all that" by living in the front yard to be seen. Tammy was the second addition outside, she is somewhat shy, but friendly, she enjoys the backyard.

Ryker ( Velciraptor )

Rusty ( T-Rex )

Ryker is fierce and wants you to know it! His red eyes makes everyone know he's boss! ( or so he thinks ) He protects the entire yard and likes to be the guard Dino right out front. Rusty on the other hand looks scary but he's really actually very mellow and just likes to mosey around the prairie garden. Rusty was the original "big" guy until he was over thorn from that crown....twice, but he doesn't mind!

Rhett ( Velciraptor )

Rhett is one of the biggest Dinosaurs in the yard. Standing 5' tall, 6' long.  He barely fit in my car for the ride home, in fact it took awhile to figure out how to get it in. This one is actually just a bigger vision of Ryker but I painted some red on his back and blue eyes to add some variation. Rhett is a bit more reserved so he hangs out in the back near the fence. The eyes of most of my Dinosaurs are hand painted by me to give them more character and personality.

Little Lucky ( T-Rex )

Little Lucky is the largest Dinosaur in the yard standing a whopping 8' tall 12' long. Matching the roof line of my house and garage! He was given this name because the right conditions came together at just the right time for me to be able to afford is huge adoption fee! He was having trouble finding a home so was discounted 75% off. I happened to get there just in time to purchase him literally minutes before he was to be taken away forever. So it was lucky that it was discounted to a level I could afford and that I got there just in time. So, Lucky he was named. Little was added for ironic purposes. Little Lucky's huge size would make one automatically think that he's fierce or really mean, but really he's just a big clumsy guy that doesn't want to do anyone any harm. He likes to hang out and stay cool in my shady woodland garden in the very back. You can find Little Lucky's entire story in the July 2019 section named Little Lucky's Arrival post.

Were you counting? I have a total of 9 Dinosaurs as well as a few Dinosaur themed items I haven't shown here. 9 is a weird number but I will be making it 10 soon. The 10th Dinosaur will be large and arrives at some point hopefully this year. He will be very different from all the rest in every way!

Early Season Daffodils/Flowers

Daffodil 'Rijnveld's Early Sensation'

The early season Daffodils have really taken off quite nicely, the weather has cooled compared to last week and it even snowed a little yesterday but the this is the best type of weather that makes the flowers last the longest and be their brightest in terms of color because cool temps bring the color out. There are 4 varieties blooming right now Daffodil 'Monal' and Daffodil 'Ice Follie' not pictured in this post. The one above is called Rijnvelds Early Sensation which was added 2 years ago, its becoming one of my favorite classic yellow Daffodil because it has a nice shape and blooms early, I'm making a mental note now to add more this fall to other gardens.

Daffodil 'Tete a Tete' & Crocus

Daffodil 'Tete a Tete' the final variety currently blooming is a type that has made it in every spring garden I've ever planted. It's the perfect miniature Daffodil that form clumps of bright cheery blooms, yes the flowers are smaller but they make up for it in high numbers. They are sweetly fragrant as well. This little combination above with the purple Crocus was accidental, when the bulbs went in, I was expecting the Daffodils would bloom later then Crocus, a happy accident that looks really great together! Another thing worth mentioning when planning out your spring garden its always a really good idea to make sure the small blooming plants go in the front and the larger bloomers go towards the back, otherwise the small guys will be overshadowed by the bigger plants. Note that even the taller Daffodils in the back are the same plant as the small ones so pay attention to the packages to put the tallest Daffodils towards the back.

Blue Snow Iris

Cannot remember the variety on this but the color is a very intense lightning blue. It's quite eye popping. There is another variety of Snow Iris that was shown last week called Iris Reticulata 'katharine hodgkin' also beautiful but its very pale in color compared to this one. The lightning blue is not nearly as early blooming as Katharine Hodkin, it blooms a week later.

Lenten Roses

The Lenten Rose are really starting to show off as well. The black one is one I've had in my gardens for 3 or 4 years and it made the move to my new house from my old one. Last year this double one was added to complement the colors of the dark one. It was purchased with a mixed tag so it could have been pink, yellow or the color above. I was really hoping it would be the one above and lucky enough it was!

Spring Garden as of 3/15/2020

 This week the dark purple Crocus has joined in, the colors alongside the Yellow really pop like jewels especially in the setting sun during the evening hours. There are at least 30 or so other varieties of Daffodils and other spring bulbs in my gardens that are getting very close to blooming so the show is long from over. Other signs of spring in the yard include, grass which is starting to green up a bit after some moisture the past few days. Forsythia is starting to push and I can see yellow starting to appear and Silver Maple trees have bloomed already.

Spring has Sprung

Daffodil 'Rijnveld's Early Sensation Bloomed 3/7/2020

Spring is Marching right along, the first Daffodil of the season bloomed today. As far as I can remember this is the earliest one has ever flowered in my gardens to date! This variety is Rijnvelds Early Sensation which is known for being very early. I have two clumps one near the house and one well away from the house in a bed out in the front lawn. The big cold snap we got last month when the low fell to -9 destroyed all the buds that were above ground, the only reason why I have this one is because it popped up after the cold spell. The ones out away from the warm foundation were also spared because it was cooler out there and they were not as far along.

The weather the past week or so has been very much so spring like, 50s most days with plentiful sunshine. Today it was nearly 70 and more of the same is expected tomorrow. Monday we're foretasted to get some rain which would be nice, the grass is still very brown but some rain would make everything burst to life.

Snow Iris bloomed 3/6/2020

Crocus Bloomed 3/1/2020

 The jewels of early spring are all joining to make for a nice display, since the last update Crocus and Snow Iris have bloomed. It seems like certain colors of Crocus bloom earliest, it starts with light purple, cream & white bloomers followed by yellow and dark purple blooming-types later on. They have yet to join but they will in the next week I suspect. For the snow Iris two colors can be found in my gardens the light blue and another intense blue which hasn't started blooming just yet.

Garden View as of 3/7/2020

The updated view shows that the Daffodils have really shot up, many color types are nearing bloom and will probably be in full bloom with in the next couple of weeks of the weather holds.

Spring Planters 3/6/2020

Since the weather shows no signs of turning much colder, it was time to switch out the winter pots to something with a bit more color! I ordered these violas bowls at the greenhouse where I work, the color is just stunning the way the blue/purple come together, these particular ones are also sweetly fragrant, attracting honey bees desperate for some early spring pollen. Now, some may be thinking WHAT?!? planting pots already but its going to freeze! That's just it though, Pansies are extremely hardy. People often wait too long to plant these because they unnecessarily worry that they can't take freezing temperatures. There is a reason why extremely is in bold, one year after I planted we had a late season cold spell when it got to the single digits and snowed. The pots froze solid dirt and all. The Pansies survived with only a bit burnt blooms, after a week of warm weather they recovered just fine! So you can plant without worry knowing they favor cooler temperatures of this time of year.

Southern Magnolia as of 3/7/2020

 Checking out the Southern Magnolia Trial tree showed some impressive and promising news, the more mild winter conditions this year were not too hard on this for its first one, over half the leave remained green on this Brackens Brown Beauty variety, they are known for browning pretty badly in cold temperatures so the fact that didn't happy shows how the winter was a warmer one. The green leaves is also a very good sign the tree may have survived. I wont know until the tree flushes new growth in May. If it does survive it would have insured the coldest temperature of -9 and a high of 6 one day this past winter.

1 week of March last year

Are you feeling this spring is early then last? You are not wrong, its much earlier then last, by as much as 3 or 4 weeks! This year its Daffodils and we're planting Pansies , last year the first week of March was still snowy and we had extensive winter snowcover ( last year was an exceptionally late start for spring ) Just goes to show every year is different!