Our Backyard Classroom ~ Has Spring Sprung? {Sewing Seeds and Horticulture}

The backyard is our outdoor classroom. There are so many opportunities for learning. Plants, weather, little creatures like insects and worms. A comfy swing to sit and write.

The weather has been awesome the last few weeks. As in 70-75 degrees beautiful! And then I saw this...

My peach tree is in bloom!

To be fair, my peach tree is in the front yard. But still ~ it's in bloom! Time to get the our backyard classroom ready for spring :)  It's just too gorgeous not to be outside.

When I opened my back door, a surprise was waiting for me...

Bright fushia camilla blossoms

Madeline was adamant we buy some new seeds. Every year, we try growing something new. It's a fun way to experiment with life science. Here are this year's selections:

Cherry tomatoes, fancy radishes, eggplant, colorful carrots,
and mammoth zinnias

Sowing seeds is the easy part. Trying to figure out what you planted...always a challenge. So we used rocks as plant labels. My trusty Sharpie should weather the elements just fine.

So excited to grow colorful carrots. A new experience!

Last year my hubby bought me an amazing hydrangea for Mother's Day. It was supposed to go in front of the kids playhouse in the shade. It died. Or maybe it went dormant. It was ugly. I threw it away.

That left a big empty pot. Not very attractive just filled with dirt. Empty pot, meet your new friends ~ Camilla and Hosta.

Newly potted red camilla + variegated hosta and grasses

And since my mosquito plant froze, I added a gardenia to its pot next to the camilla. Now the girls have their own little playhouse plants :)

Can't wait for fragrant, white blossoms

It's time to say goodbye to winter. Before our little trip to the garden store, everything was so brown and barren. Thus, a rush to buy whatever few flowers the garden store had.

But look! The butterfly bush is sprouting tiny green leaves.

Ranunculus flowers were pretty much all Home Depot had. They are so beautiful, but bulbs last such a short time. Luckily, the butterfly bush behind it should be vigorously growing by then.

So excited for Spring! Get ready outdoor classroom, here we come :)