Spring time in the garden

March is always a busy month for me. It is the time when I realize that I am, again, late for getting my garden ready before summer hits. Of course, then I rush to finish all the projects I wanted to do all winter long and I pretty much look like a headless chicken running around. I have no idea where to start and what to do, I am a novice gardener with a tendency to do the opposite of everything logical.

My corner bed is one of my least favorite spots, maybe because it is more of a plowed field (not a good one, though). The soil is clay, big chunks, and although I turn the soil twice a year, removed a layer and added potting soil, sand and peat, it still looks ugly. I am happy that some of my plants don't mind.

This time I have decided to plant a few cannas, they are outgrowing my pots, and if they don't make it here, it is sad but not tragic. My turk's cap is spreading without my help, the lantana has been there forever and everything else is trial and error gardening. I bought a climbing rose (Joseph's Coat, still very little), a few gazanias,

African daisies and another plant that I forgot the name of to attract butterflies. There are some green leaves in my bed that I haven't planted, but I am curious what they turn into, so they may stay - for now. Some step stones will help me jump around. The last thing will be mulch, mulch and more mulch.

Here is a picture of my Mexican Flame, I pretty much leave it alone and it looks good.

Last year my friend Ana gave me a mango seed and I am thrilled that it is growing! I love this kind of things, my mother used to do it. She didn't have a green thumb exactly, but fun trying to grow everything in her little window sill in Germany. I remember trips to the grocery store just to buy a fresh fig, date, mango, starfruit -you name it - and she would keep the seed, put it into soil and see what happened.
The mango is entering the teenager phase: it is outgrowing the pot, but I hesitate to re-pot it ...

After I had a ... more or less ... successful carrot and radish harvest, I am trying tomatoes again.
They are very little but maybe they will come around once they have their own veggie bed. It is late for them, I know.
This one is home for all kind of things: an avocado, a lime, thyme, basil, mint, bell peppers, some leftover-carrots and some tomatoes. It is very crowded, time to give them some space.
The north side of the house is not very pretty and adding a second raised bed won't hurt.

A few days ago I discovered tons of caterpillars in our yard. I hope my chirping friends have a good appetite.

The raised bed at the end of our backyard is home for aloe, yucca and purple queen. I planted some sansevieria close to the fence, maybe it will like it there. Another trial and error project. The purple queen took over most of the bed last year and its root system is huge, so I pulled out most of it. No worries here, it will come back.

Wonder what the green in the front is?

I bought some bulbs, gladiolas, forty of them to be precise, and hid them everywhere in our yard. This morning I counted twenty five looking at me already.

Some freesias in my bed next to the walkway, I did not expect to see them.

I haven't got to the front yard yet, I has to wait. My last gardening marathon has caused me quite some pain and reminds me to take it slow now.
If spring just wouldn't jump so fast ...